MercadoLibre Q3 Revenue Jumps 45% to $10.75B, but EPS Misses at $8.83 and Operating Profit Lags
Revenue beat as payment volume grew 53%, but EPS trailed the estimate and operating income and net income both missed, while the credit portfolio climbed to about $18 billion.
MercadoLibre (MELI) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $10.75 billion, up 45% from a year earlier and above the $10.66 billion estimate, while EPS rose 6% to $8.83, below the $9.36 estimate. Income from operations of $676 million and net income of $448 million both missed estimates.
Q3 scorecard
| Parameters | Expected | Actual | Beat/Miss |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | $9.36 | $8.83 | Miss by 5.7% |
| Revenue | $10.66B | $10.75B | Beat by 0.8% |
| Income from operations | $731M | $676M | Miss by 7.5% |
| Net income | $476M | $448M | Miss by 5.9% |
| Change | YoY | QoQ |
|---|---|---|
| EPS | ▲ 6.1% | ▼ 3.9% |
| Revenue | ▲ 45.1% | ▲ 5.7% |
By our calculation, EPS missed the estimate by 53 cents and revenue beat it by about $90 million. Net income of $448 million was up about 6.4% from $421 million a year earlier. Quarter-over-quarter changes compare with second-quarter 2026 EPS of $9.19 and revenue of $10.17 billion.
Commerce, payments and credit
- Payments. Total payment volume reached $109.0 billion, up 53% from a year earlier.
- Commerce. Gross merchandise volume rose 38% to $23.0 billion, and unique active buyers increased 22% to 94 million.
- Fintech users and credit. Monthly active users grew 29% to 93 million, and the credit portfolio rose 62% to about $18 billion.
- Margin on credit. Net interest margin after losses (NIMAL) was 20.1%, down 90 basis points from a year earlier.
- Currency. Revenue grew 41% on a foreign-exchange-neutral basis, against 45% as reported.
AI and partnerships
- AI Advisor. About 56,000 sellers now use the tool, almost four times the number from three months earlier.
- Engage+. The company launched its AI features across six sites.
- Fintech assistant. The fintech AI assistant handled 19 million conversations in September.
- Netflix. A Netflix partnership will join the company's connected TV offering in early 2027.
What to watch
- Profit conversion. Whether operating income and net income catch up with revenue growth of 45%.
- Credit quality. How the margin on a credit portfolio of about $18 billion holds after the 90 basis point decline in NIMAL.
- AI adoption. Seller uptake of AI Advisor and Engage+ after the rollout across six sites.
- Related coverage. See our reports on Wayfair, Ibotta, Upwork and Palantir.
Sources: Results are from MercadoLibre's Nov. 4 third-quarter report. Estimates are consensus figures. The prior-year and second-quarter 2026 comparison figures are from the company's earlier releases. Items labeled by our calculation are our own arithmetic. This article is informational only and is not investment advice.
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