UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549





FORM 10-Q



(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended March  31, 2018

-OR-



For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number 001-33647



MercadoLibre, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)







Arias 3751, 7th Floor

Buenos Aires, C1430CRG, Argentina

(Address of registrant’s principal executive offices)

(+5411) 4640-8000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)



Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes   ☒     No   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files.    Yes   ☒     No   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:





If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes   ☐     No   ☒

APPLICABLE ONLY TO CORPORATE ISSUERS:

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

44,157,364 shares of the issuer’s common stock, $0.001 par value, outstanding as of May 8, 2018.



 



 

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MERCADOLIBRE, INC.

INDEX TO FORM 10-Q

 



 

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MercadoLibre, Inc.

Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

as of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017

and for the three-month periods

ended March  31, 2018 and 2017

 



 

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MercadoLibre, Inc.

Interim Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except par value)

(Unaudited)











The accompanying notes are an integral part of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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MercadoLibre, Inc.

Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

For the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017

(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except for share data)

(Unaudited)

























The accompanying notes are an integral part of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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MercadoLibre, Inc.

Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

For the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017

(In thousands of U.S. dollars)

(Unaudited)













The accompanying notes are an integral part of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

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MercadoLibre, Inc.

Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow

For the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017

(In thousands of U.S. dollars)

(Unaudited)





















The accompanying notes are an integral part of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

 



 

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1. Nature of Business

MercadoLibre, Inc. (“MercadoLibre” or the “Company”) was incorporated in the state of Delaware, in the United States of America in October 1999. MercadoLibre is one of the largest online commerce ecosystem in Latin America, serving as an integrated regional platform and as an enabler of the necessary online and technology tools to allow businesses and individuals to trade products and services in the region. The Company enables commerce through its marketplace platform (including online classifieds for motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, services and real estate), which allows users to buy and sell in most of Latin America. 

Through MercadoPago, MercadoLibre enables individuals and businesses to send and receive online payments; through MercadoEnvios, MercadoLibre facilitates the shipping of goods from sellers to buyers; through our advertising products, MercadoLibre facilitates advertising services for large retailers and brands to promote their product and services on the web; through MercadoShops, MercadoLibre allows users to set-up, manage and promote their own online webstores under a subscription-based business model; and through MercadoCredito, MercadoLibre extends loans to certain merchants and consumers. In addition, MercadoLibre develops and sells software enterprise solutions to e-commerce business clients in Brazil.

As of March  31, 2018, MercadoLibre, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, operated online ecommerce platforms in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador, Portugal, Uruguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, Paraguay and Venezuela. Additionally, MercadoLibre operates an online payments solution in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. It also offers a shipping solution available in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile. The Company operates a real estate classified platform that covers some areas of State of Florida, in the United States of America.

 

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

Basis of presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and include the accounts of the Company and its controlled subsidiaries. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements are stated in U.S. dollars, except for amounts otherwise indicated. Intercompany transactions and balances with subsidiaries have been eliminated for consolidation purposes.

Substantially all net revenues, cost of net revenues and operating expenses, are generated in the Company’s foreign operations. Operating (loss) income of foreign operations amounted to 98.7% and 98.8% of the consolidated amounts during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Long-lived assets, intangible assets and goodwill located in the foreign jurisdictions totaled $233,096 thousands and $223,134 thousands as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

These interim condensed consolidated financial statements reflect the Company’s consolidated financial position as of March 31, 2018  and December 31, 2017. These financial statements include the Company’s consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 and statement of cash flows for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements include all normal recurring adjustments that management believes are necessary to fairly state the Company’s financial position, operating results and cash flows.

Because all of the disclosures required by U.S. GAAP for annual consolidated financial statements are not included herein, these unaudited interim condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2017, contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The condensed consolidated statements of income, of comprehensive income and of cash flows for the periods presented herein are not necessarily indicative of results expected for any future period. For a more detailed discussion of the Company’s significant accounting policies, see note 2 to the financial statements in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. During the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, there were no material updates made to the Company’s significant accounting policies, except for the adoption of ASC 606 and ASU 2016-16- Income taxes (Topic 740) as of January 1, 2018. See Note 2 of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements for more details.







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Revenue recognition



Revenues are recognized when control of the promised services is transferred to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services.



Contracts with customers may include promises to transfer multiple services including discounts on future services. Determining whether services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.



Revenues are recognized when each performance obligation is satisfied by transferring the promised service to the customer according to the following criteria described for each type of service:







Revenue recognition criteria for the services mentioned above are decribed in note 2 to the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Contract Balances

Timing of revenue recognition may differ from the timing of invoicing to customers. Receivables represent amounts invoiced and revenue recognized prior to invoicing when the Company has satisfied the performance obligation and has the unconditional right to payment. The allowance for doubtful accounts, loan receivables and chargebacks is estimated based upon our assessment of various factors including historical experience, the age of the accounts receivable balances, current economic conditions and other factors that may affect our customers’ ability to pay. The allowance for doubtful accounts, loan receivables and chargebacks was $27,644 thousands and $19,734 thousands as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. 

Deferred revenue consists of fees received related to unsatisfied performance obligations at the end of the period in accordance with ASC 606 (as defined below). Due to the generally short-term duration of contracts, the majority of the performance obligations are satisfied in the following reporting period. Deferred revenue as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $6,116 thousands and $1,955 thousands, respectively, of which $4,316 thousands and $1,911 thousands were recognized as revenue during the three-months periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

As of March 31, 2018, total deferred revenue was $7,546 thousands, mainly due to fees related to listing and optional feature services billed and loyalty programs that are expected to be recognized as revenue in the coming months.

Foreign currency translation

All of the Company’s consolidated foreign operations have determined the local currency to be their functional currency. Accordingly, these foreign subsidiaries translate assets and liabilities from their local currencies into U.S. dollars by using period-end exchange rates while income and expense accounts are translated at the average rates in effect during the period, unless exchange rates fluctuate significantly during the period, in which case the exchange rates at the date of the transaction are used. The resulting translation adjustment is recorded as a component of other comprehensive (loss) income.

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Venezuelan deconsolidation

Effective December 1, 2017, the Company determined that deteriorating conditions in Venezuela had led the Company to no longer meet the accounting criteria for control over its Venezuelan subsidiaries. Venezuela’s recent selective default determination, restrictive exchange controls and suspension of foreign exchange market in Venezuela, the lack of access to U.S. dollars through official currency exchange mechanisms together with the worsening in Venezuela macroeconomic environment resulted in other-than-temporary lack of exchangeability between the Venezuela bolivar and the U.S. dollar, and restricted the Company’s ability to pay dividends and its ability to satisfy other obligations denominated in U.S. dollars. Therefore, in accordance with the applicable accounting standards, as of December 1, 2017, the Company deconsolidated the financial statements of its subsidiaries in Venezuela and began reporting the results under the cost method of accounting.

Beginning December 1, 2017, the Company no longer includes the results of the Venezuelan subsidiaries in its consolidated financial statements.

Income tax

The Company is subject to U.S. and foreign income taxes. The Company accounts for income taxes following the liability method of accounting which requires the recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are also recognized for tax loss carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets or liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded when, based on the available evidence, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the Company’s deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company’s income tax expense consists of taxes currently payable, if any, plus the change during the period in the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities.

On August 17, 2011, the Argentine government issued a new software development law and on September 9, 2013 a regulatory decree was issued that established new requirements to benefit from the new software development law. The decree establishes requirements to comply with annual incremental ratios related to exports of services and research and development expenses that must be achieved to remain within the tax holiday. The Company’s Argentine subsidiary has to achieve certain required ratios annually under the software development law in order to be eligible for the benefits mentioned below.

On September 17, 2015, the Argentine Industry Secretary issued Resolution 1041/2015 approving the Company’s application for eligibility under the new software development law for the Company’s Argentine subsidiary, Mercadolibre S.R.L. As a result, the Company’s Argentine subsidiary has been granted a tax holiday retroactive from September 18, 2014. A portion of the benefits obtained is a 60% relief of total income tax related to software development activities and a 70% relief of payroll taxes related to software development activities.

The benefits to the Company under the software development law will expire on December 31, 2019. As a result of the Company’s eligibility under the new law, it recorded an income tax benefit of $7,299 thousands and $5,097 thousands during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Aggregate per share effect of the Argentine tax holiday amounted to $0.17 and $0.12 for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Furthermore, the Company recorded a labor cost benefit of $2,016 thousands and $1,991 thousands during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Additionally, $652 thousands and $496 thousands were accrued to pay software development law audit fees during the first quarter of 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Tax reform

Argentina

On December 27, 2017, the Argentine Senate approved a comprehensive income tax reform effective since January 1, 2018. The Argentine tax reform, among other things, reduced the prior 35 percent income tax rate applicable to the Argentine entities to 30 percent for 2018 and 2019 and to 25 percent for 2020 and thereafter. The new regulation imposes a withholding income tax on dividends paid by Argentine entities of 7 percent for 2018 and 2019, increasing to 13 percent from 2020 forward. The new regulation also repeals the “equalization tax” (i.e., the prior 35 percent withholding tax applicable to dividends distributed in excess of the accumulated taxable income) for income accrued from January 1, 2018 forward.

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USA

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act made broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code, including, but not limited to, (1) requiring a one-time transition tax on certain unrepatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries that is payable over eight years and (2) bonus depreciation that will allow for full expensing of qualified property.

The Tax Act also established new tax laws that came into effect on January 1, 2018, including, but not limited to: (a) the elimination of the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT); (b) the creation of the base erosion anti-abuse tax (BEAT), a new minimum tax; (c) a general elimination of U.S. federal income taxes on dividends from foreign subsidiaries; (d) a new provision designed to tax global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI), which allows for the possibility of using foreign tax credits (FTCs) and a deduction of up to 50 percent to offset income tax liability (subject to some limitations); (e) a new limitation on deductible interest expense; (f) the repeal of the domestic production activity deduction; (g) limitations on the deductibility of certain executive compensation; (h) limitations on the use of FTCs to reduce the U.S. income tax liability; and (i) limitations on net operating losses (NOLs) generated after December 31, 2017, to 80 percent of taxable income.

The Deemed Repatriation Transition Tax (Transition Tax) is a tax on previously untaxed accumulated and current earnings and profits (E&P) of certain of our foreign subsidiaries. To determine the amount of the Transition Tax, the Company must determine, in addition to other factors, the amount of post-1986 E&P of the relevant subsidiaries, as well as the amount of non-U.S. income taxes paid on such earnings. The company was able to make a reasonable estimate of the Transition Tax and determine that no tax duty related to the Transition Tax is expected to be due because the estimated tax is expected to be offset with available foreign tax credits as of December 31, 2017. Accordingly, no adjustments have been made to income tax expense in 2017. The Transition Tax calculation will not be finalized until the MercadoLibre Inc. Federal Income Tax return is filed.

The Company assessed whether its valuation allowance analysis is affected by various aspects of the Tax Act (including the deemed repatriation of deferred foreign income, GILTI inclusions and new categories of FTCs). As a consequence of such analysis, the Company recorded an increase in valuation allowance of $12,097 thousands to fully reserve the outstanding foreign tax credits as of December 31, 2017.

The Tax Act created a new requirement that certain income (i.e., GILTI) earned by controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) must be included in the gross income of the CFCs’ U.S. shareholder. GILTI is the excess of the shareholder’s “net CFC tested income” over the net deemed tangible income return, which is currently defined as the excess of (1) 10 percent of the aggregate of the U.S. shareholder’s pro rata share of the qualified business asset investment of each CFC with respect to which it is a U.S. shareholder over (2) the amount of certain interest expenses taken into account in the determination of net CFC-tested income.

Under U.S. GAAP, the Company was allowed to make an accounting policy choice of either (1) treating taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as a current-period expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) or (2) factoring such amounts into a company’s measurement of its deferred taxes (the “deferred method”). The Company selected the period cost method. Accordingly, the Company has not recorded any impact in connection with the potential GILTI tax as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017.

The Company’s management considers the earnings of our foreign subsidiaries to be indefinitely reinvested, other than certain earnings the distributions of which do not imply withholdings, exchange rate differences or state income taxes, and for that reason has not recorded a deferred tax liability.

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had included under non-current deferred tax assets the foreign tax credits related to the dividend distributions received from its subsidiaries for a total amount of $12,117 thousands and $12,097 thousands, respectively. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company recorded a valuation allowance of $12,117 thousands and $12,097 thousands, respectively, to fully impair the outstanding foreign tax credits.

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Accumulated other comprehensive loss

The following table sets forth the Company’s accumulated other comprehensive loss as of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:





The following tables summarize the changes in accumulated balances of other comprehensive loss for the three-month period ended March  31, 2018:













 







Use of estimates

The preparation of interim condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates are used for, but not limited to accounting for allowances for doubtful accounts, loan receivables and chargebacks, recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful life, useful life of long-lived assets and intangible assets, impairment of short-term and long-term investments, impairment of long-lived assets, compensation costs relating to the Company’s long term retention plan, fair value of convertible note debt, fair value of investments, recognition of income taxes and contingencies. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

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Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASC 606 – Revenue from Contracts with Customers related to revenue recognition (“ASC 606”) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) in 2014. ASC 606 provides a unified model to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration for which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The Company adopted ASC 606 using the full retrospective transition method and recast the prior reporting period presented.

In connection with the MercadoEnvios service the Company has identified a performance obligation with the seller to arrange for the transportation of the merchandise sold to the buyer using third-party carriers. As the Company acts as agent, upon adoption of ASC 606, the revenues derived from the shipping services are presented net of the respective transportation costs charged by third-party carriers and paid by the Company. As part of the business strategy, the Company may fully or partially subsidize the cost of shipping at the Company’s option. Under the current guidance the Company must account for the subsidized cost of shipping netting of revenues rather than as cost of net sales. For the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company incurred $112,497 thousands and $4,251 thousands, respectively, of subsidized shipping costs that have been incurred and included as a reduction of revenues.

Under the full retrospective method, the Company retrospectively applied ASC 606 to the three-month period ended March 31, 2017. The total impact resulting from the change in presentation of shipping subsidies was a decrease in Net revenues and Cost of net revenues of $4,251 thousands in the Interim Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017. Additionally, the adoption of ASC 606 did not modify the carrying amount of assets or liabilities as of the beginning of the first period presented, thus, there was no effect on the opening balance of retained earnings as of January 1, 2017.

Furthermore, the adoption did not have a material impact on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, on Net (loss) income and on the Statements of Cash Flows for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

In October 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-16 (ASU 2016-16) "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other than Inventory." ASU 2016-16 generally accelerates the recognition of income tax consequences for asset transfers between entities under common control. The Company adopted ASU 2016-16 as of January 1, 2018 using a modified retrospective transition method, resulting in a $2,092 thousands increase to the opening balance of retained earnings.



Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

On February 25, 2016 the FASB issued ASU 2016-02. The amendments in this update create Topic 842, Leases, which supersedes Topic 840, Leases. The core principle of Topic 842 is that a lessee should recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases. Previous GAAP did not require lease assets and lease liabilities to be recognized for most leases. A lessee should recognize in the statement of financial position a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. For leases with a term of 12 months or less, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. Topic 842 retains a distinction between finance leases and operating leases. The classification criteria for distinguishing between finance leases and operating leases are substantially similar to the classification criteria for distinguishing between capital leases and operating leases in the previous leases guidance. The result of retaining a distinction between finance leases and operating leases is that under the lessee accounting model in Topic 842, the effect of leases in the statement of comprehensive income and the statement of cash flows is largely unchanged from previous GAAP. Based on existing leases currently classified as operating leases, the Company expects to recognize on the statements of financial position right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is assessing the effects that the adoption of this accounting pronouncement may have on the Company’s financial statements and expects the ASU will have a material impact, primarily to the consolidated balance sheets and related disclosures.

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On June 16, 2016 the FASB issued the ASU 2016-13 “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of credit losses on financial instruments”. This update amends guidance on reporting credit losses for assets held at amortized cost basis and available for sale debt securities. For assets held at amortized cost basis, this update eliminates the probable initial recognition threshold in current GAAP and, instead, requires an entity to reflect its current estimate of all expected credit losses. For available for sale debt securities, credit losses should be measured in a manner similar to current GAAP, however this topic will require that credit losses be presented as an allowance rather than as a write-down. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is assessing the effects that the adoption of this accounting pronouncement may have on its financial statements.  



3. Net (loss) income per share

Basic earnings per share for the Company’s common stock is computed by dividing, net (loss) income available to common shareholders attributable to common stock for the period by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period.

On June 30, 2014, the Company issued $330 million of 2.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2019 (see Note 9 of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements). The conversion of these notes are included in the calculation for diluted earnings per share utilizing the “if converted” method. Accordingly, conversion of the notes is not assumed for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share if the effect is antidilutive.

The denominator for diluted net (loss) income per share for the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017 does not include any effect from the 2014, 2017 and 2018 Capped Call Transactions (as defined in Note 9) because it would be antidilutive. In the event of conversion of any or all of the Notes, the shares that would be delivered to the Company under the Capped Call Transactions are designed to partially neutralize the dilutive effect of the shares that the Company would issue under the Notes. See Note 9 of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements and Note 17 of the financial statements as of December 31, 2017 on Form 10-K for more details.

For the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017, the effects of the Capped Call Transactions would have been antidilutive and, as a consequence, they were not factored into the calculation of diluted earnings per share.

Net (loss) income per share of common stock is as follows for the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017:







 

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4. Goodwill and intangible assets



Goodwill and intangible assets

The composition of goodwill and intangible assets is as follows:







Goodwill

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 and the year ended December 31, 2017 are as follows:











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Intangible assets with definite useful life

Intangible assets with definite useful life are comprised of customer lists, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, acquired software licenses, other acquired intangible assets including developed technologies and trademarks. Aggregate amortization expense for intangible assets totaled $1,672 thousands and $1,341 thousands for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The following table summarizes the remaining amortization of intangible assets (in thousands of U.S. dollars) with definite useful life as of March  31, 2018:









 



5. Segment reporting

Reporting segments are based upon the Company’s internal organizational structure, the manner in which the Company’s operations are managed and resources are assigned, the criteria used by management to evaluate the Company’s performance, the availability of separate financial information and overall materiality considerations.

Segment reporting is based on geography as the main basis of segment breakdown in accordance with the criteria used for evaluation of the Company’s performance as determined by management. The Company’s segments include Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other countries (which includes Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Uruguay and the United States of America). As of March 31, 2017, the Company’s segments included Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela and other countries.

Direct contribution consists of net revenues from external customers less direct costs. Direct costs include costs of net revenues, product and technology development expenses, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses over which segment managers have direct discretionary control, such as advertising and marketing programs, customer support expenses, allowances for doubtful accounts, payroll and third-party fees. All corporate related costs have been excluded from the Company’s direct contribution.

Expenses over which segment managers do not currently have discretionary control, such as certain technology and general and administrative costs are monitored by management through shared cost centers and are not evaluated in the measurement of segment performance.

As a consequence of the implementation of ASC 606 further described in Note 2, the Company reassessed the definition of its customers for each service, which resulted in a change of the information presented for net revenues by similar services. As from January 1, 2018, net revenues from shipping services are included as part of our Enhanced Marketplace Services. Such change has been applied retroactively for comparative purposes.



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The following tables summarize the financial performance of the Company’s reporting segments:











   The following table summarizes the allocation of property and equipment, net based on geography:







 

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The following table summarizes the allocation of the goodwill and intangible assets based on geography:





Consolidated net revenues by similar products and services for the three-month periods ended March  31, 2018 and 2017 were as follows:

                                                                                                                   









(*)   Includes Final Value Fees and Shipping fees.

(**)  Includes, among other things, Ad Sales, Classified Fees, Payment Fees and other ancillary services. 

(***) Includes $144,763 thousands and $65,160 thousands of Payment Fees for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

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6. Fair value measurement of assets and liabilities



The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:











As of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company’s financial assets valued at fair value consisted of assets valued using i) Level 1 inputs: unadjusted quoted prices in active markets (Level 1 instrument valuations are obtained from observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets in active markets) and; ii) Level 2 inputs: obtained from readily-available pricing sources for comparable instruments as well as instruments with inactive markets at the measurement date.

As of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company´s liabilities were valued at fair value using level 2 inputs. 

The unrealized net gains or losses on short-term and long-term investments are reported as a component of other comprehensive income. The Company does not anticipate any significant realized losses associated with those investments in excess of the Company’s historical cost.

As of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the carrying value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at amortized cost approximated their fair value mainly because of their short-term maturity. These assets and liabilities included cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments (excluding money markets funds and corporate debt security), accounts receivable, credit cards receivable, loans receivable, funds payable to customers, other assets, accounts payable, salaries and social security payable (excluding variable LTRP), taxes payable, provisions and other liabilities.  The estimated fair value of the convertible senior notes (liability component), which is based on Level 2 inputs, is $324,207 thousands and was determined based on market interest rates. The rest of the loans payable and other financial liabilities approximate their fair value because the interest rates are not materially different from market interest rates. 

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The following table summarizes the fair value level for those financial assets and liabilities of the Company measured at amortized cost as of March  31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:









(*) The fair value of the convertible senior notes (including the equity component) is disclosed in Note 9.



As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company held no direct investments in auction rate securities, collateralized debt obligations or structured investment vehicles, and does not have any non-financial assets or liabilities measured at fair value.

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the fair value of money market funds, short and long-term investments classified as available for sale securities are as follows:





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The material portion of the Sovereign Debt Securities consists of U.S. Treasury Notes, which carry no significant risk.

As of March 31, 2018, the estimated fair values (in thousands of U.S. dollars) of cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments classified by their effective maturities are as follows:







 

7. Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation and Other Legal Matters

The Company is subject to certain contingent liabilities with respect to existing or potential claims, lawsuits and other proceedings. The Company accrues liabilities when it considers probable that future costs will be incurred and such costs can be reasonably estimated. The proceeding-related reserve is based on developments to date and historical information related to actions filed against the Company. As of March 31, 2018, the Company had established reserves for proceeding-related contingencies and other estimated contingencies of $6,188 thousand to cover legal actions against the Company in which its management has assessed the likelihood of a final adverse outcome as probable. Expected legal costs related to litigations are accrued when the legal service is actually provided.

In addition, as of March 31, 2018  the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to certain legal actions considered by the Company’s management and its legal counsels to be reasonably possible for an aggregate amount up to $8,094 thousand.

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No loss amounts have been accrued for such reasonably possible legal actions of which most significant (individually or in the aggregate) are described below and in note 15 to the financial statements in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.  

As of March 31, 2018, there were 69 lawsuits pending against our Argentine subsidiary in the Argentine ordinary courts and 2,196 pending claims in the Argentine Consumer Protection Agencies, where a lawyer is not required to file or pursue a claim.

As of March 31, 2018,  791 legal actions were pending in the Brazilian ordinary courts. In addition, as of March 31, 2018, there were 5,061 cases still pending in Brazilian consumer courts. Filing and pursuing of an action before Brazilian consumer courts do not require the assistance of a lawyer.

As of March 31, 2018, there were  9 claims pending against our Mexican subsidiaries in the Mexican ordinary courts and 215 claims pending against our Mexican subsidiaries in the Mexican Consumer Protection Agencies, where a lawyer is not required to file or pursue a claim.

City of São Paulo Tax Claim

In 2007, São Paulo tax authorities assessed taxes and fines against our Brazilian subsidiary relating to the period from 2005 to 2007 in an approximate amount of $5.9 million according to the exchange rate in effect at that time. In 2007, the Company presented administrative defenses against the authorities’ claim and the tax authorities ruled against the Brazilian subsidiary. In 2009, the Company presented an appeal to the Conselho Municipal de Tributos or São Paulo Municipal Council of Taxes, which reduced the fine. On February 11, 2011, the Company appealed this decision to the Câmaras Reunidas do Egrégio Conselho Municipal de Tributos or Superior Chamber of the São Paulo Municipal Council of Taxes, which affirmed the reduction of the fine. As of the date of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements, the total amount of the claim is $ 4.4 million including surcharges and interest. With this decision, the administrative stage is finished. On August 15, 2011, the Company made a deposit in court of R$ 9.5 million, which including accrued interests amounted to R$ 14.9 million or $ 4.5 million, according to the exchange rate at March 31, 2018, and filed a lawsuit in 8th Public Treasury Court of the County of São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil, to contest the taxes and fines asserted by the Tax Authorities. On May 31, 2016, a lower court judge ruled in favor of the Company and the São Paulo Municipal Council presented a motion to clarify mentioned decision that was rejected. On November 29, 2016, the São Paulo Municipal Council appealed, and the Company presented its counter arguments. On April 12, 2018, the Court rejected the appeal of São Paulo tax authorities, confirming the first instance decision, which was favorable to the Company.

Administrative tax claims

On July 12, 2017, São Paulo tax authorities assessed taxes and fines against one of our Brazilian subsidiaries (iBazar) relating to “ICMS Publicidade” for the period from July 2012 to December 2013 in an amount of R$ 12.2 million or $ 3.7 million according to the exchange rate in effect at that time. The first instance decision was unfavorable to the company, however on February 23, 2018 the Court granted the Company's appeal.  The opinion of the Company´s management, based on the opinion of external legal counsel, is that the risk of losing the case is reasonably possible, but not probable.

Other third parties have from time to time claimed, and others may claim in the future, that the Company was responsible for fraud committed against them, or that the Company has infringed their intellectual property rights. The underlying laws with respect to the potential liability of online intermediaries like the Company are unclear in the jurisdictions where the Company operates. Management believes that additional lawsuits alleging that the Company has violated copyright or trademark laws will be filed against the Company in the future.

Intellectual property and regulatory claims, whether meritorious or not, are time consuming and costly to resolve, require significant amounts of management time, could require expensive changes in the Company’s methods of doing business, or could require the Company to enter into costly royalty or licensing agreements. The Company may be subject to patent disputes, and be subject to patent infringement claims as the Company’s services expand in scope and complexity. In particular, the Company may face additional patent infringement claims involving various aspects of the payments businesses.

From time to time, the Company is involved in other disputes or regulatory inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of business. The number and significance of these disputes and inquiries are increasing as the Company’s business expands and the Company grows larger.

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Buyer protection program

The Company provides consumers with a buyer protection program (“BPP”) for all transactions completed through the Company’s online payment solution (“MercadoPago”). This program is designed to protect buyers in the Marketplace from losses due primarily to fraud or counterparty non-performance. The Company’s BPP provides protection to consumers by reimbursing them for the total value of a purchased item and the value of any shipping service paid if it does not arrive or does not match the seller’s description. The Company is entitled to recover from the third-party carrier companies performing the shipping service certain amounts paid under the BPP. Furthermore, in some specific circumstances (i.e. Black Friday, Hot Sale), the Company enters into insurance contracts with third-party insurance companies in order to cover contingencies that may arise from the BPP.

The maximum potential exposure under this program is estimated to be the volume of payments on the Marketplace, for which claims may be made under the terms and conditions of the Company’s BPP. Based on historical losses to date, the Company does not believe that the maximum potential exposure is representative of the actual potential exposure. The Company records a liability with respect to losses under this program when they are probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated.

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, management's estimate of the maximum potential exposure related to the Company’s buyer protection program is $675,021 thousands and $925,690 thousands, respectively, for which the Company recorded an allowance of $3,631 thousands and $1,087 thousands, respectively.

Loans payable and other financial liabilities

During the first quarter of 2018, the Company obtained a line of credit from JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. denominated in U.S. dollars, to be applied to working capital needs. As of March 31, 2018, the amount outstanding under this line of credit is $50,081 thousands and bears interest at a fixed rate of 3.25% per annum.

During the last quarter of 2017, the Company through its Argentine subsidiary obtained two lines of credit from Citibank N.A. of New York, denominated in Argentine pesos, to be applied to working capital needs. As of March 31, 2018, the amount outstanding under these lines of credit is $35,578 thousands and bears interest at a weighted average rate of 25% per annum.

During the last quarter of 2017, the Company, through its Chilean subsidiary, obtained a line of credit from Banco de Chile denominated in Chilean pesos, to be applied to working capital needs. As of March 31, 2018, the amount outstanding under this line of credit is $16,290 thousands and bears interest at a fixed rate of 4.32% per annum.

As of March 31, 2018, the Company, through its Chilean, Uruguayan and Mexican subsidiaries, obtained unsecured lines of credit for an amount of $14,520 thousands which bears interest at a weighted average rate of 8.9% per annum, and through its Argentine subsidiary obtained unsecured line of credit for an amount of $15,979 thousands which bears interest at a fixed rate of 26.5% per annum.

As of March 31, 2018, the loans payable described above have a maturity date within the next four months.

See Note 9 of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements for details regarding the Company’s 2.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2019. 

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8. Long term retention plan (“LTRP”)



The following table summarizes the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 long term retention plan accrued compensation expense for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, which are payable in cash according to the decisions made by the Board of Directors:

























9. 2.25% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2019

On June 30, 2014, the Company issued $330 million of 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2019 (the “Notes”). The Notes are unsecured, unsubordinated obligations of the Company, which pay interest in cash semi-annually, on January 1 and July 1, at a rate of 2.25% per annum. The Notes will mature on July 1, 2019 unless earlier repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date. The Notes may be converted, under specific conditions, based on an initial conversion rate of 7.9353 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes (equivalent to an initial conversion price of $126.02 per share of common stock), subject to adjustment as described in the indenture governing the Notes. 

Holders may convert their notes at their option at any time prior to January 1, 2019 only under the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter commencing after the calendar quarter ending on September 30, 2014 (and only during such calendar quarter), if the last reported sale price of the common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter is greater than or equal to 130% of the conversion price on each applicable trading day; (2) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period (the “measurement period”) in which the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of notes for each trading day of the measurement period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock and the conversion rate on each such trading day; or (3) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events. On or after January 1, 2019 until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert their notes at any time, regardless of the foregoing circumstances. 

During the period from October 1, 2016 through March 31, 2018, 31 Notes were converted for a total amount of $31 thousands. Additionally, during the first quarter of 2018, the conversion threshold was met again and the Notes became convertible at the holders’ option beginning on April 1, 2018 and ending on June 30, 2018. The determination of whether or not the Notes are convertible must continue to be performed on a quarterly basis. Upon conversion, the Company will pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, at the Company’s election. The intention of the Company is to share-settle the total amount due upon conversion of the Notes.

From April 1, 2018 to the date of issuance of these interim condensed consolidated financial statements, no additional conversion requests were made.

In connection with the issuance of the Notes, the Company paid $19.7 million, $67.3 million and $45.7 million (including transaction expenses) in June 2014, September 2017 and March 2018, respectively, to enter into capped call transactions with respect to shares of the common stock (the “Capped Call Transactions”), with certain financial institutions. The Capped Call Transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution upon conversion of the Notes in the event that the market price of the common stock is greater than the strike price of the Capped Call Transactions. The cost of the Capped Call Transactions is included as a net reduction to additional paid-in capital in the stockholders’ equity section of the consolidated balance sheets.

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The total estimated fair value of the Notes was $937.1 million and $829.0 million as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. The fair value was determined based on the closing trading price per $100 principal amount of the Notes as of the last day of trading for the period. The Company considered the fair value of the Notes as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 to be a Level 2 measurement. The fair value of the Notes is primarily affected by the trading price of our common stock and market interest rates. Based on the $356.4 closing price of the Company’s common stock on March 31, 2018, the if-converted value of the Notes exceeded their principal amount by $603.2 million.

The following table presents the carrying amounts of the liability and equity components related to the 2.25% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2019 as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:









 

The following table presents the interest expense for the contractual interest, the accretion of debt discount and the amortization of debt issuance costs:









 

10. Cash Dividend Distribution

In each of March, May, July and October of 2017, the Board of Directors approved a fixed quarterly cash dividend of $6,624 thousands (or $0.150 per share) on the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock. The dividends were paid on April 17, July 14, October 16, 2017 and January 12, 2018 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, 2017. 

After reviewing the Company's capital allocation process the Board of Directors has concluded that it has multiple investment opportunities that should generate greater return to shareholders through investing capital into the business as compared to a dividend policy. Consequently, the decision has been made to suspend the payment of dividend to shareholders as of the first quarter of 2018.