MercadoLibre Beats Q1 Revenue Estimates: Stock, Retail Sentiment Spike

MercadoLibre (MELI) on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, lifting its U.S.-listed shares and sentiment among Stocktwits users.

The strong earnings report follows a substantial $12 billion investment to expand operations across the Latin American e-commerce giant's key markets: Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

The company announced last month that the investment would help add over a third more workers, mostly in logistics operations.

Revenue climbed to $5.94 billion for the quarter ended March 31, up from $4.33 billion a year earlier, and came in well above the $5.47 billion analyst estimate from FactSet.

MercadoLibre shares rose 8.5% in extended trading on Wednesday before ending 1.5% in the regular session.

"Argentina performed exceptionally well, with last year's recovery in demand strengthening even further. This helped counterbalance increased investment in Brazil and Mexico," the company said in a statement.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment bounced to 'extremely bullish' from 'bearish' the previous day.

Several users posted positive comments about the company, with one suggesting that if the stock breaches the key $2,500 level, it “could go parabolic.”

The company has grown by deepening the penetration of e-commerce services in the still under-penetrated Latin American markets and, more recently, the success of its fintech unit, Mercado Pago.

Last month, Benchmark initiated coverage on the company's shares with a 'buy' rating.

MercadoLibre stock is up around 33% year to date as of its last close.

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