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    Irma Sgarz • Goldman Sachs

    Irma Sgarz's questions to MercadoLibre Inc (MELI) leadership

    Irma Sgarz's questions to MercadoLibre Inc (MELI) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Irma Sgarz from Goldman Sachs asked if the quarter's high sales and marketing spend was an outlier and questioned the potential for AI to improve the efficacy of both internal ad spend and the ad inventory offered to clients.

    Answer

    EVP & CFO Martín de los Santos attributed the increased spend to a combination of one-off, high-profile campaigns for Mercado Pago and the new free shipping policy, alongside ongoing investments in user acquisition. Commerce President Ariel Szarfsztejn added that they are bullish on AI's potential, citing its use in creating and testing multiple ad creatives and helping sellers optimize their ad bidding and onboarding.

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    Irma Sgarz's questions to MercadoLibre Inc (MELI) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Irma Sgarz asked for details on the drivers of the strong growth in 1P (first-party) GMV, the contribution of specific categories like supermarket, and the margin evolution for the 1P business, including its path to breakeven.

    Answer

    Ariel Szarfsztejn, EVP of Commerce, explained that 1P GMV growth was broad-based across multiple categories, driven by improved selection, pricing, and automation. He highlighted that the supermarket category grew 65% year-over-year, faster than the marketplace average, due to better selection, navigation, and an increased share of 1P sales, which offer superior unit economics. He confirmed that margins in the supermarket category are improving.

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    Irma Sgarz's questions to MercadoLibre Inc (MELI) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Irma Sgarz inquired about the margin outlook for Argentina given its strong performance and whether the contribution margin compression in Brazil was primarily due to investments in the credit card business.

    Answer

    Martin de Los Santos (CFO) confirmed optimism for Argentina, citing a strong recovery with 18% item growth in Q4 and a 4x increase in its profitable credit book. He noted Argentina's higher-margin profile positively impacts consolidated margins. For Brazil, he affirmed that the margin compression was mostly a result of conscious, strategic investments in the credit card business, noting that older cohorts are already becoming profitable.

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    Irma Sgarz's questions to MercadoLibre Inc (MELI) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Irma Sgarz inquired about the drivers behind the accelerated growth of MercadoLibre's credit card portfolio in Q3, asking which geographies or customer cohorts were targeted. She also asked for more detail on the strategy of extending larger, longer-duration loans to lower-risk users and why the company isn't targeting higher-risk classes.

    Answer

    Osvaldo Giménez, an executive, explained that the Net Interest Margin (NIMAL) of 13% was affected by three factors: the ramp-up of the lower-spread credit card business (now 39% of the portfolio), a strategic move upmarket to lower-risk customers with longer-duration loans, and higher provisioning due to accelerated portfolio growth. He noted that asset quality remains solid. Regarding credit cards, he expressed excitement about the evolution in Brazil and Mexico, highlighting that early cohorts are already profitable and drive higher user engagement and transactionality across the ecosystem.

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