MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) stock surged 11% in pre-market trading Friday as the Latin American e-commerce giant delivered a stellar fourth-quarter performance. The company reported earnings and sales that crushed Wall Street expectations, driven by standout growth in its online marketplace and booming fintech division.
MercadoLibre posted adjusted earnings of $12.61 per share on revenue of $6.1 billion for the December-ended quarter. That blew past analyst projections from FactSet, which had forecasted adjusted earnings of $7.90 per share on sales of $5.8 billion. The results mark a 286% jump in earnings and a 37% rise in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
The company noted that a one-time tax charge had weighed down its Q4 2023 earnings, making this year’s leap even more striking.
MercadoLibre Touts Fintech, E-Commerce Strength
Often compared to Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), MercadoLibre runs a sprawling e-commerce platform across 18 countries in Latin America. Its biggest markets include Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, where the company was founded. Beyond online shopping, MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) offers Mercado Pago, a fintech service with a digital wallet similar to Venmo, widely used in the region.
In its letter to shareholders released Thursday, the company celebrated the success of both its e-commerce and fintech businesses. “MercadoLibre had another great year in 2024, with more consumers and merchants choosing us,” the letter read. It highlighted major milestones, including reaching over 100 million unique annual buyers on its marketplace and over 60 million monthly active users (MAUs) for its fintech services.
The e-commerce platform recorded a gross merchandise volume of $14.5 billion, marking an 8% increase from the previous year. On the fintech side, Mercado Pago handled $58.9 billion in total payment volume, up 33% compared to Q4 2023.
