MercadoLibre Inc. (MELI) Shows Why Mexico Remains Central to Latin America’s E-Commerce Expansion

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is one of the best e-commerce stocks to buy as global sales hit records. The company remains one of the clearest ways to invest in Latin America’s digital commerce growth, and its latest expansion plan shows that it is still putting serious capital behind logistics, technology, and payments. On June 8, Mercado Libre announced that it would invest $4.6 billion in Mexico during 2026, up 35% from the prior year. The investment is focused on logistics, technology development, and financial services, and includes plans to create 8,500 new jobs, taking its Mexico workforce to more than 42,000 employees.

The Mexico push matters because MercadoLibre’s broader marketplace and payments engine continue to scale. In the first quarter of 2026, net revenue and financial income rose 49% year-over-year to $8.8 billion, the company’s fastest growth pace in almost four years. Gross merchandise volume increased 42% to $19.0 billion, total payment volume rose 50% to $87.2 billion, and the company recorded 722 million items sold. Brazil also showed the impact of logistics and free-shipping investments, with items sold up 56% year-over-year and unique buyer growth accelerating to 32%.

Goran Bogicevic/Shutterstock.com

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) operates Latin America’s largest online commerce ecosystem and one of the region’s leading fintech platforms.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of MELI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MELI and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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