MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at the engine behind one of Latin America's biggest success stories, and honestly, the story isn't just e-commerce anymore. After a decade watching these models mature, I can tell you MercadoLibre, Inc.'s real power is its integrated flywheel: linking 72 million active Mercado Pago users to a platform processing $71 billion in Total Payment Volume and managing an $11.0 billion credit book. This isn't just selling stuff; it's building a financial utility that captures value at every turn, from commissions on $16.5 billion in GMV to growing ad revenue 56% YoY in Q3 2025. If you want to see exactly how this ecosystem converts logistics muscle and data into revenue across all nine building blocks, dig into the canvas below.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the critical alliances that underpin MercadoLibre, Inc.'s (MELI) massive ecosystem as of late 2025. These aren't just casual agreements; they are structural components that allow MercadoLibre to dominate commerce and fintech across Latin America. Honestly, the sheer scale of their financial and logistics integration is what sets them apart.

Strategic Logistics Partners for Last-Mile Delivery

While MercadoLibre's own Mercado Envios network is the backbone-handling an estimated 95% of deliveries in Brazil via its own infrastructure as of 2024 data-strategic sharing is key for bulky items. The recent alliance with Grupo Casas Bahia is a prime example of leveraging partner expertise for specific segments.

• Casas Bahia manages the logistics for large products like appliances, where they have greater experience.
• MercadoLibre's internal logistics network in Brazil includes over 4,600 operations and a last-mile fleet with over 2,000 electric vehicles (2024 data).

Financial Institutions for Funding the US$11.0 Billion Credit Portfolio

The partnerships here are less about external banks funding the entire portfolio and more about the structural integration that allows Mercado Pago to act as a primary financial institution for millions. The growth in the Mercado Crédito arm is staggering, driven by the platform's own underwriting capabilities and user base expansion.

As of the third quarter of 2025, the total credit portfolio reached US$11.0 billion, marking an 83% year-over-year increase. The total number of users in this credit portfolio surpassed 27 million in Q3 '25. The credit card segment, a key driver, saw its portfolio grow 104% year-over-year to $4.8 billion, making up 47% of the total credit book in Q3 2025.

Major Retailers like Casas Bahia for B2B and Large Appliance Sales

The long-term partnership inked in October 2025 with Grupo Casas Bahia is a direct move to capture market share in large consumer goods in Brazil, MercadoLibre's main market. This deal puts Casas Bahia's core portfolio-appliances, electronics, and furniture-directly onto the MercadoLibre platform, effectively countering competitors in that segment.

The partnership allows both entities access to each other's logistics networks, which is a smart way to fill capability gaps; Casas Bahia handles the big stuff, and MercadoLibre handles the smaller items better. To be fair, the companies did not disclose any specific financial terms or sales projections related to this alliance.

Google Ad Manager/AdMob for Expanding Off-Platform Advertising Reach

Mercado Ads is aggressively building out its full-funnel advertising ecosystem, moving beyond just retail media. The alliance with Google Partners is crucial here, as it extends Mercado Ads' reach across Google's affiliate network, taking their data signals off-platform. This is about leveraging external scale to boost awareness metrics.

Content Providers (Roku, HBO) for Mercado Ads Inventory Expansion

The expansion into Connected TV (CTV) inventory via partnerships with Roku and HBO Max signals a major push into branding campaigns, joining existing inventory from Disney+ and Mercado Play. This strategy aims to capture a larger share of the growing Retail Media market, which eMarketer projects will hit US$2.64 billion in Latin America in 2025, a 44.5% increase. Mercado Ads already commands about 60% of the Retail Media segment in the region.

Here's a quick look at the inventory these new partners bring to the table as of late 2025:

The integration with Roku, which has the number one TV operating system in Mexico, and HBO Max, a leading streaming platform, allows Mercado Ads to offer premium environments for branding, aiming for full-funnel impact from awareness to conversion. If onboarding these new inventory sources causes any reporting lag, churn risk for performance-focused advertisers rises.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core engine room of MercadoLibre, Inc. as of late 2025. These aren't just tasks; they are the massive, interconnected operations that keep the entire ecosystem moving, especially given the aggressive investment cycles we've seen this year. Honestly, the scale they are operating at is what separates them from almost everyone else in the region.

Developing and maintaining the core e-commerce platform

This activity focuses on keeping the marketplace intuitive, fast, and attractive for both buyers and sellers. The platform's health is directly reflected in transaction volume and user engagement metrics. We see this momentum continuing, even with macroeconomic headwinds in certain markets like Argentina.

Key platform activity metrics from the third quarter of 2025 show significant scale:

• Items sold rose to 635 million units, marking a 39% YoY Growth.
• Unique buyers across the region rose 26% YoY to almost 77 million.
• Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) reached $16.5 billion, up 28% in USD YoY.

Operating the proprietary logistics network (Mercado Envios)

Mercado Envios is the physical manifestation of MercadoLibre's competitive moat. They've been pouring capital into this to ensure delivery promises are met, which directly feeds back into buyer conversion and retention. It's about speed at scale, plain and simple.

The operational performance in Q3 2025 demonstrates this focus:

• 80% of fast deliveries were completed within 48hs.
• In Mexico, the company managed 75% of shipments regionally in Q2 2025.
• The network is being regionalized, with plans to double fulfillment centers in Brazil by the end of 2025.

Underwriting and managing the US$11.0 billion credit book

This is where the fintech arm, Mercado Pago, drives significant value by leveraging the first-party data from the commerce side. Extending credit responsibly is a massive undertaking, but the payoff is deep customer lock-in and high-margin revenue. The credit portfolio is definitely a major focus area for investment.

Processing over US$71 billion in Total Payment Volume (TPV)

The TPV represents the sheer financial throughput of the entire ecosystem, covering both marketplace transactions and off-platform merchant payments. Hitting this level shows the platform is becoming the default transaction layer for many in Latin America. The growth here is a direct indicator of Mercado Pago's increasing ubiquity.

Expanding digital advertising solutions (Mercado Ads)

Mercado Ads is crucial for margin expansion, using the platform's rich first-party data to offer targeted advertising both on and off-platform, especially after the integration with Google Ad Manager began in April 2025. This is a high-margin revenue stream that helps offset logistics investment costs.

Here's a look at the financial performance of the key activities in the latest reported quarter:

The advertising segment saw Display & Video revenue almost double year-over-year in Q3 2025, which is a strong signal about the maturity of their ad tech stack. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets that power MercadoLibre, Inc.'s ecosystem right now, late in 2025. These aren't just line items; they are the engines driving both the commerce and fintech sides of the business.

Proprietary technology platform and AI models form a critical, non-physical resource. The internal AI developer platform, Verdi, built using models like GPT-4o, is key for internal efficiency. This platform is designed to lower cognitive load for the organization's developers, who manage over 30,000 microservices. One of its most impactful applications is customer service mediation, where Verdi can autonomously manage customer service decisions valued at $450,000,000 USD annually, leading to a reported cost reduction of 26% in that area. This focus on internal AI development helps ensure fast iteration while guaranteeing scalability and security across the platform.

The physical backbone is the extensive fulfillment and logistics network across Latin America, branded as Mercado Envíos. This network is constantly being scaled up to maintain a competitive moat. For instance, in Brazil, the company announced plans to grow from 10 distribution centers to 21 by the end of 2025, part of a larger $6.4 billion investment plan for that country in 2025. This scale allows for impressive delivery speeds; in Q3 2025, total fulfillment capacity increased 41% year-over-year, and 80% of fast deliveries were completed within 48hs. The company is actively regionalizing this capacity, with 63% of new operations planned outside of São Paulo.

The sheer volume of transactional activity generates an invaluable massive user data pool. This data fuels everything from ad targeting to credit underwriting models. As of the third quarter of 2025, the platform served almost 77 million unique buyers across the region, representing a 26% year-over-year growth in that user base. This data advantage is what helps MercadoLibre gain share in the digital advertising market.

The financial arm's scale is represented by its lending capacity, specifically the US$11.0 billion credit portfolio for lending through Mercado Crédito. This portfolio reflects aggressive growth, increasing 83% year-over-year as of Q3 2025. The total number of users in this credit portfolio surpassed 27 million in that same quarter. The confidence to grow this portfolio is underpinned by the increasing accuracy of their underwriting models.

Finally, the engagement across the fintech ecosystem is captured by the 72 million monthly active Mercado Pago users as of Q3 2025, a 29% year-over-year increase. This user base is highly engaged; Assets Under Management grew 89% year-over-year to $15.1 billion in Q3 2025. The Mercado Pago credit card is a major driver of this engagement, with its portfolio increasing 104% year-over-year to reach $4.8 billion in Q3 2025.

Here's a quick look at the latest reported scale for these key user and financial metrics:

These resources aren't static; they are designed to feed each other. Finance: draft the Q4 2025 capital allocation plan focusing on logistics expansion by January 15th.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core benefits MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) delivers to its users, which is what locks them into the ecosystem. It's about making commerce and finance seamless across Latin America.

Integrated ecosystem: E-commerce, payments, and credit in one place.

The value here is the network effect of having commerce, logistics, and fintech deeply intertwined. For instance, the Mercado Pago credit card is now the most used credit card in the marketplace in Brazil, showing how the financial arm drives commerce usage. The overall financial segment is massive; in the third quarter of 2025, Net Revenue from Mercado Pago reached $3.2 billion, and Total Payment Volume (TPV) surpassed $71 billion USD in that same quarter.

The scale of the integrated financial services is clear in the balance sheet growth:

This integration means that as you buy more, you build a financial profile, which in turn unlocks more credit.

Financial inclusion for the unbanked via Mercado Pago digital accounts.

Mercado Pago is rapidly expanding its user base, providing digital accounts where many in the region previously had none. Monthly Active Users (MAUs) for Mercado Pago accelerated to 72 million in the third quarter of 2025, a 29% year-over-year increase. The value proposition is reinforced by user satisfaction; the Net Promoter Score (NPS) reached record highs in Brazil, driven by product enhancements like competitive yields on deposits.

Fast and reliable shipping: 80% of deliveries within 48 hours.

Speed is a key differentiator against offline retail and competitors. Mercado Envios, the logistics division, helps deliver 80% of orders within 48 hours. Investments in fulfillment capacity are paying off with service level improvements across the board. For example, in Argentina, the share of same- and next-day deliveries increased nearly 7 percentage points year-over-year in Q3 2025. This logistics strength directly fuels e-commerce engagement.

Low-friction buying via reduced free shipping threshold (e.g., R$19 in Brazil).

The strategic reduction of the free shipping threshold in Brazil is a direct move to lower the barrier to purchase. The threshold was slashed from R$79 to just R$19. This aggressive move immediately translated into buyer behavior changes in Brazil:

• Unique buyers in Brazil grew 29% YoY in Q3 2025.
• This was the largest quarterly addition of unique buyers ever for the company.
• Items sold growth in Brazil accelerated to 42% YoY in Q3 2025.

This strategy is designed to increase purchase frequency and retention, which is defintely the goal.

Access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Mercado Crédito extends financing to both consumers and SMEs, leveraging the transaction data from the marketplace. The overall credit portfolio grew 83% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reaching $11.0 billion. This growth is happening while maintaining underwriting discipline, with first payment defaults in Brazil reaching an all-time low.

Here's a quick look at the scale of the lending business as of late 2025:

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how MercadoLibre, Inc. keeps its massive user base engaged across commerce and fintech. The relationship strategy is a blend of frictionless digital scale and targeted, high-value financial interaction. It's about making the platform indispensable, day in and day out.

Automated, self-service digital platforms for buyers and sellers.

The core relationship is built on high-volume, low-friction digital interaction. For buyers, the platform is constantly tuned for ease of use; for instance, the investment in lowering the free shipping threshold in Brazil drove items sold to accelerate from 26% the previous quarter to 42% in Q3 2025. This self-service model scales because the platform handles the complexity. By Q3 2025, MercadoLibre served 76.8 million unique active buyers on the commerce side, up from almost 67 million in Q1 2025. The sheer volume of transactions-635.2 million items sold in Q3 2025-demands automation for everything from order tracking to basic dispute resolution. For sellers, tools that enhance visibility and efficiency, like search algorithm adjustments in Brazil, are designed to keep them active without constant direct support.

High-touch credit card and loan servicing for FinTech users.

Where the relationship shifts from self-service to high-touch is in Mercado Pago's financial offerings. This is where the company moves from being a marketplace to being a digital bank. The credit portfolio has expanded significantly to support this, reaching $11.02 billion by the end of Q3 2025. This growth is directly tied to the number of users who trust Mercado Pago with credit, which surpassed 27 million total credit users in Q3 2025. The credit card product, which is the largest part of the portfolio, requires robust underwriting and servicing, definitely moving beyond simple automation. The focus here is on driving loyalty through access to capital that traditional banks often withhold.

Community-building via seller tools and support for SMEs.

MercadoLibre actively cultivates its seller community, especially Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), by embedding financial services into their operational success. This isn't just about selling; it's about business financing. Back in 2024, Mercado Pago extended credit to 22 million small businesses in Brazil alone, with half of those being first-time borrowers. Across the entire region, the company granted $24 billion in credit to SMEs and entrepreneurs in 2024. This deep integration into the seller's working capital forms a powerful, sticky relationship, making the platform a key partner in their growth trajectory.

Digital account (Mercado Pago) becoming the primary financial relationship (principality).

The ultimate goal is for the Mercado Pago digital account to become the user's main financial hub. The metric for this is called principality, defined as clients directing at least 50% of their income through the account. The company saw tangible success in deepening this relationship in late 2025, reporting an 11-point improvement in Brazil and a 2-point improvement in Mexico for principality in Q3 2025. This shift is supported by strong engagement metrics across the fintech ecosystem, with Assets Under Management (AUM) growing to $15.1 billion in Q3 2025.

Here's a quick look at how the user base has grown across the commerce and fintech sides through the first three quarters of 2025:

The growth in MAU has been consistent, with fintech users growing over 30% year-over-year for six consecutive quarters as of Q1 2025. Also, note the 83.2% year-over-year expansion of the credit portfolio to $11.02 billion in Q3 2025, which is a direct result of users trusting Mercado Pago with more complex financial relationships.

Finance: draft the Q4 2025 cash flow projection incorporating the Q3 credit portfolio growth rate by Monday.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how MercadoLibre, Inc. gets its value proposition-the seamless integration of commerce and fintech-out to its millions of users across Latin America. The channels here are the digital and physical arteries of the entire ecosystem, and the numbers from the third quarter of 2025 show they're pumping hard.

MercadoLibre Marketplace (Web/App) for e-commerce

The core e-commerce platform remains the primary entry point for many users. Investments in fulfillment, like lowering the free shipping threshold in Brazil, directly translate into higher engagement on the web and app. For instance, in Brazil during Q3 2025, this move caused items sold to accelerate by 42% year-over-year.

Here's a look at the scale of the marketplace channel through Q3 2025:

Mercado Pago App for digital financial services

The Mercado Pago App is the digital hub where users manage money, access credit, and pay. Its reach is measured by active users and the sheer volume of money flowing through it. The platform is successfully driving financial inclusion, with its credit portfolio expanding rapidly.

The fintech channel's performance in Q3 2025 was strong:

• Monthly Active Users (MAUs): Reached 72 million, a 29% year-over-year increase.
• Total Payment Volume (TPV): Hit $71.2 billion, growing 41% year-over-year in USD.
• TPV (FX-Neutral): Grew 54% year-over-year.
• Credit Portfolio: Expanded 83% year-over-year to $11.0 billion.

Mercado Envios logistics network for fulfillment and delivery

Mercado Envios is the physical backbone supporting the e-commerce channel, crucial for reducing friction in online shopping. The company continues to invest heavily in expanding this network to maintain its competitive edge in speed and coverage. You can see the efficiency gains coming through in the cost structure, which is always a good sign of scale.

Key logistics channel statistics as of late 2025:

• Network Coverage: The logistics network now ships 95% of items sold.
• Capacity: Total fulfillment center capacity increased by 41% year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• Delivery Speed (Q3 2024 data, indicative of network capability): 75% of deliveries were made in less than 48 hours.
• Cost Efficiency (Brazil Q3 2025): Unit shipping costs fell 8% quarter-over-quarter in local currency.
• Cost Efficiency (Mexico Q3 2025): Unit shipping cost in fulfillment reached its lowest-ever level, down more than 12% year-over-year in local currency.

MPOS devices for off-platform merchant payment processing

This channel extends Mercado Pago's reach beyond the marketplace, enabling merchants to accept digital payments offline, which is key for digitizing cash transactions. The growth here is particularly strong in Mexico and Argentina, showing the utility of the MPOS devices for small and medium-sized businesses.

Here are the numbers for the Acquiring business, which includes MPOS:

Merchants using these MPOS devices in Mexico can also access credit lines, tying this channel directly back into the Mercado Credito offering.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core user base for MercadoLibre, Inc. as of late 2025, which is segmented across its commerce and fintech ecosystems across Latin America.

The platform serves mass market e-commerce buyers across 18 countries in Latin America. This segment is showing consistent growth; unique buyers across the region reached almost 77 million in the third quarter of 2025, up from nearly 70.8 million in the second quarter of 2025 and almost 67 million in the first quarter of 2025. For context, e-commerce penetration in Latin America is still only around 15% compared to more mature markets. Brazil remains the largest driver, where unique buyers grew 29% year-over-year in Q3 2025, the fastest pace since the first quarter of fiscal 2021. To keep this segment engaged, MercadoLibre, Inc. is investing heavily, such as lowering the free shipping threshold in Brazil, which led to items sold accelerating 42% year-over-year in that country in Q3 2025. In Mexico, the firm is also investing heavily, with plans to invest over US $2.5 billion in 2025 alone to support logistics expansion.

The second major segment is the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs who use the marketplace as sellers. MercadoLibre, Inc. reports having 1 million active sellers across its 18 operating countries as of Q3 2025. These sellers benefit from the platform's scale and logistics network, which saw items sold region-wide increase 39% year-over-year to 635 million units in Q3 2025. For the fintech side, Mercado Pago extended credit to 22 million small businesses in Brazil in 2024, with half of those being first-time borrowers, demonstrating a deep reach into the SME financing gap.

A critical segment for MercadoLibre, Inc.'s fintech arm, Mercado Pago, is the unbanked and underbanked population seeking digital financial access. Monthly Active Users (MAUs) for Mercado Pago accelerated to 72 million in Q3 2025, a 29% year-over-year increase. This growth follows 68 million MAUs in Q2 2025 and 64 million in Q1 2025. The company is successfully monetizing this base through credit offerings; the total credit portfolio grew 83% year-over-year to $11.0 billion in Q3 2025. Furthermore, Assets Under Management (AUM) grew 89% year-over-year to $15.1 billion in the same quarter, showing strong adoption of savings products. Total Payment Volume (TPV) for the fintech segment reached $71.2 billion in Q3 2025, up 41% year-over-year.

Finally, large brands and retailers are a key segment, primarily served through the Mercado Ads business, which leverages the platform's massive user traffic for distribution and marketing. Advertising revenue in Q3 2025 saw its foreign exchange neutral growth accelerate to 63% year-over-year, driven by Brazil and Mexico. As of Q2 2025, the advertising business was generating roughly $1 billion in revenue and was a profit center for the company. The company notes it is the third largest regional platform in terms of 'eyeballs' in Latin America, which is the core value proposition for these larger advertisers seeking targeted reach.

Here's a quick look at the scale of the user base driving these segments as of mid-to-late 2025:

The platform's appeal to SMEs is also seen in the credit space; in 2024, Mercado Pago granted $24 billion in credit to SMEs and entrepreneurs.

You can see the ecosystem's depth by looking at the engagement metrics:

• Items sold in Q3 2025 reached 635 million units, a 39% YoY growth.
• Total Payment Volume (TPV) in Q3 2025 reached $71.2 billion, up 41% YoY.
• Assets Under Management (AUM) in Q3 2025 grew 89% YoY to $15.1 billion.
• The credit card portfolio represented 47% of the total credit book in Q3 2025.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're analyzing the cost side of MercadoLibre, Inc.'s (MELI) business as of late 2025, and honestly, it's a story of heavy, strategic spending to lock in market dominance. The cost structure reflects an aggressive investment cycle across logistics and fintech, which naturally puts pressure on short-term margins.

Logistics and Fulfillment Costs

Logistics is a massive cost center, but scale efficiencies are starting to show through. In Brazil, for instance, the company is executing a major infrastructure build-out, planning to expand its Fulfillment Distribution Centers from 10 units to 21 by the end of 2025, part of a R$23 billion investment plan in the country. This expansion is aimed at increasing same-day delivery coverage. Despite the heavy investment, operational discipline is improving in key areas; unit shipping costs in Brazil saw an 8% sequential decline in Q3 2025, and fulfillment unit shipping costs in Mexico hit their lowest-ever in local currency terms. While the specific 41% YoY capacity increase you mentioned isn't explicitly detailed in the latest filings, the planned doubling of fulfillment centers clearly signals a massive capacity push.

Here's a look at the operating expense breakdown for Q3 2025:

Strategic Investments in Free Shipping

The push for user engagement, especially in Brazil, involves absorbing significant shipping costs. Management has been clear: they are not managing for short-term margin, but for long-term value creation. The reduction of the free shipping threshold in Brazil, from R$79 to just R$19, is a prime example of this. This move directly impacted margins, contributing to a gross margin decline of 105 basis points to 45.6% in the quarter. However, this aggressive subsidy is working to drive volume; in Brazil, items sold accelerated to 42% YoY in Q3 2025, up from 26% the prior quarter. This is a calculated trade-off to cement market share.

Technology and Product Development Expenses

Technology is viewed as a key competitive advantage, so spending remains high. For the twelve months ending September 30, 2025, Research and Development expenses totaled $2.197B, representing a 4.22% increase year-over-year. Looking just at Q3 2025, Product and Technology Development expenses were $1,685 million, up from $1,422 million in Q3 2024. This reflects continued investment in the ecosystem, including Agentic AI tools for sellers and fintech users, and an increase in headcount of 16% in this function over the first half of 2025.

Credit Loss Provisions on the US$11.0 Billion Loan Book

The rapid expansion of the Mercado Crédito portfolio is a major cost driver due to inherent credit risk. As of September 30, 2025, the credit portfolio stood at $11.0B, having grown 83% YoY in Q3 2025. The cost of this growth is managed through provisions for doubtful accounts. For the three-month period ended September 30, 2025, the company recognized a loss of $7 million in Provision for doubtful accounts as expected credit losses. This contrasts with the second quarter of 2025, where the provision for doubtful accounts grew to $690 million. The profitability metric that factors in these losses, Net Interest Margin After Losses (NIMAL), stood at 21.0% in Q3 2025, down from 23% in Q2 2025, showing the immediate impact of credit expansion costs.

Marketing and Advertising to Drive User Acquisition

Driving user acquisition and engagement requires substantial marketing outlay. Sales and Marketing expenses for Q3 2025 reached $2,183 million, a significant jump from $1,555 million in the same quarter last year. In dollar terms, this represented a nearly 50% surge in Q2 2025 as the company pushed discounts to counter inflation-hit consumer demand. Management has kept the overall Marketing Spend steady at approximately 11% of revenues, but they are strategically shifting spend; for example, affiliate channel investment was up 4x year-over-year to target younger users. The company is definitely spending to grow its user base, which hit 75 million active buyers in Q3 2025.

• Sales and Marketing as a percentage of revenue: Held steady at approximately 11%.
• Affiliate channel investment: Up 4x year-over-year in Q3 2025.
• Total Marketing/Advertising spend (Q3 2025): $2,183 million.
• Total Marketing/Advertising spend (Q3 2024): $1,555 million.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core income drivers for MercadoLibre, Inc. as of late 2025. Honestly, it's a story of two massive engines-e-commerce and fintech-both firing on all cylinders, though with different margin profiles.

The overall top line for the third quarter of 2025 was US$7.4 billion in net revenue and financial income, marking the 27th consecutive quarter of growth above 30% year-over-year (YoY). This growth is balanced across the ecosystem, but the revenue streams themselves show distinct contributions.

Here's a quick look at the key financial figures from Q3 2025:

The e-commerce side generates revenue through various mechanisms tied to the US$16.5 billion GMV achieved in Q3 2025. While the specific commission and fee breakdown isn't itemized against the GMV, we know that the commerce segment generated $4.17 billion in net revenue in the quarter. It's worth noting that this was achieved despite headwinds, as lower seller shipping charges actually reduced shipping revenue.

FinTech transaction fees and interest income from the credit portfolio are a major component. The credit portfolio expanded significantly, rising 83.2% YoY to $11.02 billion in Q3 2025. This growth in lending directly fuels interest income. Furthermore, the Net Interest Margin After Losses (NIMAL) for the quarter was 21%, though it declined 320 basis points YoY, primarily due to higher funding costs in Argentina. The Fintech segment's net revenue reached $3.24 billion in the quarter.

Advertising revenue is a high-growth stream. Mercado Ads revenue rose 56% YoY on a reported basis, and even stronger at 63% YoY on a foreign exchange (FX)-neutral basis in Q3 2025. This growth is fueled by investments in expanding inventory and leveraging first-party data.

First-party (1P) retail sales are an area of continued investment, mentioned alongside expanding free shipping and ramping up credit card offerings as key drivers of growth.

You can see the revenue segmentation like this:

• E-commerce commissions and fees are derived from the $16.5 billion GMV.
• FinTech revenue streams include transaction fees and interest income from the $11.02 billion credit portfolio.
• Net revenue for the quarter was $7.41 billion.
• Advertising revenue grew 56% YoY.
• First-party (1P) retail sales are a specific focus area within the commerce operations.

Finance: draft a quick calculation showing the implied take-rate on GMV using the $4.17B commerce revenue and $16.5B GMV for Q3 2025 by next Tuesday.