MercadoLibre raises $1 billion in senior notes, expanding debt load to $11.63 billion
MercadoLibre has closed a $1 billion offering of 10-year senior notes to bolster liquidity, maintaining its investment-grade status.
The financial landscape for Latin America's largest digital commerce and fintech ecosystem is shifting as the company secures long-term capital. Nasdaq-listed MercadoLibre, Inc. officially closed a public offering of $1 billion in senior unsecured notes on September 14, 2026, according to the company's regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The 10-year notes carry a fixed annual coupon rate of 5.850% and are scheduled to mature on September 14, 2036.
According to the company's SEC filings, the net proceeds from this offering are intended for "general corporate purposes." While the company did not earmark the funds for specific operational segments in its registration documents, the notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by key regional operating subsidiaries. These guarantors include Mercado Livre Brasil Ltda., reflecting the strategic importance of the Brazilian market, which historically represents the company's largest revenue generator.
To support its corporate objectives, the company's consolidated debt profile is expanding. The new $1 billion bond issuance increases MercadoLibre's consolidated indebtedness from $10.63 billion to $11.63 billion on a pro forma basis, using financial figures reported as of June 30, 2026. Despite the added leverage, major credit rating agencies, including S&P Global Ratings, assigned a stable "BBB-" investment-grade rating to the notes on September 8, 2026. S&P Global Ratings noted that its stable outlook reflects an expectation that the company will maintain its adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio slightly below 2x over the next two years.
For international investors, the transaction highlights the capacity of top-tier Latin American corporations to secure long-term, fixed-rate dollar funding amid shifting macroeconomic conditions. In a company press release on September 9, 2026, MercadoLibre Chief Financial Officer Martín de los Santos stated that the firm priced the new 10-year notes at the same spread over U.S. Treasuries as its previous seven-year debt issuance, despite the longer maturity period.
Market listings
MercadoLibre, Inc. is listed in New York on the Nasdaq, where its shares trade under the ticker MELI. The company is also a major holding in broad Latin American and international exchange-traded funds, such as the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, which exposes investors to large-scale corporate equities operating across South America's largest economy.
