Interview with Mercado Libre Senior Vice President Leandro Cuccioli
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What is the background of Mercado Libre and its significance in Latin America?
We have a very solid business and we've had a solid business in periods of high inflation, of low inflation, etc. Because as long as you have great price, great convenience, the fastest shipping, people will buy from you.
That was MercadoLibre Senior Vice President Leandro Cuccioli. I'm Motley Fool producer Matt Greer. Now, MercadoLibre is a leader in the e-commerce and e-payments business. It's Latin America's largest company by market cap and is often referred to as the Amazon of Latin America. Motley Fool analyst Asit Sharma recently talked with Cuccioli about opportunity, volatility, and the business of MercadoLibre.
Hello, Fools. I'm Asit Sharma, Senior Analyst and Lead Advisor at The Motley Fool. My guest today is Leandro Cuccioli.
How has Mercado Libre achieved consistent revenue growth?
He's Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Strategy, Sustainability and Investor Relations at Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre. Leandro holds an MBA from Stanford University, and he was previously head of consumer services and social infrastructure investments at British International Investment, the UK's impact investor and development financed institution. Today, we're going to discuss MercadoLibre's third quarter 2025 results, as well as broader operational and strategic topics that are essential to understanding this dynamic business. Leandro, welcome to The Motley Fool. Thank you, Asit. It's great to be here. Wonderful. So I know you wanted to start off the conversation with a nod to the incredible streak of growth that MercadoLibre has thrown off.
So I'll let you dive right in with this 30% growth rate that we've seen for so many quarters.
Yeah, you're right.
What is the current state of e-commerce penetration in Latin America?
We think we are the only company in the world that has sustained 27 consecutive quarters of revenue growth, about 30%, in this case 39% for the third quarter of 2025. And I think it's testament to the big opportunity that we see in the region, right, that probably you have discussed with us in the past. You know, when you look at Brazil or Mexico or Argentina, our three main geographies, you see GMB or, you know, the gross volume of merchandise transacting our platform growing well above 30%, right? Ship items growing at more than 42% in Brazil. So that means that a lot of people are still coming online to buy, sometimes for the first time. You know, in Brazil, we had 29% growth in unique buyers, right?
So that's, you know, at the scale of MercadoLibre with more than 100 million unique buyers in the last 12 months is quite unique, I think, in the world to have 29% more folks coming to buy online. And the same can be said on the fintech side, because it's a region that unfortunately in the past hadn't had the access to financial services that probably in developed markets people are used to now, right? Here in Mexico, 15% of the people have a credit card. It's insane, right? Only 15%. So that explains why Mercado Pago, our fintech side of the business, continues to grow also users at a clip of around 30%, reaching 72 million monthly active users. And that's payments, savings... credit and everything that you need for a modern life right so we're very excited um you know about the third quarter but moreover we're very excited about the opportunity ahead
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How does Mercado Libre navigate economic volatility in Argentina?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the background of Mercado Libre and its significance in Latin America?
0:03–0:59
2
How has Mercado Libre achieved consistent revenue growth?
0:59–1:56
3
What is the current state of e-commerce penetration in Latin America?
1:56–3:58
4
How does Mercado Libre navigate economic volatility in Argentina?
3:58–5:59
5
What role does fintech play in Mercado Libre's business model?
5:59–7:58
6
How is Mercado Libre leveraging technology for operational efficiency?
7:58–9:42
7
What are the cultural values that drive Mercado Libre's success?
9:42–11:04
8
What future opportunities does Mercado Libre see in the market?
11:04–22:02