Lakehouse Global Growth Fund on MercadoLibre, Inc.
Thesis
MercadoLibre remains Lakehouse's largest holding despite being the biggest performance detractor during the year. Revenue accelerated to 49% year-on-year and gross merchandise volume grew 42%, while management deliberately reinvested to drive share gains and strengthen the competitive moat. Lakehouse views the resulting margin compression as temporary and points to accelerating buyer growth in Brazil as evidence that reinvestment is working. With Latin American e-commerce penetration still low and a large underbanked population, the fund believes the long runway remains intact and the valuation has fallen to unusually attractive levels.
“risk/reward as heavily skewed in our favour.”
Key risks
- Heavy reinvestment is compressing near-term operating margins.
- Investors remain focused on profitability despite accelerating revenue growth.
- The strategy depends on reinvestment translating into durable market-share gains.