Fintech dLocal posts Q4 profit up 87% on improving margins (updated)

Dlocal.

18/03/2026 21:09

Recasts with outlook, CEO comment

Payments provider sees growth in 2026

Company plans $300 million share buyback

Q4 earnings surpass analysts' forecasts

By Sarah Morland

March 18 (Reuters) - Fintech company dLocal DLO.O on Wednesday predicted solid growth for its business in 2026, forecasting that the value of payments it processes will surge 50% to 60% as it scales up with large merchants across its markets.

Uruguay's first unicorn, a company to publicly list for more than $1 billion, recorded a total payments value of $41 billion in 2025, up 60% from the prior year.

"We believe we are only scratching the surface of the opportunity ahead," CEO Pedro Arnt said in a statement, pointing to an emerging markets digital payments sector it expects to balloon in the coming years.

Its operating profit, a measure it will begin using this year, should increase 27.5% to 32.5% from $220 million last year, with gross profit up 22.5% to 27.5% from $403 million, it said.

It plans to buy back $300 million in shares.

dLocal focuses on emerging markets across Latin America, Africa and Asia, where it facilitates transactions for merchants including Amazon AMZN.O, Uber UBER.N and Spotify SPOT.N.

It makes the bulk of its income from Latin America, notably Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.

Despite a record of steady profits, dLocal's market value has declined to around $3.5 billion since it listed in New York five years ago for close to $9 billion - hit partly by an Argentine fraud probe and allegations of accounting discrepancies from short seller Muddy Waters.

dLocal has denied wrongdoing and strengthened its oversight measures.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, dLocal's profit and revenue surpassed analysts' forecasts, rising 87% to $55.6 million and 65% to $337.9 million, respectively.

It cited strong trends in Brazil across streaming, advertising, financial services and remittances, as well as in Mexico across e-commerce and ride-hailing.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland, Brendan O'Boyle and Akshaya V; Editing by Rod Nickel)

((Brendan.O'Boyle@thomsonreuters.com; +52 56 2564 7977))