  | |
 Former headquarters inSaavedra, Buenos Aires, July 2021 | |
Native name | Mercado Libre (Spanish) Mercado Livre (Portuguese) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| |
| Industry | E-commerce |
| Founded | August 2, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-08-02)[1] |
| Founder | Marcos Galperin |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | |
Key people | Giancarlo Moreira(board of directors)}} |
| Brands |
|
| Services | Online marketplace ande-commerce payment system |
| Revenue |  US$20.78 billion (2024) |
| US$2.63 billion (2024) | |
| US$1.91 billion (2024) | |
| Total assets | US$25.20 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$4.35 billion (2024) |
Number of employees | 84,207 (2024) |
| Website | mercadolibre |
| Footnotes / references [2] | |
MercadoLibre, Inc. (Spanish pronunciation:[meɾˈkaðoˈliβɾe]), known asMercado Livre in Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation:[meʁˈkaduˈlivɾi]), literally meaning "free market" in both languages, is a company ofArgentine origin headquartered inMontevideo, Uruguay and incorporated inDelaware in theUnited States that operatesonline marketplaces dedicated toe-commerce andonline auctions. As of 2016[update], Mercado Libre had 174.2 million users inLatin America,[3] making it the region's most popular e-commerce site by number of visitors.[4]
Aside from being the sole player inArgentina's e-commerce market,[5] it also has operations inBolivia,Brazil,Chile,Colombia,Costa Rica, theDominican Republic,Ecuador,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,Mexico,Nicaragua,Panama,Paraguay,Peru,Uruguay andVenezuela.[6] In 2023,TIME included Mercado Libre in the list of the 100 most influential companies in the world.[7]
Mercado Libre was founded on August 2, 1999 inBuenos Aires,Argentina.[8][6] Founder and CEOMarcos Galperin established the company while attendingStanford University. He acquired funding fromJohn Muse, co-founder ofHM Capital Partners.[9][10] Mercado Libre received additional funding fromJPMorgan Partners, Flatiron Partners,Goldman Sachs,GE Capital, andBanco Santander Central Hispano. In 1999, Mercado Libre was chosen as anEndeavor company.[11]
In September 2001, online auction companyeBay purchased a 19.5% stake in the company.[9] eBay sold its stake in Mercado Libre in 2016, but the companies continue to collaborate to expand eBay sellers into Latin America.[12][13] eBay opened its first branded store on the Mercado Libre marketplace from Chile in March 2017.[14]
The following month, Mercado Libre acquired iBazar Como, the Brazilian subsidiary of eBay's earlier acquisition, iBazar S.A.[15] In 2006, MercadoLibre.com launched new operations inCosta Rica,Panama, and theDominican Republic.
In August 2007, Mercado Libre became the first Latin American technology company to be listed on theNASDAQ, under the ticker MELI.[6][9] Mercado Libre acquired competitor DeRemate's operations in August 2008.[16] Mercado Libre also acquired Classified Media Group (CMG) in 2008. CMG established the Latin American e-commerce portals tucarro.com and tuinmueble.com.[17]
In 2011, the company transitioned its platform to open source technology. The transition allowed application programming interface (API) developers to expand the platform's solutions and services.[18] In 2013, Mercado Libre launched the MeLi Commerce Fund, dedicated to investing in technology startups that create software using Mercado Libre's APIs.[19] By August 2016, the fund had investedUS$1.5 million in 15 companies in Argentina,Brazil andMexico.[20][21] Mercado Libre acquired Portal Inmobiliario, a Chilean classified ad website, in 2014.[22] In 2015, Mercado Libre announced its acquisition of Metroscúbicos.com, the portal of Mexico-based real estate company Grupo Expansión.[23]
In 2016, Mercado Libre relocated its Brazilian headquarters to new offices inSão Paulo,Brazil. The 17,000 square meter complex, named Melicidade, held a cafeteria, auditorium, gym, beauty parlor, meeting and training rooms, and a recreation area.[24][25] In March 2016, Mercado Libre announced its expansion intoCórdoba, Argentina with its new software center.[26] However, the company will close the Córdoba offices in August, 2025, citing the high cost of municipal taxes, with all staff continuing their work remotely.[27] Mercado Libre opened its first Colombian office inBogotá in October 2016. It was the company's fourth customer service center in Latin America,[8][28] following centers in Argentina, Brazil andUruguay.[29]
On June 19, 2017, Mercado Libre became aNASDAQ-100 company.[30]
In 2019, Mercado Libre opened its first distribution centers in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.[31]
In March 2020, Mercado Libre announced its new distribution centers inChile[32] andColombia.[33] In June 2020, Mercado Libre announced its new software center in Colombia.[34]
In March 2021, Mercado Libre announced an investment of $1.8 billion in its Brazilian operations.[35]
Mercado Libre operates under five main business units. MarketPlace is its platform for users to sell products, Mercado Pago is its payment platform for online sales,[5] Mercado Publicado is the advertising portion of Mercado Libre, Mercado Shops is a tool designed to enhance the platform's overall ecosystem,[36] and Mercado Crédito is the company's credit line.[37]
Mercado Libre's MarketPlace is a platform designed to match buyers and sellers. Customers bid for items or pay a set price for offered products. Items are delivered after payment, and users can provide feedback.[38] 3,000 official stores or brands work with Mercado Libre.[39]
Mercado Libre also runs a real estate and motors division under the name Mercado Libre Classificados. Realtors pay a monthly fee to list properties and automobiles on the Mercado Libre platform.[40]
Mercado Libre launched MercadoPago, a secure payment system, to diversify payment options.[41] MercadoPago processed 138.7 million transactions in 2016, which was a 73% improvement from 2015.[39] Launched in 2012, MercadoShops was designed to allow small and medium-sized companies to open virtual stores on their existing websites. The stores feature integration with social network sites.[42] In October 2014, a mobile app was released for MercadoPago which used a credit card reader to allow charges to be processed using a tablet or smartphone using a QR code.[41][43] The company expanded MercadoPago into Colombia in July 2016.[44]
Mercado Crédito's credit process works with buyers and sellers. Rate types for credit lines are determined through a borrower profile.[45]
The key trends for Mercado Libre are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):[46][47][48]
| Revenue (USD billion) | EBIT (USD billion) | Total Assets (USD billion) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.65 | 0.15 | 1.00 |
| 2016 | 0.84 | 0.18 | 1.36 |
| 2017 | 1.29 | 0.05 | 1.67 |
| 2018 | 1.43 | (0.07) | 2.23 |
| 2019 | 2.29 | (0.11) | 4.78 |
| 2020 | 3.97 | 0.08 | 6.52 |
| 2021 | 7.06 | 0.24 | 10.10 |
| 2022 | 10.53 | 0.78 | 13.73 |
| 2023 | 14.95 | 1.55 | 17.61 |
| 2024 | 20.77 | 2.43 | 25.19 |
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