Mercado Libre facts for kids
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Former headquarters in Saavedra, Buenos Aires, July 2021
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Native name
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| Traded as |
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| Industry | E-commerce |
| Founded | August 2, 1999 |
| Founder | Marcos Galperin |
| Headquarters | , |
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Area served
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Key people
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Giancarlo Moreira(board of directors)}} |
| Brands |
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| Services | Online marketplace and e-commerce payment system |
| Revenue |  US$20.78 billion (2024) |
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Operating income
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US$2.63 billion (2024) |
| US$1.91 billion (2024) |
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| Total assets | US$25.20 billion (2024) |
| Total equity | US$4.35 billion (2024) |
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Number of employees
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84,207 (2024) |
MercadoLibre, Inc. is a very large company from Argentina. Its name means "free market" in Spanish. In Portuguese, it's known as Mercado Livre. It's like a huge online shopping mall where people can buy and sell all sorts of things. The company's main office is in Montevideo, Uruguay, and it also has a legal base in the United States.
MercadoLibre is super popular in Latin America. Back in 2016, it had over 174 million users. This made it the most visited online shopping site in the region. It operates in 18 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and many others. In 2023, TIME magazine even named MercadoLibre one of the 100 most important companies in the world!
Contents
How MercadoLibre Started
MercadoLibre was founded on August 2, 1999, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The person who started it, Marcos Galperin, was a student at Stanford University at the time. He got money from different investors to help his idea grow.
In September 2001, another big online auction company called eBay bought a part of MercadoLibre. Even though eBay later sold its share in 2016, the two companies still work together. For example, eBay opened its first official store on MercadoLibre's platform in Chile in 2017.
Over the years, MercadoLibre grew by buying other companies. In 2001, it bought iBazar Como, which was eBay's company in Brazil. In 2006, MercadoLibre expanded into Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.
Becoming a Public Company
In August 2007, MercadoLibre made a big step. It became the first technology company from Latin America to be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. This meant that people could buy shares of the company. Its stock symbol is MELI.
MercadoLibre continued to grow by buying more companies. In 2008, it bought a competitor called DeRemate. It also bought Classified Media Group (CMG), which ran popular online sites for cars and real estate in Latin America.
New Technologies and Growth
In 2011, MercadoLibre changed its online platform to use "open source" technology. This made it easier for other software developers to create new tools and services that worked with MercadoLibre.
In 2013, the company started the MeLi Commerce Fund. This fund invests in new technology companies that build software using MercadoLibre's tools. By 2016, this fund had invested over US$1.5 million in 15 different companies.
MercadoLibre also bought more real estate websites, like Portal Inmobiliario in Chile in 2014, and Metroscúbicos.com in Mexico in 2015.
Expanding Offices
In 2016, MercadoLibre moved its main office in Brazil to a huge new building in São Paulo. This building, called Melicidade, is like a small city itself, with a cafeteria, gym, and many other facilities for employees.
The company also opened new software centers and customer service centers in different countries. In October 2016, it opened its first office in Bogotá, Colombia. However, in August 2025, MercadoLibre decided to close its offices in Córdoba, Argentina, and its staff there now work from home.
On June 19, 2017, MercadoLibre became part of the NASDAQ-100 list, which includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ.
In 2019, MercadoLibre opened its first large distribution centers in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. These centers help them deliver products faster. In 2020, they added new distribution centers in Chile and Colombia. In March 2021, MercadoLibre announced a big investment of $1.8 billion in its operations in Brazil.
How MercadoLibre Works
MercadoLibre has several main parts that work together to make online shopping easy.
- MarketPlace: This is the main online platform where people can buy and sell products. Buyers can either bid on items or buy them for a set price. After payment, the items are delivered. Users can also leave reviews for each other. Many official stores and brands sell their products directly on MercadoLibre.
- Mercado Pago: This is MercadoLibre's secure payment system. It allows people to pay for things they buy online. In 2016, MercadoPago handled over 138 million transactions! In 2014, a mobile app for MercadoPago was released, allowing payments using a smartphone or tablet with a QR code.
- Mercado Publicado: This is the advertising part of MercadoLibre, where businesses can promote their products.
- Mercado Shops: This tool helps small and medium-sized businesses create their own online stores that connect with MercadoLibre. These stores can also link to social media.
- Mercado Crédito: This is the company's credit service. It offers credit lines to buyers and sellers, with rates based on their profile.
MercadoLibre also has a special section called Mercado Libre Classificados for real estate and cars. Real estate agents and car dealers pay a monthly fee to list properties and vehicles on the platform.
Company Financials
Here's a quick look at how MercadoLibre has grown financially over the years:
| Revenue (USD billion) |
Total Assets (USD billion) |
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| 2015 | 0.65 | 1.00 |
| 2016 | 0.84 | 1.36 |
| 2017 | 1.29 | 1.67 |
| 2018 | 1.43 | 2.23 |
| 2019 | 2.29 | 4.78 |
| 2020 | 3.97 | 6.52 |
| 2021 | 7.06 | 10.10 |
| 2022 | 10.53 | 13.73 |
| 2023 | 14.95 | 17.61 |
| 2024 | 20.77 | 25.19 |
See also
In Spanish: Mercado Libre para niños
- List of online marketplaces
