Fintech companies are disrupting the global economy with new and innovative products. Technological advancements have led to considerable investments in this sector and traditional finance companies have not been able to efficiently cater to changing business needs. Of the recent fintech quarterly earnings, D-Local stood out for its strong bottom line. The company’s cloud-based payment platform is popular in the emerging markets of Latin America, including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, and Chile. It allows international enterprises to operate in the emerging markets by using the company’s payment platform to receive and make payments, and comply with local regulations, taxes, foreign exchange, and fraud management. The payment service is used by companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Didi, Mailchimp, Wix, Shopify, Wikimedia, etc.
DLocal released its Q1 2022 results last month. The company’s revenues grew by 117% year-over-year to $87.5 million. It beat the Wall Street revenue estimates by 5.9%. The company also reported a 30% net profit margin in the recent quarter. The solid top-line growth, earnings beat, and good profits sent the stock soaring 15% the following day of the announcement of the results.
Below, we discuss the market opportunity, the company’s background and a full financial picture on this hot fintech stock.
Market Opportunity
According to Vantage Market Research, the fintech market is expected to reach $332.5 billion by 2028 from $112.5 billion in 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% from 2022 to 2028.
KPMG published a Pulse of Fintech H2’21 report suggests that the investment in the fintech sector was strong in 2021, and the trend is expected to continue in 2022. According to the report, the global fintech investment reached $210 billion in 2021. The payments category drew a record in venture capital funding. The report also highlights the record investment in emerging markets like Latin America and Africa.
Mike Louw, Partner, Head of M&A KPMG South Africa, said, “The northern hemisphere is a crowded marketplace and multiples are at an all-time high. This makes Africa an attractive alternative. Global PE firms and investors are seeing the opportunity. It’s put the continent on the fintech map.”
Ricardo Anhesini, Head of Financial Services, LATAM KPMG Brazil said, “The growth of fintech in Latin America is a classic example of ‘leapfrogging’ — fintechs have leveraged the need for financial inclusion amongst large swathes of the population to move straight to a new generation of services.”
Company Overview and product niche
The company was founded in 2016 in Uruguay. The shares were listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in June 2021. Through its single API, technology platform, and a single contract, the company helps global enterprise merchants to be paid (pay-in) and make payments (pay-out) in the countries it operates. The company’s cloud-based platform can make cross borders and local payments in 37 countries while enabling global merchants to connect to over 700 local payment methods.
The company’s Marketplace payments solutions allow its sellers to receive payments in the local payment methods through credit or debit cards, bank transfers, and cash. The company makes it easier for global enterprises to operate in the region by partnering with a local payment platform by saving the hassle of complex regulations and solving difficulties that arise due to the lack of efficient banking facilities in these countries.
The company’s tie-up with alternative payment methods (APM) providers plays a role in the unbanked population. In Brazil alone, there were 34 million unbanked adults, according to a study by Instituto Locomotiva conducted in January 2021.
The company also cited in the F-1 the research from Americas Market Intelligence (AMI). In Brazil, domestic credit cards constituted 55% of the total e-commerce payment volumes, followed by alternative payment methods at 21%, cash at 14%, and the rest 10% of international credit cards. It highlights why the company has been popular in emerging markets and can easily bridge a gap in places with a high percentage of cash transactions and consumers using local payment providers.
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For example, one of Brazil’s popular alternative payment methods is Boleto Bancario. Boleto means a ticket with a due date and the amount to be paid. Previously, it was only cash, and now the payment can also be made through bank accounts or in various branches, post offices, and ATMs to use the goods and services. Boleto payments were typically confirmed in 2-3 days, however, this time is reduced to a few minutes through the company’s API’s. This shows how the company’s tie-ups with APM providers are successful.
The company has been a boon to global enterprises by solving the problem of dealing with tough regulations, tax complications, and fraud detection. The emerging markets are witnessing rapid e-commerce growth. Due to the under penetration of the digital economy, emerging markets are the hot spot for fintech companies.
Pay-In
The company’s pay-in solution helps merchants to offer services and receive payments in various payment methods like international and local cards, bank transfers, cash, and other alternative payment methods. Examples include: Microsoft sells its products in Nigeria and can accept payments from local payment providers. Due to the company’s single API they can easily expand to all countries where DLocal operates.
Pay-Out
The company’s pay-out solution facilities global companies to make payments in the countries in which DLocal operates. The company ensures that the payments are to the registered bank accounts of the users in accordance to the regulatory requirements. For example, Ride-hailing companies can make secure payments to their drivers in the emerging markets through the DLocal platform.
