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☆ Meet the Latin American e-commerce platform that's outperforming Amazon this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Kate Rooney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

One of the world's largest e-commerce companies is emerging as a top pick on Wall Street as investors look for tech opportunities beyond the Magnificent Seven. "There was no venture capital for Latin America. Last year, venture-backed companies in Latin America raised $3.3 billion across nearly 1,000 deals, according to PitchBook. E-commerce and online payments are steadily growing, and Latin America has a young, mobile-savvy population of more than 600 million people. "When you look at the penetration of e-commerce in Latin America, it's still quite low compared to the U.S., Europe or Asia," Galperin told CNBC.

Persons: Marcos Gaplerin, Brad Gerstner, Gerstner, CNBC's Scott Wapner, Goldman Sachs, It's, Buenos Aires Galperin, Galperin, MercadoLibre, We've, it's Organizations: Nasdaq, Wall Street, Stanford Graduate School of Business, CNBC, Stanford, eBay Locations: Delaware, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, South America, Mercado Pago, Buenos Aires, Palo Alto , California, California, America, Silicon Valley, New York, Sand, West, Latin America, U.S, Europe, Asia

The bank raised its price target on MercadoLibre Thursday to $2,500 from $2,225, suggesting 22% upside from Wednesday's close. The bank increased its price target to $230 from $200, implying nearly 16% upside from Wednesday's close. Supino also lifted the firm's price target to $93 a share, reflecting about 33% upside from Wednesday's close. Analyst Adam Berlin lowered his 12-month price target to $29 from $34, implying 6% downside. The investment firm's price target of $159 implies more than 2% downside from Wednesday's close.

Persons: Robert Ford Aguilar, — Michelle Fox, Wells, Wells Fargo, Eric Luebchow, Luebchow, Lisa Kailai Han, Sean Conlon, Wolfe, Peter Supino, Supino, Samantha Subin, BofA, George Staphos, a.m, Adam Berlin, Berlin, IPG, — Sean Conlon, Bernstein, Mark Moerdler, — Lisa Kailai Han, Stifel, Simon Yarmak, Andrea Pistacchi, Brandt Montour, it's, Montour, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Barclays, Bank of America, Diageo, Mercado, Mobile, Sprint, Wolfe Research, UBS downgrades, UBS, billings, GM, Pfizer, Oracle, Simon Property, Property Group, SPG, U.S, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Brazil, Mercado Pago, Wells Fargo, Wells, Roku, Berlin, America, U.S

☆ MercadoLibre's third-quarter profit soars past expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Stelleo Tolda, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MercadoLibre (Online marketplace company) poses at the entrance of the company's headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 10, 2017. The company posted a profit of $359.0 million for the July-September period, while analysts polled by LSEG expected $298.1 million. Total net revenue was around $3.8 billion in the quarter ended in September, up 39.8% year-on-year. Within the e-commerce operation, net revenue rose to $2.1 billion, up 45.2%. In its financial services arm, Mercado Pago, net revenue grew 33.2% to $1.6 billion, as the company increased the pace of lending, while its total volume of payments processed also jumped.

Persons: Stelleo Tolda, Nacho, LSEG, Andre Chaves, Chaves, Mercado, Andre Romani, Peter Frontini, Kylie Madry Organizations: REUTERS, SAO PAULO, Analysts, Mercado Pago, Thomson Locations: Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina

☆ MercadoLibre's Q2 profit doubles on higher sales volume, user growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company, with presence in over 18 countries across Latin America, saw its net revenue rise 57.3% in constant currency to $3.4 billion. Over the quarter, MercadoLibre said it added 8.1 million new users across its operations, bringing its total active user base to 108.6 million. Total payment volume jumped 96.6% in constant currency to $42 billion. MercadoLibre said that a total of 318.5 million items were shipped across Latin America in the quarter, marking a 20.6% growth year-on-year. Gross merchandise volume (GMV), a key metric in the e-commerce industry, was up 47.2% in constant currency to hit $10.5 billion.

Persons: MercadoLibre, Mercado, Pedro Arnt, Arnt, Gross, Andre Romani, Carolina Pulice, Brendan O'Boyle Organizations: SAO PAULO, Mercado Pago, Thomson Locations: Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, America

☆ Meta's WhatsApp rolls out business payment tool in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Andre Romani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, April 11 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) on Tuesday began rolling out its payments tool to small and medium-sized firms through its WhatsApp messaging platform in Brazil, part of Meta's strategy to use the Brazilian market as a key test space for business messaging. The development of business messaging has become all the more urgent as Meta's core advertising business has stalled. The tool will initially be available for some merchants that use WhatsApp Business. While Brazil is the first country to have the service launched for small businesses using the free version of WhatsApp Business, in India, WhatsApp's largest market, users can make payments to businesses that use the application's paid API. WhatsApp users in Brazil have been able to make payments between users through the app since 2021, and last year, Meta launched a commercial directory for WhatsApp in Brazil, allowing users find companies with business messaging accounts.

☆ Brazil meal payments overhaul delayed by central bank standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Marcela Ayres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Finance Ministry says the central bank has jurisdiction to regulate payment systems, but sources said the central bank resisted early proposals to shake up the market and sought to keep its hands off the segment. The bank's staff believes the voucher market presents no systemic risk. The standoff has added to already high tensions between the Finance Ministry and central bank, the sources said on condition of anonymity. The central bank declined to comment on its reported resistance to regulating the market. The ministry told Reuters such regulation "goes beyond its competencies," and should be handled by the Finance Ministry and the central bank.

☆ Latam's MercadoLibre's net profit rises, fueled by fintech arm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Total Payment Volume (TPV) via Mercado Pago grew 79.5% in constant currency (45.3% in dollars) to reach $36.0 billion. In commerce, net revenues hit $1.7 billion, up 22.3% in dollar terms, in the period. The company also said the Gross merchandise volume (GMV) - a key metric in the e-commerce industry - was up 34.7% in constant currency (20.8% in dollars) to hit $9.6 billion. In the fourth-quarter last year, the company posted a net loss of $46.1 million. Reporting by Andre Romani; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Edited by Isabel WoodfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ MercadoLibre in talks with WhatsApp on business messaging payments -CFO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook owner Meta said last month that it will launch a payments tool in Latin America's largest economy, allowing WhatsApp users to message and buy from a business directly in the chat. "We are in the test phase as one of the partners that processes payments in Brazil," Pedro Arnt told Reuters in an interview. The payments tool in Brazil would allow WhatsApp users to find a company's account through a directory service and make in-app transactions with credit or debit cards. "This could be an opportunity for us to leverage WhatsApp efficiently to generate more sales and better customer contacts," Arnt added. He did not say how advanced the test phase is nor indicate the potential revenue generation for its financial arm Mercado Pago.

☆ Latam's MercadoLibre's net profit rises 36%, fueled by fintech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - South American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre Inc (MELI.O) on Thursday reported a third-quarter net income up 36% from a year earlier, as it nearly doubled its fintech revenues, helping offset a relative slowdown in online shopping. The Argentina-based company, which operates in countries across Latin America, posted a quarterly net income of $129 million. The company's loan portfolio meanwhile reached $2.8 billion in the quarter, up 4% from the previous quarter, as it expanded its credit business. Over the quarter MercadoLibre said it added 4 million new users, bringing its active use base up 12% to 88 million. This helped net revenues leap 61% in constant currency (45% in dollars) to reach $2.7 billion - in line with Refinitiv estimates.

☆ One fintech exec says Elon Musk might be the best bet to build a super app in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk is set to acquire Twitter by the October 28 deadline set by a judge. Rapyd exec Larry Lee says Musk has the best chance at creating a super app from scratch in the US. Larry Lee, Rapyd's global head of financial networks, said Elon Musk is the "best chance" the US has for creating a so-called super app from scratch. A super app is a mobile or web-based application acting as a one-stop shop for consumers' financial and commerce needs. But the key to becoming a super app is having reasons for the user to use it daily or even multiple times throughout the day.

☆ Brazil's central bank to limit prepaid card interchange fee in setback for fintechs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank on Monday said it would set a 0.7% limit for interchange fees for prepaid cards, which are offered by fintechs in free digital accounts, in a setback for the booming sector in Latin America's largest economy. The central bank had put the issue out for public consultation last year, but its proposal suggested a maximum rate of 0.5% for both debit and prepaid cards, which would be even more damaging to fintechs. The changes will take effect from April 2023, and will also standardize the settlement term for debit and prepaid card transactions. There is currently no limit on the rate for prepaid cards, which is usually higher than that charged in transactions with debit cards, representing an important source of revenue for fintechs. Nubank said in a statement that interchange fees on prepaid cards accounted for 7% of its revenue in the year to June 30.

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