Ticker Teardown Dossier
MercadoLibre ($MELI), taken apart the way the desk does.
MercadoLibre (MELI) Teardown Dossier · As of 2026-11-13, refreshed after Q3 2026 results
The MELI dossier is the desk's MercadoLibre teardown written out as a document, plus what a five-minute video cannot carry: the last eight quarters of MercadoLibre's own SEC filings in one table (fiscal years for a foreign filer whose quarterly reports carry no structured data), a peer comparison with numbers, the level map rebuilt from the latest close, and a link to every filing used. Rebuilt after each quarterly print.
Look inside before you buy
1,975 words · about 9 min to read · 10 sections · data as of 13 November 2026 · last refreshed after Q3 2026 results
Table of contents
- What is in this dossier
- What this is not
- 1. The teardown
- The setup
- What it is
- The quarter: november 4 release
- Commerce
- Fintech
- The margin
- The case against: same filing
- Valuation: our arithmetic
- The chart: Friday's close
- The verdict
- 2. What changed since it was written
- 3. The filings: the last eight quarters
- 4. Valuation against the peers
- 5. Level map
- 6. Sources
- 7. What this dossier cannot do
- More dossiers in this theme
Excerpt
1. The teardown
Written 2026-11-14, with prices as of 2026-11-13. Figures in this part are as the desk read them that day; parts 2 to 5 carry the numbers as of 2026-11-13.
The setup
MercadoLibre just grew revenue 45%, and the stock fell 12% the next day. It now sits 35% under its high of the year. Revenue reached $10.75 billion in one quarter, but operating profit went down. Is the market punishing a choice, or a crack in the model? Here is what the filing says, and the two prices that settle it.
What it is
First, what MercadoLibre is. It is the largest online marketplace in Latin America, with its own delivery network, called Envios. It also runs Mercado Pago, a digital wallet and payments business, and a lending book built on the data from both. Brazil, Mexico and Argentina are its three biggest markets. The company calls the link between shopping and banking its flywheel.
The quarter: november 4 release
The quarter, from the November 4 release. Net revenue and financial income was $10.75 billion, up 45%, and 41% without currency moves. Total payment volume was $109 billion, up 53%. Gross merchandise volume was 23 billion, up 38%. Net income was $448 million, up 6%.
Commerce
Commerce first. In Brazil, merchandise volume grew 36% without currency moves, and items sold grew 45%. Argentina grew 40%, in a weak consumer market. The company says it gained share in all three of its largest markets. Its buyers now make twelve purchases a year on the platform, against more than fifty online purchases for shoppers in richer markets. That gap is the long runway.
One table from the document
3. The filings: the last eight quarters
| USD millions, period ended | 2024-12-31 | 2025-03-31 | 2025-06-30 | 2025-09-30 | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-31 | 2026-06-30 | 2026-09-30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal period | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2026 |
| Source filing | 10-K 2025-02-21 | 10-Q 2025-05-08 | 10-Q 2025-08-05 | 10-Q 2025-10-30 | 10-K 2026-02-25 | 10-Q 2026-05-08 | 10-Q 2026-08-06 | 10-Q 2026-11-05 |
| Revenue | 6,059 | 5,935 | 6,790 | 7,409 | 8,759 | 8,845 | 10,169 | 10,750 |
| Gross margin | 45.4% | 46.7% | 45.6% | 43.3% | 43.2% | 43.7% | 40.9% | 40.8% |
| Operating income | 820.0 | 763.0 | 825.0 | 724.0 | 889.0 | 611.0 | 683.0 | 676.0 |
| Net income | 639.0 | 494.0 | 523.0 | 421.0 | 559.0 | 417.0 | 466.0 | 448.0 |
| Operating cash flow | 2,924 | 1,031 | 2,917 | 2,959 | 5,209 | 2,075 | 3,662 | 2,950 |
| Capex | -305.0 | -272.0 | -287.0 | -357.0 | -427.0 | -271.0 | -441.0 | -503.0 |
| Free cash flow | 2,619 | 759.0 | 2,630 | 2,602 | 4,782 | 1,804 | 3,221 | 2,447 |
| Cash and equivalents | 2,635 | 2,977 | 3,008 | 2,582 | 3,670 | 3,677 | 3,649 | 4,162 |
| Debt (book, excl. leases) | 5,715 | 6,433 | 7,302 | 7,840 | 9,193 | 9,927 | 10,626 | 13,190 |
| Diluted shares (M) | 50.7* | 50.7 | 50.7 | 50.7 | 50.7* | 50.7 | 50.7 | 50.7 |
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What the dossier has that the video does not
The filings themselves: revenue, gross margin, operating income, net income, operating cash flow, capex, free cash flow, cash, debt and diluted shares, quarter by quarter, each column dated with the filing it comes from. A foreign filer whose quarterly reports carry no structured data gets its fiscal years, and the dossier says so.
Never stale
Every dossier carries an "as of" date and the quarter it was last refreshed after. It is rebuilt after each print, and the desk's daily check flags any dossier left more than 45 days without a refresh. The written teardown keeps its date, and a "what changed since" section gives the move in the price and the filings since.
What is inside
- The teardown in writing: the business, the bull case, the full bear case and the verdict, dated.
- What changed since it was written: the price move and every SEC filing since.
- Eight quarters of the company's own SEC filings in one table, each column dated, with a plain read of what the table says.
- Peers with numbers: market cap, revenue growth, operating margin, EV / sales and distance from the 52-week high.
- The level map rebuilt from the latest close: where the price sits against the 52-week range and each level.
- Sources: a link to every filing and results release used.
Buy it if
- You hold or watch $MELI and want a structured read before acting.
- You want levels you can check on the chart, not an opinion.
Skip it if
- You want a buy signal. A dossier explains and maps; it does not signal.
- You want every name on the desk. The Teardown Library covers every dossier, current and future, for less than four dossiers.
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An educational research publication, not investment advice, trade signals, a managed account, or an advisory service. Nothing in it is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. See our disclosures.