MercadoLibre Jumps On Workforce Expansion Plan, LatAm Investments: Retail Sees Prime Bet Amid Tariff Bloodbath

Latin American e-commerce giant MercadoLibre (MELI) said it will expand its global workforce by 33% this year, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 4% on Tuesday.

The news comes days after the company announced nearly $12 billion of investment for this year to expand in its core markets of Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

Chief People Officer Sebastian Fernandez Silva told Bloomberg News that the company will add 28,000 workers, mainly to logistics operations in Brazil and Mexico, bringing the total headcount to 112,000 by the end of 2025.

According to Bloomberg, MercadoLibre, which operates in 18 countries across the region, posted record revenue and profit last year and has grown at a clip of 30% a year for more than two decades.

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.

Originally a payment tool for its marketplace, Mercado Pago has become a standalone digital payments powerhouse offering wallets, credit, QR payments, and point-of-sale systems.

Benchmark initiated coverage on the company's stock with a 'buy' rating and a $2,500 price target, which implies an 18% upside from the last close.

MercadoLibre shares have gained in the last two weeks but are still down 10% from their peak this year in February.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment jumped higher in the 'extremely bullish' territory, with 'high' message volume.

Some users believe MercadoLibre is a standout stock that will give positive returns.

Shares of MercadoLibre are up 24.6% year to date.

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