XML 55 R45.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.23.1

Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and cash equivalents and investments - Components of Cash, Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents and Investments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,143	$ 1,910
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	1,381	1,453
Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and cash equivalents	3,524	3,363	$ 2,414	$ 3,648
Short-term investments	2,479	2,339
Long-term investments	278	322
Time deposits
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Short-term investments	588	439
Foreign government debt securities
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Short-term investments	73	123
Long-term investments	62	70
U.S. government debt securities
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Short-term investments	409	558
Long-term investments	138	175
Foreign government debt securities (Central Bank of Brazil mandatory guarantee)
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Short-term investments	1,408	1,219
Securitization transactions
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Short-term investments	1	0
Long-term investments	21	21
Equity securities held at cost
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Long-term investments	57	56
Cash in bank accounts
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	1,084	1,160
Cash in bank accounts | Argentina
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	403	496
Cash in bank accounts | Mexico
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	62	9
Cash in bank accounts | Chile
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	10	4
Cash in bank accounts | Columbia
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	0	1
Money market
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	629	599
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	32	33
Money market | Columbia
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	7	5
Time deposits
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	191	130
Time deposits | Mexico
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	209	239
Time deposits | Chile
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	48	49
U.S. government debt securities
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	239	21
Securitization transactions
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	610	459
Foreign government debt securities (Central Bank of Brazil mandatory guarantee)
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents Items [Line Items]
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	$ 0	$ 158

X

- Definition

Amount of currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. Includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits. Also includes short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Excludes cash and cash equivalents within disposal group and discontinued operation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126954810&loc=d3e3044-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124098289&loc=d3e6676-107765

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(1))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Amount of cash and cash equivalents, and cash and cash equivalents restricted to withdrawal or usage. Excludes amount for disposal group and discontinued operations. Cash includes, but is not limited to, currency on hand, demand deposits with banks or financial institutions, and other accounts with general characteristics of demand deposits. Cash equivalents include, but are not limited to, short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 24
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126954810&loc=d3e3521-108585

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126954810&loc=d3e3044-108585

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 8
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126999549&loc=SL98516268-108586

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CashCashEquivalentsRestrictedCashAndRestrictedCashEquivalents
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

The total amount of investments that are intended to be held for an extended period of time (longer than one operating cycle).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(12))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermInvestments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Amount of cash and cash equivalents restricted as to withdrawal or usage, classified as current. Cash includes, but is not limited to, currency on hand, demand deposits with banks or financial institutions, and other accounts with general characteristics of demand deposits. Cash equivalents include, but are not limited to, short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126954810&loc=d3e3044-108585

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 8
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126999549&loc=SL98516268-108586

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(1))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsItemsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount of investments including trading securities, available-for-sale securities, held-to-maturity securities, and short-term investments classified as other and current.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(4))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126897435&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(5))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126897435&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(8))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(1)(g))
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126734703&loc=d3e572229-122910

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ShortTermInvestments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=us-gaap_BankTimeDepositsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=us-gaap_ForeignGovernmentDebtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=meli_U.sGovernmentDebtSecurititesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=meli_CentralBankOfBrazilMandatoryGuaranteeMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=meli_SecuritizationTransactionsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=meli_EquityInterestHeldAtCostMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsCashAndCashEquivalentsAxis=us-gaap_CashMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_AR
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_MX
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_CL
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=meli_ColumbiaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsCashAndCashEquivalentsAxis=us-gaap_MoneyMarketFundsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsCashAndCashEquivalentsAxis=us-gaap_BankTimeDepositsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsCashAndCashEquivalentsAxis=us-gaap_USGovernmentAgenciesDebtSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsCashAndCashEquivalentsAxis=meli_SecuritizationTransactionsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RestrictedCashAndCashEquivalentsCashAndCashEquivalentsAxis=meli_SovereignDebtSecuritiesSecuredLinesOfCreditGuaranteeMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: