Particle.news
Download on the App Store

MercadoLibre’s Growth Push Squeezes Margins as Analysts Cut Targets

Analysts trimmed targets to reflect heavy 2026 investment.

Overview

  • Major banks lowered price targets after the latest results, with Goldman Sachs to $2,100, Morgan Stanley to $2,450, Barclays to $2,300, and Raymond James to $2,000, while keeping Buy or Overweight stances.
  • Quarterly revenue rose 49% to $8.85 billion as operating income fell about 20% to $611 million, producing a 6.9% operating margin that management said reflects deliberate investment.
  • Fintech scale expanded fast with total payment volume near $87.2 billion, monthly active users at 83 million, assets under management up 77% to nearly $20 billion, and 2.7 million credit cards issued as the card portfolio doubled to $6.6 billion.
  • Brazil accelerated as a growth engine with revenue up 55%, items sold up 56%, unique buyers up 32%, and lower cost per shipment in local currency, which points to improving logistics efficiency.
  • Shares are down about 37% over the past year, yet a Brazil-based fund disclosed a new stake of roughly $11 million, and analysts cite Latin America’s early e-commerce adoption—about seven online purchases per person per year versus 41 in the U.S.—as a long runway for growth.