Mercado Libre Overtakes Petrobras as LatAm’s Top Valued Company

On Friday, digital titan Mercado Libre’s stock surged by more than 10%. Meanwhile, Petrobras’ shares fell by 2%.

This shift made the Buenos Aires-based e-commerce and technology company the most valuable publicly traded company in Latin America. Valor Data calculated these figures.

By late Friday morning, Mercado Libre had a market value of R$ 508 billion (US$ 88.9 billion). In contrast, Petrobras had a market value of R$ 500.7 billion.

This marks the first time this year that Petrobras has been overtaken by Mercado Libre. A significant rise in the company’s stock on the Nasdaq drove this change. The release of its second-quarter 2024 earnings report contributed to the surge.

For several years, Mercado Libre trailed behind Petrobras and Vale in the overall ranking. Its recent surge reflects the growing strength of digital businesses in Latin America.

Coincidentally, the e-commerce platform celebrated its 25th anniversary on the same day. On the B3 stock exchange, the Ibovespa index continued to decline.

Petrobras’ performance impacted this trend. By late morning, the index was down 0.80%. This reflected the general negative sentiment in global markets.

Financial Performance and Market Dynamics

As reported on Thursday, Mercado Libre once again exceeded analysts’ projections for net revenue and profit in the second quarter.

Its performance in Brazil largely drove this success. However, the company faced challenges in Argentina. Higher provisions in its credit arm also affected its operating margin.

According to the data published on Thursday night, net sales in the Latin American region increased by 42% to US$ 5.1 billion.

Net profit more than doubled from US$ 262 million to US$ 531 million between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024.

Mercado Libre Overtakes Petrobras as LatAm’s Top Valued Company

Mercado Libre’s growth reflects its financial performance and broader socioeconomic impact.

A study by Euromonitor International highlighted that the platform generated 27 jobs per hour in Latin America.

It became the primary source of income for 1.8 million families. In Brazil alone, the platform created 25 jobs per hour.

The study also showed that the ecosystem formed by Mercado Libre is the main source of income for over 574,000 micro and small enterprises.

These businesses sell on its marketplace daily. This growth has been particularly significant in Brazil.

There, 93.2% of small businesses expanded beyond their local cities through the platform. Additionally, 7% of them now operate in more than one country.

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