Total dollar value of all goods and services sold through a marketplace or e-commerce platform during a set period, before deducting fees, returns or costs. Think of it as the total amount rung up at the register across an entire shopping mall: it shows the platform’s sales volume and user activity. Investors watch it to gauge growth and marketplace traction, but must pair it with metrics like revenue share and margins to assess profitability.
gmvfinancial
Gross merchandise value (GMV) is the total dollar value of all goods and services sold through a platform or marketplace over a given period, measured before deducting fees, returns, or discounts. Investors watch GMV to gauge the raw size and growth of customer activity—like counting every ticket sold at a concert before subtracting organizer costs—while remembering it is not the same as revenue or profit.
fx-neutralfinancial
fx-neutral means presenting financial figures with the effects of changes in currency exchange rates removed, so reported revenue or growth reflects only the company’s underlying operations rather than shifts in foreign-money values. Investors use fx-neutral numbers to compare performance across periods and regions more fairly — like comparing a car’s fuel efficiency after removing differences caused by driving on hills versus flat roads, isolating true performance.
assets under managementfinancial
Assets under management (AUM) is the total value of all the investments that a financial company or fund is responsible for overseeing on behalf of its clients. It’s like a big bucket that shows how much money the firm is managing for people or organizations. A higher AUM often indicates a larger, more trusted company, and it can influence how much money they earn and the services they can offer.
total payment volumefinancial
The total payment volume is the sum of all money that flows through a payment platform or service over a given period, including purchases, transfers, and other transactions. Like measuring the total gallons of water running through a pipe to gauge how busy it is, TPV shows how much business a payments provider or marketplace handles and helps investors assess scale, growth, market share and potential fee-based revenue.
net promoter scoretechnical
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a single-number measure of customer loyalty based on asking customers how likely they are to recommend a company’s product or service to others; responses are grouped and converted to a score from -100 to +100. It matters to investors because a high NPS suggests strong customer satisfaction, lower churn and more organic growth through word-of-mouth—like a reputation score that can predict future sales and brand resilience.
tap to phonetechnical
Tap to phone is a technology that lets a merchant use an ordinary smartphone as a payment terminal so customers can pay by tapping their contactless card or phone against it, much like turning the phone into a portable card reader. Investors care because it lowers the cost and friction of accepting payments, can speed up merchant onboarding, and expands the addressable market for payment providers, affecting revenue growth and competitive positioning.
large language modelstechnical
Large language models are advanced AI systems trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like writing, like a very fast reader and writer that learns patterns in words and sentences. They matter to investors because they can change how companies operate—automating customer service, speeding analysis, cutting costs, creating new products—and they introduce risks around accuracy, security and regulation that can affect a firm’s revenue and reputation.
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Commerce: Results demonstrate the transformative impact of the lower free shipping threshold in Brazil, with unique buyer growth accelerating to 32% YoY - the fastest pace in five years - GMV growth accelerating to 38% YoY (FX-neutral) and sold items growth surging to 56% YoY - more than twice the pace of growth prior to the change
Fintech: Reach is broadening as monthly active users hit 83 million, up 29% YoY; and engagement is deepening with credit portfolio increasing 87% YoY to $14.6 billion, the largest ever quarterly increase in nominal terms and assets under management growing 77% YoY to nearly $20 billion
Advertising: Revenue grew 73% YoY in USD, making Mercado Ads the fastest growing player in the region
AI: The company completed a major transformation of its search engine across Latin America, rebuilding the entire architecture around large language models
Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI), Latin America's leading e-commerce and fintech platform, today announced first quarter 2026 financial results, with net revenue and financial income growing 49% YoY to $8.8 billion - the fastest pace of growth since the second quarter of 2022. Income from operations reached $611 million, with a 6.9% margin, and net income of $417 million with a 4.7% margin. Strategic investments in free shipping, the Mercado Pago credit card, first-party selection, and cross-border trade are driving exceptional growth and strengthening competitive positioning across the region.
The lower free shipping threshold in Brazil, one of our most important strategic decisions of 2025, continued to deliver results at a pace that exceeded the company’s own expectations. Unique buyer growth in Brazil accelerated 32% YoY, the fastest pace in five years. GMV growth accelerated to 38% YoY on an FX-neutral basis in Q1’26, with sold items rising 56% YoY, up from 26% in Q2'25, the quarter in which Mercado Libre lowered the free shipping threshold. Conversion, frequency, retention, and NPS all reached record highs, engagement is deepening as daily active users grow faster than monthly active users, and new buyer cohorts are purchasing more items across a broader range of categories with higher retention than older cohorts. Unit shipping costs in Brazil fell 17% YoY in local currency, accelerating from an 11% reduction in Q4'25, as Mercado Libre's technology enabled its logistics network to absorb significant volume growth efficiently.
Across the rest of the region, Mexico delivered FX-neutral GMV growth of 28% YoY with sold items up 34%, while Argentina delivered 41% FX-neutral GMV growth and 35% growth in sold items. Chile maintained strong momentum with FX-neutral GMV growth of 40% YoY, supported by record levels of free shipping penetration and same- and next-day delivery. Mercado Libre's fulfillment network continues to be a key competitive advantage as the fastest network in the region, delivering 76% of fast shipments within 48 hours.
In Advertising, Mercado Libre has been the fastest growing player in the region - 4x the market in 2025 - and this strong momentum continued in Q1'26 with ads revenue growth of 73% YoY in US dollars. Ongoing investments in AI-powered setup, targeting, and measurement tools are driving more sellers to activate advertising products and increasing advertising spend per seller.
Mercado Pago reached 83 million monthly active users, up 29% YoY, with growth accelerating in both Brazil and Mexico. Assets under management grew 77% YoY to nearly $20 billion - more than twice the pace of MAU growth - reflecting deeper engagement among existing users drawn to deposit returns that incumbent banks find difficult to match.
The credit portfolio grew 87% YoY to $14.6 billion, with the largest-ever quarterly increase in nominal terms. The credit card portfolio rose 104% YoY to $6.6 billion, supported by the issuance of 2.7 million cards in the quarter. A significant proportion of cardholders were previously marketplace-only users and they have now become active fintech users, demonstrating the cross-sell flywheel at work across the ecosystem.
The acquiring business delivered FX-neutral TPV growth of 41% YoY, with strong contributions from Brazil (26%), Mexico (46%), Argentina (55%) and Chile (69%). Growth reflected the effectiveness of the company’s go-to-market approach, enhanced by AI tools and the marketplace as an acquisition channel, alongside continued product enhancements, including the launch of Tap to Phone in Mexico during Q1’26.
"Q1'26 was another exceptional quarter for Mercado Libre, extending the momentum we built through 2025. We are investing boldly to transform how hundreds of millions of Latin Americans shop, pay and access financial services - and these investments are deepening engagement and bringing new users onto the platform. The pace and breadth of growth strengthen our conviction that we are well positioned to capture the substantial long-term opportunity ahead of us in commerce and fintech," said Mercado Libre CFO Martín de los Santos.
Highlights for Q1 2026
Financial Q1 2026:
Net revenue and financial income of $8.8 billion, up 49% YoY in USD.
Income from operations of $611 million, with a 6.9% margin.
Net income of $417 million, with a 4.7% margin.
Commerce Q1 2026:
Net revenue from the commerce business in the first quarter reached $5 billion, growing 47% in USD YoY.
Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), the total value of merchandise sold on the platform, reached $19.0 billion, growing 42% in USD.
Items sold grew at the fastest pace in years across the region reaching 722 million, +47% YoY, supported by accelerating growth in Brazil following the lower free shipping threshold.
Unique Active Buyers grew 26% surpassing 84 million. The addition of more than 17 million unique active buyers across our platform YOY marks the highest annual growth, notably driven by a significant and continuous quarterly acceleration in Brazil since lowering the free shipping threshold.
In Brazil, items sold grew 56% YoY and FX-neutral GMV increased 38% YoY. Unit shipping costs in Brazil fell 17% YoY in local currency, accelerating from an 11% YoY reduction in Q4'25.
In Mexico, items sold grew 34% and FX-neutral GMV grew 28% YoY.
In Argentina, items sold grew 35% YoY and FX-neutral GMV grew 41% YoY.
In Chile, FX-neutral GMV grew 40% YoY, supported by record levels of free shipping penetration and same- and next-day delivery.
Mercado Libre's logistics network has expanded to over 50 fulfillment facilities, handling 55% of shipments as of Q1'26, allowing us to deliver 76% of fast shipments within 48 hours.
Advertising revenue rose 73% YoY in USD and 63% YoY on an FX-neutral basis.
Fintech Q1 2026:
Net revenue from Mercado Pago in the first quarter reached $4.0 billion, growing 51% in USD YoY.
Fintech monthly active users reached 83 million, up 29% YoY.
Assets under management grew 77% YoY, reaching nearly $20 billion.
Total number of transactions (TPN) reached an equivalent of 4.6 billion, a 39% growth.
Credit portfolio grew 87% YoY to $14.6 billion - the largest ever quarterly increase in nominal terms.
Credit card portfolio reached $6.6 billion, up 104% YoY.
2.7 million credit cards were issued in Q1'26.
Acquiring total payment volume grew 41% YoY on an FX-neutral basis.
Tap to Phone launched in Mexico in Q1'26, while continuing to grow at a triple-digit pace in Brazil.
About Mercado Libre
Founded in 1999, MercadoLibre, Inc (NASDAQ: MELI) is the leading company in e-commerce and financial technology in Latin America, with operations in 18 countries. It offers a complete ecosystem of solutions for individuals and businesses to buy, sell, advertise, obtain credit and insurance, collect, send money, save, and pay for goods and services both online and offline. Mercado Libre looks to facilitate access to commerce and financial services in Latin America, a market that offers great opportunities and high growth potential. It uses world-class technology to create intuitive solutions tailored to the local culture to transform the lives of millions of people in the region. More information at http://investor.mercadolibre.com/
