Overview
- Wedbush lowered its MercadoLibre target to $2,400 from $2,600 and reiterated an Outperform rating, citing ongoing spending that could limit operating income in the near term.
- The firm characterized the quarter as mixed versus expectations, pointing to continued investment to defend share and enhance the platform.
- Management reported strong commerce trends, including 35% gross merchandise volume growth in Brazil and Mexico and a 45% increase in items sold in Brazil after lowering the free-shipping threshold.
- AI integration featured prominently, with advertising revenue up 67% as product improvements and targeting advanced.
- Fintech momentum accelerated with monthly active users growing about 30% for ten straight quarters, a credit portfolio near $12.5 billion, and nearly 3 million credit cards issued in Q4, while JPMorgan earlier upgraded the stock to Overweight with a $2,800 target and flagged easing competitive pressure.