Aug 5, 2026 earnings call — Engagement investments and credit growth
Net revenue surpassed $10 billion for the first time, growing 50% year-on-year.
Revenue $10.2B (est $9.8B) · EPS $9.19 (est $8.65)
Key quotes
"In Brazil, items per buyer grew 19% year-on-year in Q2 despite the fact that we've been adding large numbers of new buyers, who typically start out purchasing far less than an average user."
"Our 15- to 90-day NPL in Q2 was 7.0% for the total portfolio and 4.6% for the credit card specifically, both close to historical lows."
"This quarter's EBIT margin of 6.7% was down 550 basis points year-on-year as we continue to prioritize long-term strategic investments over short-term profitability."
Analyst Q&A 14
Margins and passing costs to customers
Q (Irma Sgarz · Goldman Sachs): She asked if they can raise prices to pass cost pressures like shipping and memory costs to customers, and whether the new headwinds were already expected when they last spoke in May.
A: They said sequential margins were roughly in line with Q1. Improvement in credit margins was offset by strategic discounts and lower take rates in Brazil, higher device costs and a one-off device restock in Mexico, and some higher logistics energy costs—some passed to users, some absorbed. They also said they did not raise POS device prices because payback periods were acceptable and competitors didn't raise prices.
"Some of them we pass on to our users and some we elected to absorb ourselves." — Martin de Los Santos (CFO)
Brazil seller growth and profit impact
Q (Andrew Ruben · Morgan Stanley): He asked about the acceleration to 29% seller growth in Brazil, whether new sellers drag profits by taking promotions, and if seller economics change as sellers mature.
A: They said lowering take rates is a proven lever that accelerates the number of successful sellers on the platform. They added there is nothing big to call out on unit economics or margins from the seller acceleration, though there are programs to help sellers scale.
"We've already proven that lever, and we've consistently seen that every time we lower take rates, we get an acceleration in effective or successful sellers in our platform." — Ariel Szarfsztejn (CEO)
Gamification and AI shopping assistant results
Q (Robert Ford · BofA): He asked for an early read on the new gamification and points program in Brazil and on results from the agentic shopping pilot (search conversion, frequency, ad CTR, ecosystem effects).
A: They said it is too early to judge the gamification program, though early impact is positive with higher engagement from participating users. For agentic initiatives, improving search with AI is raising conversion and ad click-through rates, and the shopping assistant is in A/B tests with encouraging early results; they view engagement as key to the Commerce–Fintech flywheel.
"We see increased engagement coming from those users who do engage with the proposal, but nothing to share." — Ariel Szarfsztejn (CEO)
Argentina credit card early results
Q (Marcelo Santos · JPMorgan): He asked how the credit card rollout in Argentina is ramping and whether they are happy with early results.
A: They said they are very excited and have seen strong demand and significant adoption since issuing cards about three quarters ago. It is still early to report payback periods for the first cohort, but card usage and payments are in line with expectations and the program is strengthening both Marketplace and Mercado Pago.
"We have seen a lot of demand, and we are seeing significant adoption and use and it's significant, for example, how much people are using the card to pay on the MercadoLibre platform." — Osvaldo Giménez
Brazil credit cycle and protections
Q (Rodrigo Gastim · Itaú BBA): He asked if they see signs of credit deterioration in Brazil and what they can proactively do to protect the business if the credit cycle worsens.
A: They said so far they see no deceleration or deterioration in the Brazil credit book; NPLs are roughly in line or even better than a year ago. They emphasized conservative underwriting, past pattern of curtailing lines when needed, and that low NPLs reflect risk policies and technology in underwriting.
"I confirm that so far, we are not seeing any deceleration or deterioration of credit book in Brazil." — Osvaldo Giménez
Brazil commerce strategy after free shipping change
Q (Pedro Pinto · Bradesco BBI): He asked if they plan more investments now that comps get tougher after one year of a lower free-shipping threshold, and what the next strategic priorities in Brazil commerce should be.
A: They said the free-shipping change drove strong results—big growth in items, conversion and frequency—and metrics improved steadily quarter after quarter. They will not invest just to hit comps; investments are made where they strengthen the marketplace and improve consumer value, and they will continue disciplined testing and prioritization.
"If you look at items growing at 56%, they were growing 26% or half of that rate a year ago." — Martin de Los Santos (CFO)
EBIT margin sustainability and AI costs
Q (Deepak Mathivanan · Cantor Fitzgerald): He asked if margins at current levels are sustainable in H2 and whether they'd trade off investments if the environment worsens, and also asked about AI usage, spend ramp and early benefits.
A: They said margin improvement came mainly from better consumer credit performance and dilution of fixed costs from scale, and they will continue to reinvest in growth in a disciplined way with targets and clear paths to profitability. On AI, they said they invested about $80 million year-over-year and are seeing strong returns in ad tools, search, customer service automation and developer productivity, making many AI initiatives ROI-positive.
"I think we invested about $80 million on AI this quarter compared to a year ago, but we are seeing very strong results." — Martin de Los Santos (CFO)
Affiliate program scaling and economics
Q (Danniela Eiger · XP): She asked how the affiliate program is scaling, what gaps remain, and whether they expect heavier investments going forward.
A: They said the affiliate channel is scaling well and becoming more efficient, with GMV share growing in every market. Affiliate buyers show materially higher retention than non-affiliate buyers, seller co-funding is rising, and unit economics and product improvements are making the program more attractive going forward.
"Affiliate buyers show materially higher platform retention than non-affiliate buyers." — Ariel Szarfsztejn (CEO)
Mexico device cost and tax reform impact
Q (Craig Maurer · FT Partners): He asked how much Mexico margin compression came from device/memory chip cost versus deliberate customer acquisition, and whether the tax reform headwind was fully in the Q2 run rate.
A: They said Mexico acquiring margin compression was mostly from increased device inventory (booked at a loss when bought) and higher memory chip costs, not from lowering prices for customer acquisition. On commerce, they said the tax reform is a real headwind together with weaker macro and World Cup effects, but they still gained market share and see strong long-term opportunity in Mexico.
"And the rest was driven by, as you mentioned, the increase in the memory chips cost." — Osvaldo Giménez
AI costs and credit card cohort profitability
Q (Josh Beck · Raymond James): He asked whether AI cost trends could continue to provide P&L benefits and asked for more color on mature credit card portfolios and future NIMAL evolution.
A: They clarified that product development scale gains are not mostly from AI, but AI investments are producing measurable productivity and revenue benefits across ads, search and customer service. They said AI is a strategic accelerator and is raising developer productivity; on credit cards, each cohort typically reaches NIMAL breakeven after 12 to 18 months and faster issuance temporarily compresses portfolio NIMALs though paybacks are expected.
"And basically, what we continue to see mostly in Brazil, which is the one market where we started first, is that each cohort typically reaches NIMAL breakeven after 12 to 18 months." — Osvaldo Giménez
Asset quality and 90-day NPLs
Q (Kaio Penso Da Prato · UBS): He asked how to read the quarter's improvement in cost of risk alongside the deterioration in the 90-day NPLs, and whether the improvement is seasonal and how their Brazil appetite looks for H2.
A: They said NIMALs are healthy and short-term NPLs (15–90 days) are at multi-period lows. The 90-day metric mixes products and can move with origination pace—some early borrowers defaulted more when issuance slowed—so the rise is small and not a major concern; portfolio health and profitability remain solid.
"NPLs are at the lowest point for 15 to 90 days." — Osvaldo Giménez
Impact of lower policy rates in Brazil
Q (Neha Agarwala · HSBC): She asked how expected lower policy rates in Brazil will affect their different business segments.
A: They said acquiring and credit see no significant impact from a small rate change because market participants adjust rates over time; there is a marginal improvement on existing issued credit. They noted the Marketplace may see a bit of margin improvement when rates fall because parcelada sem juro pricing is not adjusted as frequently.
"Typically, the market, our competitors and ourselves adjust those rates depending on what's happening with the policy rates." — Osvaldo Giménez
Ecosystemic users and cross-border trade update
Q (Marvin Fong · BTIG): He asked what percentage of users are ecosystemic and for an update on cross-border trade, China facility utilization and plans for more low-cost facilities.
A: They said they do not disclose the share of ecosystemic users, but these users have much higher GMV, TPV and assets under management and are the fastest-growing group. On cross-border, CBT GMV grew about 60% year-over-year, China fulfillment volume rose 170% quarter-over-quarter, delivery and unit economics are improving, but the business is still early.
"When we see an ecosystemic user has 70% more GMV on the Marketplace and 90% more TPV, double the assets under management." — Martin de Los Santos (CFO)
Credit card profitability curve and timing
Q (Joao Pedro Soares · Citi): He asked whether credit card issuance is reaching a profitability inflection given portfolio size and yields, and how NII and NIMALs may evolve as portfolios mature.
A: They said the credit card continues to follow the pattern that cohorts reach profitability after time, and accelerated issuance makes the average portfolio younger so overall maturity takes longer. They emphasized the card has a clear path to profitability and is strategically important because card users are more likely to become ecosystemic and increase engagement across MercadoLibre and Mercado Pago.
"As we mentioned, we are super excited with how the credit card is evolving, and we continue to see the same patterns as before in terms of reaching profitability for each given cohort." — Osvaldo Giménez