On April 28 2026, MercadoLibre’s chief executive Ariel Szarfsztejn told Reuters that the company could sell part of its loan book in order to find the right funding tools for its fintech operations, while making clear that no core businesses would be sold.
The loan book has grown rapidly, reaching $12.5 billion in Q4 2025, a 90 % year‑over‑year increase, and $9.3 billion in Q2 2025, up 91 % from the prior year. The pace of growth has created funding challenges that the company is looking to address through a potential sale of loan assets.
Fintech revenue surged 51 % in Q4 2025, outpacing commerce revenue, which grew 40 %. The fintech segment is a key growth engine, but its expansion has been accompanied by margin pressure from heavy investments in logistics, free shipping and credit‑card initiatives.
Szarfsztejn also noted that operations in Venezuela remain small and unchanged, and that Brazil and Mexico are the primary markets for growth. “The toughest challenge for a credit portfolio that is growing so fast is having the right funding mechanisms in order to scale,” he said.
The announcement has prompted a market reaction that includes UBS downgrading MercadoLibre to “Neutral” and lowering its price target, reflecting investor concern about margin compression from logistics and credit‑card spending and the company’s Q4 2025 earnings miss.
By selling part of its loan book, MercadoLibre would free up liquidity to support fintech scaling and improve balance‑sheet quality, while also signaling a need for more robust funding mechanisms to sustain its rapid credit‑portfolio growth.
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