Shares in Uruguayan payments firm Dlocal recorded their sharpest intraday gain in four years on Thursday, after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and lifted its full-year outlook.
The stock jumped as much as 34.6% to trade at $15.74 — the largest single-day surge since June 2021 — following the announcement on Wednesday that it had revised upward its projections for revenue, gross profit, adjusted EBITDA, and total payment volume.
The rally adds to a strong start to the year for Dlocal, whose shares are now up about 45% in 2025.
The results mark a significant turnaround for the Montevideo-based business-to-business payments provider, which has faced turbulence in recent years from market sell-offs, fraud allegations, and regulatory scrutiny.
Strong earnings despite currency impact
For the second quarter, Dlocal reported net income of $42.8 million, comfortably beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $37.1 million.
This performance came despite a $10.8 million loss linked to Argentina’s currency devaluation, which affected the firm’s holdings of Argentine government bonds.
According to regulatory filings, the company reduced its exposure to these securities dramatically during the quarter — cutting its portfolio from around $113 million in March to $19.9 million at the end of June.
The move reflects a more cautious stance on Argentine assets following market volatility.
Management changes and strategic outlook
Alongside its earnings update, Dlocal announced that Guillermo López Pérez will join the company as its new Chief Financial Officer in the coming months.
Lopez Perez brings experience from the machine learning platform Featurespace and has previously held senior positions at Visa and American Express.
The appointment follows a broader overhaul of Dlocal’s leadership team over the past year.
Former MercadoLibre Chief Financial Officer Pedro Arnt was appointed CEO in August 2023, part of a strategy to stabilise the business and rebuild investor confidence after a series of challenges, including accusations of fraud by short seller Muddy Waters and an Argentine regulatory investigation.
Even with Thursday’s substantial rally, Dlocal shares remain down about 23% since Arnt took the helm.
However, the latest results and guidance upgrade suggest renewed momentum for the company as it seeks to capitalise on long-term growth opportunities in the global payments sector.
Analyst upgrade highlights growth potential
The earnings beat and raised outlook drew a positive response from analysts.
HSBC’s Neha Agarwala upgraded her rating on Dlocal from “hold” to “buy”, setting a price target of $15 per share.
“In view of the significant long-term growth potential for Dlocal along with tangible momentum witnessed in the past few quarters, we believe it is on the right path,” Agarwala wrote in a note to clients.
Dlocal, which operates a cross-border payments platform for merchants in emerging markets, briefly held a market capitalisation of more than $20 billion less than three months after its Nasdaq debut in June 2021.
Since then, it has navigated a sharp sector-wide selloff in fintech shares, reputational setbacks, and shifting market conditions.
Thursday’s results indicate that the company’s recovery plan may be starting to take hold, as it balances near-term operational improvements with its long-term ambitions in global payments.
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