Shadowing Practice: How to Present Financial Results in English – CFO Video Breakdown - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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In today's English class, we'll be analyzing the way the CFO of Mercado Libre presents his financial results.
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In today's English class, we'll be analyzing the way the CFO of Mercado Libre presents his financial results.
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In this analysis, we're going to be looking at two things.
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Firstly, the vocabulary he uses,
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and secondly, the way he structures his messaging.
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Just a reminder, if you like the video,
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please leave me a message in the comments section.
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And if you haven't already subscribed to the channel, please do that.
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I've also got a free newsletter, English for Accountants.
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So if you're looking to take your English to that next level,
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you can find the link in the description of this video.
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Welcome back, everybody.
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Mercado Libre is Latin America's largest company by market value.
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The e-commerce giant reported earnings that missed estimates.
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Revenue growth of 34% did beat expectations,
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but the earnings of $10.31 came in below the $11.93 the street was expecting.
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Joining us right now to talk more about it is the company's CFO,
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Martin De Los Santos.
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And sir, thank you for being with us this morning.
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Let's talk a little bit about the stock's reaction.
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It's down 6% after the earnings were a little disappointing.
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I know margins were cut into a bit.
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What happened?
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We see here that the revenue was good,
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but the earnings wasn't what they were expecting.
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Did you notice they never use the word bad when they're describing financial performance?
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They use words like missed, the earnings missed estimates.
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In this case, we're saying that the earnings were lower than what the analysts were expecting.
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She also uses the word came in below.
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For example, the earnings of 1031 came in below the 1193 we were expecting.
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She also said are down.
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The stocks are down 6%.
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And lastly, disappointing.
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The earnings were a little disappointing
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so according to the interviewer a mix of results good being revenue growth
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and perhaps bad the earnings were below what the analysts were
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expecting okay let's see how the cfo handles this situation
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so generally a good cfo will always try
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and focus on the good results
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and where there is some problematic areas they generally try
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and turn it into something positive so let's see what he says here
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good morning thank you for having me we are very excited about the results that we've seen in q2
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you know as you mentioned revenue is growing 34 year on
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year we continue to expand both our e-commerce platform as well
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as our fintech ecosystem where we see a tremendous opportunity in
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latin america a number of users continue to grow 25 in
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commerce 30 growth in fintech our credit book doubling year on year gmb
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which is a volume transacted in our platform growing
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30 in mexico and brazil our largest markets so so very excited about the results so he says here
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he's excited about the results let's look at the things he
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focuses on revenue up 34% year on year okay year on
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year means compared to previous period we have continued to expand
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both our ecommerce platform as well as our fintech the number of users has grown
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so for the ecommerce platform it was 25% and for The fintech,
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the number of users has grown by 30%.
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And lastly, he says that their credit book doubled.
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Okay.
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So we can see here the focus is on the good results.
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Let's see what he says about why his earnings were below expectations.
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And if he puts a little positive spin on his messaging.
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This was a quarter of investment.
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In order to capture this large opportunity that we have ahead of us,
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We need to continue investing for the long term.
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We opened two new fulfillment centers this quarter,
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adding to the more than 30 fulfillment centers that we have in the region.
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We have the largest and more sophisticated fulfillment infrastructure in Latin America.
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We also invested in offering free shipping to our users in Brazil.
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We lowered the threshold by which we offer free shipping to $4.
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I mean, came from 79 reais to 19 reais,
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which is roughly four dollars.
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So that's a bold step in terms of our eliminating friction for people buying online.
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And we also continue to invest in the credit card.
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So I think probably in the short term that put a little pressure on margins,
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but we are sure I'm improving over the past several years
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that those investments in the long term pay off in order for us to make sure
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that we do not miss the large opportunities that we have ahead of us.
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so the first thing he said it was a quarter of investment to capture opportunities okay
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so that's why their earnings were lower than expected their costs have increased
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so those costs have come from two areas firstly opening up more fulfillment centers
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and secondly because they lowered the threshold to qualify for free shipping okay
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so the minimum order amount now is much lower than what it used to be
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and they're doing that to capture more clients okay
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so you notice how he spun the message from bad news
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being cost increase into something positive capturing more market for the long term
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i also like some of the phrases he used in this section he said it was a bold step
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to eliminate friction for people buying online so in this case bold means courageous or brave
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and friction is referring to resistance making something harder okay
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so in other words it was a brave decision to make
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online shopping easier for people the second phrase I liked was
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when he said in the short term that will put pressure on our margins
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but we're confident that in the long term those investments will pay off
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so here the phrasal verb is payoff payoff can mean a few things
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but in this sense it means to have good results
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so in other words investing in the short term will provide
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good results in the long term you notice here everything he
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says is clear it's concise he doesn't over complicate the messaging
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if you're a non-native English speaker
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and you want to present results the same way as
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that CFO did check out my step-by-step guide in my course
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describing financial performance in English I'll leave the link for you in the description of this video
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so what's one thing you should take away from today's class it's this
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when you're presenting financial results don't focus on numbers in the table okay
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if your audience wanted
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that information they don't need you to present it to them
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they have it already in a report instead your focus should
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be on creating a clear digestible message of the events
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that drove the result in your business okay the same way
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we saw the CFO from Mercado Libre do okay the revenue was up why it's
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because they invested more in free shipping which meant
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that they were able to bring in more customers okay their costs are up why
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because they invested more in free shipping offering
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that to their clients they paid that and they opened up more fulfillment centers
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which meant their cost increase but they were able to serve better than you market okay
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so the next time you have to present financial results focus more on the messaging rather than reading numbers

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Practicing your English speaking skills using this analysis of a CFO's presentation on financial results provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into professional communication in a corporate context. By engaging with this video, you can learn not just industry-specific vocabulary but also how to structure your own messages effectively. Using the CFO’s language as a model allows you to shadow speak, mimicking pronunciation and intonation, which can significantly boost your confidence and fluency. Moreover, understanding how professionals navigate both the positive and negative aspects of financial discussions prepares you for real-world conversations in business settings.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

In this presentation, the CFO utilizes several key expressions and structures that can greatly enhance your English speaking practice:

  • "missed estimates" - This phrase highlights a common way to describe results that did not meet expectations. It’s crucial to understand how to convey disappointment without using negative language.
  • "came in below" - This structure is used to present results that fall short. Learning to incorporate such phrases will help you articulate financial outcomes clearly.
  • "a mix of results" - Using phrases like this allows you to discuss various outcomes, thus enabling you to express balanced perspectives in your conversations.
  • "very excited about the results" - Emphasizing positivity when presenting information can improve the reception of your message, which is a key skill in professional English.
  • "growing year on year" - This expression is valuable for discussing trends over time, helping you communicate progress effectively.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you practice shadowing this video, be aware of certain pronunciation challenges:

  • Words like "earnings" and "disappointing" - These can be tricky due to their vowel sounds and syllable stress. Pay close attention to how the CFO pronounces them in the video.
  • “Estimates” vs. “estimation” - These two words are often confused. Notice the CFO’s emphasis to distinguish them correctly.
  • “Year on year” - It's essential to practice this expression to ensure clarity and fluency, especially in faster-paced speech.

By focusing on these aspects, you can enhance your pronunciation and articulation, making your English speaking practice more effective. Regularly referencing high-level business discussions like this one allows you to refine your skills while becoming more comfortable with complex vocabulary and structures. Use this video as a helpful shadowing site for your English speaking practice and watch your confidence soar!

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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