MercadoLibre's Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

Core Insights - MercadoLibre (MELI) reported Q4 2024 earnings of $12.61 per share, exceeding Zacks Consensus Estimate by 73.69% and increasing 288% year over year [1] - Revenues rose 24% year over year to$ 6.05 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.7% [1] Revenue Breakdown - Total revenues were driven by commerce and fintech, growing 44.4% to $3.5 billion and 28.6% to$ 2.5 billion respectively [2] - Brazil's net revenues reached $3.31 billion (51.8% of total), up 37.7% year over year; Argentina generated$ 1.3 billion (21.6% of total), growing 31%; Mexico's revenues were $1.34 billion (22.2% of total), soaring 43% [5] - Other countries contributed$ 269 million (4.4% of total), reflecting a 40.1% increase year over year [6] Key Metrics - Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) was $14.5 billion, an 8% increase year over year, but missed consensus by 1.08% [7] - Total Payment Volume (TPV) surged 33% year over year to$ 58.9 billion, driven by Mercado Pago [7] - Total payment transactions increased 43.3% year over year to $3.32 billion [8] Operating Performance - Gross margin contracted 110 basis points to 45.4%; operating expenses rose 12.5% year over year to$ 1.92 billion, but as a percentage of revenues, it contracted 710 bps to 31.8% [9] - Operating margin expanded 590 bps to 13.5%, attributed to strong execution and cost management [10] Financial Position - As of December 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents were $2.63 billion, up from$ 2.16 billion as of September 30, 2024; short-term investments were $1.05 billion; net debt stood at$ 2.04 billion [11]