It's become routine. For some time now, every quarter, the package of results delivered by Brazil has made the country the main subsidiary in Mercado Libre 's balance sheet. But it doesn't hurt to reinforce this position. And that's exactly what the e-commerce giant has just done.

This relevance is once again translating into the volume of resources allocated to the country, with the announcement made on the evening of Tuesday, March 24, that the company plans to invest R$ 57 billion in its Brazilian operations in 2026.

In addition to the 50% jump, in local currency, over the R$38 billion invested last year, other figures are noteworthy following the new figure. In total, since 2019, Mercado Libre has invested no less than R$173 billion in Brazil.

“We have been consistently increasing our investments in Brazil year after year,” Fernando Yunes , executive vice president of commerce at Mercado Libre in Latin America and the company's leader in Brazil, told NeoFeed . “And this move is a continuation of that strategy.”

To give you an idea of the exponential growth of this strategy, the eight-year period behind these R$173 billion began in 2019 with an investment of R$2 billion. And it started to gain momentum – and figures – in 2020, with Yunes joining the operation, with a plan of R$7 billion.

“Since then, we have practically multiplied these investments eightfold, which include capital expenditure and strategic expenses in areas such as technology, logistics, marketing, and delivery speed,” says Yunes. “Now, this investment will accelerate our e-commerce and financial services businesses.”

In the first avenue, e-commerce, resources will be applied especially to technology and logistics, as well as the creation of new services, solutions, and businesses. In financial services, gathered under Mercado Pago, one of the focuses is to expand the credit portfolio – according to Yunes, “responsibly.”

“Our models are becoming increasingly mature, and we control all the new credit groups,” says the executive. “And, with the numbers fairly under control, in addition to growing this portfolio, we will also develop new offerings in financial services.”

One of the key segments of Mercado Pago's portfolio, credit cards, was highlighted in a recent report by Itaú BBA. According to the bank, Mercado Libre, along with Nubank, accounted for approximately 36% of the growth in the credit card portfolio in Brazil over the last 12 months.

"Mercado Libre issued nearly 3 million new cards in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina in the fourth quarter (an increase from approximately 2 million in the third quarter and 1.5 million in the second quarter)," highlighted one section of the report.

As part of the plan announced today, Mercado Libre also announced the opening of 14 new distribution centers dedicated to fulfillment services this year. With this, the company will reach a base of 42 such units in the country, a year-on-year growth of 50%.

At the same time, to support this expansion, the company announced that it will create 10,000 new jobs in its operations, bringing its total workforce in Brazil to over 70,000 professionals by the end of 2026.

Of the total number of positions to be opened, the majority will be reserved for the logistics, financial services, and technology teams, in line with the priorities mentioned by Yunes.

In the statement, Mercado Libre also highlighted other figures. Among them, the fact that the company recorded a record collection of R$ 7.9 billion in federal, state, and municipal taxes in 2025. In 2025, this figure was R$ 5 billion. And, in 2019, it was R$ 590 million.

In another statistic, the company observed that the base of 5.8 million small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs who "navigate" through its ecosystem generated R$ 381 billion last year, equivalent to 3.2% of Brazil's GDP.

With these and other indicators, the Brazilian operation once again topped Mercado Libre's balance sheet in 2025, with net revenue of R$ 84.5 billion, representing a 52.6% share of the group's total revenue for the period.

Traded on Nasdaq, Mercado Libre shares closed today's trading session, April 7, down 3.24%, quoted at US$1,612.02. In after-hours trading, however, they registered a slight increase of 0.87%, around 5:55 PM (local time).

By the end of 2025, the group's shares have fallen by 19.9%, giving the company a market value of US$81.7 billion.