The Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) is the main stock exchange of Mexico, and it holds the largest listed companies of Latin America's second-biggest economy. ScreenerHero covers 147 Mexican companies, and 61 of them are worth more than 1 billion euros.
Most guides to Mexican stocks mix two very different things, so it helps to separate them first.
Mexican companies versus foreign shares on the BMV
The BMV runs a second system, the SIC, that lets Mexican investors buy foreign shares such as Apple or Tesla in pesos. Those listings can outnumber the Mexican companies on a ticker list by several to one.
ScreenerHero loads only companies that are from Mexico. Foreign shares are left out, because they already appear on their home exchange and would show up twice. If you want Apple, search for it on the Nasdaq.
The companies that matter
A short list of names explains most of the market.
- América Móvil. One of the largest telecom operators in Latin America, with the bulk of its customers outside Mexico.
- Walmart de México (Walmex). The largest retailer in the country.
- Grupo México. Copper mining, rail and infrastructure.
- FEMSA. The owner of the OXXO convenience store chain, plus a large stake in a beverage business.
- Grupo Financiero Banorte. The largest Mexican-owned bank.
- Cemex. A global cement producer headquartered in Monterrey.
- Airport groups. ASUR, GAP and OMA run airports in Mexico and beyond.
- Grupo Bimbo and Arca Continental. Food and beverage groups with international reach.
The benchmark index is the S&P/BMV IPC, which tracks around 35 of the most traded stocks.
What makes Mexico worth looking at
Consumer and retail scale. Convenience stores, supermarkets and banks serve a large and growing middle class.
Airports and infrastructure. Listed airport operators collect fees on passenger traffic, which gives them steady cash flow and strong margins.
Exposure to trade with the US. Mexico sells most of its exports to its northern neighbour. Investors often call the trend of companies moving production closer to the US "nearshoring". Treat it as a story to test with numbers: look at revenue growth and margins of the industrial and logistics names, not at the headline.
FIBRAs. Mexico has its own listed property vehicles, called FIBRAs. They are required to distribute most of their taxable income, which makes them an income product. Screen them on yield, occupancy and debt, as you would a REIT in the US REIT guide.
What to watch out for
The peso
Prices are in Mexican pesos and the currency can move sharply. A stock that gains 10% in pesos can lose money in euros or dollars if the peso falls. Look at returns in your own currency.
Share classes and odd tickers
Mexican tickers often carry a series letter or unit suffix, and one company can have several lines. Be careful to compare the same share class. Make sure you do not read the same company twice in a list.
Trusts are not companies
Part of the market is not a company in the usual sense. FIBRAs and some private equity trusts have no earnings per share in the standard way, so ratios such as P/E may be empty or misleading. For these, price to NAV and distribution yield are better tools.
Thin trading outside the top names
A few dozen stocks trade actively. The rest can go days without a trade. Check the volume before you decide on a position.
Withholding tax
Foreign investors usually pay a withholding tax on dividends from Mexican companies. The rate can depend on a tax treaty between Mexico and your country, so check your own case.