MercadoLibre, Inc., known as Mercado Livre in Brazil , literally meaning "free market" in both languages, is a company of Argentine origin headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay and incorporated in Delaware in the United States that operates online marketplaces dedicated to e-commerce and online auctions.As of 2016, Mercado Libre had 174.2 million users in Latin America, making it the region's most popular e-commerce site by number of visitors.
Aside from being the leading player in Argentina's e-commerce market, it also has operations in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.In 2023, Time included Mercado Libre in the list of the 100 most influential companies in the world.
History
Mercado Libre was founded on August 2, 1999 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Founder and CEO
Mercado Libre received additional funding from JPMorgan Partners, Flatiron Partners, Goldman Sachs, GE Capital, and Banco Santander Central Hispano.
In 1999, Mercado Libre was chosen as an Endeavor company.
In September 2001, online auction company eBay purchased a 19.5% stake in the company.eBay sold its stake in Mercado Libre in 2016, but the companies continue to collaborate to expand eBay sellers into Latin America.eBay opened its first branded store on the Mercado Libre marketplace from Chile in March 2017.The following month, Mercado Libre acquired iBazar Como, the Brazilian subsidiary of eBay's earlier acquisition, iBazar S.A. In 2006, MercadoLibre.com launched new operations in Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
In August 2007, Mercado Libre became the first Latin American technology company to be listed on the NASDAQ, under the ticker MELI. Mercado Libre acquired competitor DeRemate's operations in August 2008. Mercado Libre also acquired Classified Media Group (CMG) in 2008. CMG established the Latin American e-commerce portals tucarro.com and tuinmueble.com.
In 2011, the company transitioned its platform to open source technology. The transition allowed application programming interface (API) developers to expand the platform's solutions and services. In 2013, Mercado Libre launched the MeLi Commerce Fund, dedicated to investing in technology startups that create software using Mercado Libre's APIs.
By August 2016, the fund had invested US$1.5 million in 15 companies in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Mercado Libre acquired Portal Inmobiliario, a Chilean classified ad website, in 2014. In 2015, Mercado Libre announced its acquisition of Metroscúbicos.com, the portal of Mexico-based real estate company Grupo Expansión.
In 2016, Mercado Libre relocated its Brazilian headquarters to new offices in São Paulo, Brazil. The 17,000 square meter complex, named Melicidade, held a cafeteria, auditorium, gym, beauty parlor, meeting and training rooms, and a recreation area. In March 2016, Mercado Libre announced its expansion into Córdoba, Argentina with its new software center.
However, the company announced the Córdoba offices would be closed in August 2025, citing the high cost of municipal taxes, with all staff continuing their work remotely. Mercado Libre opened its first Colombian office in Bogotá in October 2016.It was the company's fourth customer service center in Latin America, following centers in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
On June 19, 2017, Mercado Libre became a NASDAQ-100 company. In 2019, Mercado Libre opened its first distribution centers in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. In March 2020, Mercado Libre announced its new distribution centers in Chile and Colombia. In June 2020, Mercado Libre announced its new software center in Colombia. In March 2021, Mercado Libre announced an investment of $1.8 billion in its Brazilian operations.
In April 2025, Mercado Libre announced a US$2.6 billion investment in Argentina, representing a 53% increase from the previous year, as part of its regional expansion strategy across Latin America, with plans to hire 2,000 additional employees and expand its logistics network and technological capabilities.
Operations
Mercado Libre operates under five main business units. MarketPlace is its platform for users to sell products, Mercado Pago is its payment platform for online sales, Mercado Publicado is the advertising portion of Mercado Libre, Mercado Shops is a tool designed to enhance the platform's overall ecosystem, and Mercado Crédito is the company's credit line.
Mercado Libre's MarketPlace is a platform designed to match buyers and sellers. Customers bid for items or pay a set price for offered products. Items are delivered after payment, and users can provide feedback. 3,000 official stores or brands work with Mercado Libre. Mercado Libre also runs a real estate and motors division under the name Mercado Libre Classificados. Realtors pay a monthly fee to list properties and automobiles on the Mercado Libre platform.
Mercado Libre launched MercadoPago, a secure payment system, to diversify payment options. MercadoPago processed 138.7 million transactions in 2016, which was a 73% improvement from 2015. Launched in 2012, MercadoShops was designed to allow small and medium-sized companies to open virtual stores on their existing websites. The stores feature integration with social network sites.
In October 2014, a mobile app was released for MercadoPago which used a credit card reader to allow charges to be processed using a tablet or smartphone using a QR code. The company expanded MercadoPago into Colombia in July 2016. Mercado Crédito's credit process works with buyers and sellers. Rate types for credit lines are determined through a borrower profile. In September 2018, an alliance with BIND Group was announced, through which users of Mercado Pago's digital wallet could invest their available balance in units of a mutual fund structured and managed by BIND.
Sponsorships
Mercado Libre is the title sponsor of the Liga Profesional de Fútbol, having signed a deal for the 2026-2027 season, and sponsors all CONMEBOL club competitions until 2026.Mercado Libre is the personal sponsor of Argentine Formula One driver Franco Colapinto, hence the company's logo appears on the Williams and Alpine cars he has driven.
Corporate affairs
The key trends for Mercado Libre are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):
Controversies
Unauthorized access
On March 7, 2022, a cybercriminal group known as Lapsus$ gained access to the data of approximately 300,000 users. The multinational company acknowledged the incident and issued a statement saying that "no evidence was found that the infrastructure systems had been compromised or that user passwords, account balances, investments, financial information, or payment card details had been obtained."
