MELI Q3 2020 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: MercadoLibre Q3 2020 Earnings Call
• Date: November 5, 2020 at 3:00 AM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Federico Sandler (Investor Relations Officer)
  • Pedro Arnt (Chief Financial Officer)
  • Osvaldo Gimenez (CEO of Mercado Pago)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Consolidated net revenues for Q3 2020 were $1.12B, representing an 85% year-on-year increase in U.S. dollars and 149% on an FX-neutral basis.
• Gross profit for the quarter was $480M with a gross margin of 43%, down from 47% in Q3 2019 primarily due to higher shipping operation costs as a percentage of revenues.
• Operating expenses were $397M, up 8.4% year-on-year in dollars and represented 35.6% of revenues compared to 60.7% in Q3 2019, reflecting marketing efficiency gains.
• The company recorded financing expenses of $24.5M and a foreign exchange loss of $30.4M related to Argentine peso repurchase operations.
• Interest income was $24.6M, down 13.7% year-on-year, and reported net income for the quarter was $15M.
• The disclosure included both GAAP and non-GAAP measures with a reconciliation available on the press release and investor website.

Demand, GMV & Category Mix

• Consolidated GMV growth accelerated to 117% year-on-year on an FX-neutral basis during Q3 2020.
• Brazil GMV grew 74% year-on-year and Argentina grew 242% year-on-year on an FX-neutral basis, while Mexico delivered GMV growth above 100% year-on-year on an FX-neutral basis.
• Live listings surpassed 304 million during the quarter, exceeding the 300 million milestone.
• Unique buyers reached an all-time high of 35 million, including 2 million new unique buyers added in Brazil during the quarter.
• Consumer electronics accelerated to approximately 100% year-on-year growth consolidated, and consumer packaged goods grew 181% year-on-year consolidated.
• The company reported buyers diversifying purchases across more verticals, which management cited as increasing purchase frequency and engagement.