MercadoLibre rallies as some traders speculate on a Venezuela boost $MELI

Jan. 05, 2026

MercadoLibre (MELI) rallied on Monday as traders circled the Latin American e-commerce stock as a potential beneficiary of increased involvement in Venezuela.

Notably, Venezuela has the 5th largest population in South America but is perhaps the largest untapped e-commerce market. MercadoLibre (MELI) maintains an operating marketplace specifically for Venezuela, although the nation is grouped in the "other countries" bucket for financial reporting that collectively accounts for less than 5% of MercadoLibre's (MELI) revenue.

Venezuela’s collapse over the last few decades has driven millions of migrants and refugees into Colombia, Brazil, the Caribbean, and beyond, straining social services and security in those host countries. Some analysts think if the region is stabilized with a U.S. presence, the local economies could be rebuilt.

Shares of MercadoLibre (MELI) were up 10.4% at 11:30 a.m. to $2,178.19 to trade at their highest level in ten weeks. The market cap on MELI is now back over $100 billion.