MercadoLibre MELI continued to post robust marketplace growth in the second quarter of 2026, with gross merchandise volume (GMV) reaching $21.9 billion, up 44% year over year and 36% on an FX-neutral basis, while items sold rose 45% to 795.4 million. The performance was supported by rising buyer activity and deeper engagement, suggesting multiple levers remain available to sustain GMV momentum.
Brazil remains the primary growth engine, with FX-neutral GMV up 39% year over year and items sold rising 56%. Items sold per unique active buyer increased 19%, while conversion improved 1.1 percentage points year over year, underscoring the sustained impact of the lower free-shipping threshold. New buyer cohorts are purchasing more items across more categories and showing higher retention. Active sellers grew 29%, supported by PIX discounts and lower take rates in selected categories, strengthening selection and price competitiveness.
Beyond Brazil, growth avenues remain visible. Mexico generated 26% FX-neutral GMV growth despite tax reform and a weaker macroeconomic environment. Meanwhile, MercadoLibre is expanding supply into categories such as pharmacy. Argentina delivered 38% FX-neutral GMV growth despite a challenging consumption environment.
Cross-border trade adds another growth layer, with FX-neutral GMV rising 60% and triple-digit growth in Argentina, Brazil and other markets. MercadoLibre’s China fulfillment center also gained momentum, with volume rising 170% sequentially, helping broaden product selection and price points.
With unique active buyers reaching 89.3 million and items sold per buyer up 14% overall, MercadoLibre’s multi-market GMV trajectory reflects strong operational momentum and further room for expansion across Latin America over the longer term.
How Does MercadoLibre Stack Up Against Its Industry?
MercadoLibre, which competes with Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Sea Limited SE, has seen its shares decline 6% over the past three months compared with the industry’s 1% rise. While Amazon shares have climbed 3.1%, Sea Limited has fallen 9.3% in the aforementioned period.
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What Does MercadoLibre's Current Valuation Suggest?
From a valuation standpoint, MercadoLibre's forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 33.24, higher than the industry average of 20.11. However, the stock is trading below its 12-month median level of 34.18.
MercadoLibre is trading at a premium to Amazon (forward 12-month P/E of 22.55) and Sea Limited (18.90).
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What Do Earnings Estimates Signal for MercadoLibre?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MercadoLibre’s current fiscal-year sales implies 44.7% year-over-year growth, while the consensus estimate for earnings per share suggests a 2.8% decline. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 29% rise in sales and 43.7% growth in earnings.
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MELI currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).