The Biggest Investing Opportunity of 2027 Is Hiding in Latin America

Both MercadoLibre and Nubank are deliberately sacrificing near-term margins to compound market share in a still-underpenetrated, mobile-first Latin American consumer economy.

• MercadoLibre's margin story: EBIT margin fell from 12.7% to 6.7% as free-shipping thresholds dropped (79 to 19 reais in Brazil) and credit book grew 75% vs. 50% revenue growth; operating income still hit $3.2B in 2025 vs. a $153M loss in 2019.
• Nubank's efficiency edge: Nubank runs a 19.5% efficiency ratio vs. 37% at Itaú and 42% at branchless rival Banco Inter, serving customers for about $1/month with AI handling 60% of Brazil support chats.

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