Mercado Libre shares fall on Wall Street despite record revenues

Mercado Libre shares fell over 5% on Wall Street following the release of its quarterly earnings report. While the company achieved record quarterly revenues exceeding $10 billion—a 50% year-on-year increase—investors reacted negatively to compressed profit margins. The EBIT margin contracted to 6.7%, and operating results fell 17% year-on-year. Management indicated that investments will continue at current levels, driven largely by competition from platforms like Shein and Temu in the Brazilian market.

In Argentina, Mercado Libre CEO Marcos Galperin challenged data from the Argentine Confederation of Medium-Sized Enterprises (CAME), which reported a 3.8% drop in retail sales. Galperin suggested that CAME's metrics do not account for the significant growth in e-commerce, noting that Mercado Libre's volume grew 38% in constant currency during the last quarter. He argued that consumer behavior is shifting from in-person shopping to online channels.