Mercado Libre started the year with everything.
In the first quarter of the year, the unicorn created by Marcos Galperín,
billed US$ 3,000 million in the region
, which represents a growth of 35.1% compared to the same period last year.
Its three main markets registered significant increases, with
"Mexico advancing 62%, Argentina 39% and Brazil 26%
," says the company's statement.
Among all the business units, especially eCommerce and financial (Mercado Pago), they allowed it to generate
a net profit of US$ 201.4 million
, this is 208.5% more than in the first quarter of 2022. In addition, The ecosystem
managed to add 3.9 million new users,
with which Mercado Libre managed to exceed the mark of 100.5 million active users.
These are the main figures that emerge from the balance sheet that delivered the company to the New York Stock Exchange.
However, investors expected a good balance in their operations.
Without going any further, in mid-April, Mercado Libre announced that
this year it will incorporate some 13,000 people globally
(800 of them in Argentina), with which they estimate to close 2023 with a workforce of 50,000 employees.
"Net revenue from the eCommerce business increased 31.2% year-on-year in dollar
terms to $1.7 billion
as a result of rapidly advancing sales volume," the report said.
The fintech business is almost catching up.
Between January and March of this year, Mercado Pago billed US$ 1.4 billion (
64% more than in the first quarter of last year
).
And this is the fifth consecutive quarter that its financial unit has broken the $1 billion mark.
Online sales and electronic payments grew exponentially during the pandemic.
But in the return to the "new normal" the trend continued, although with less momentum.
The restrictions due to Covid 19 modified consumption habits, something that Mercado Libre has been taking advantage of.
The most noticeable is the progress of its ecosystem based on the QR code
, which has been gaining followers by leaps and bounds.
"The volume of payments processed through Mercado Pago reached US$37 billion for the first time," the company stressed.
Financial transactions far exceed the volume of online sales.
Mercado Libre highlighted that "the total value of the items transacted on the marketplace was US$9.4 billion in the first quarter."
In total,
309 million items were sold
—6.7 items per buyer—representing an increase of 15.9%.
Despite this, eCommerce is the most profitable business unit for Mercado Libre, since "financial businesses leave very little margin."
In Latin America,
301.8 million items were sold on the platform.
According to the report, "the increase in the number of unique buyers accelerated across the region."
Mercado Libre is present in 18 Latin American countries.
And he leads in almost all of them.
However, in Mexico (its second largest market behind Brazil) it is positioned above Amazon, its main adversary.
In both, there was "solid growth in sales volume: Brazil and Mexico advanced around 28% in constant currency," the statement noted.
