This work aims to better assess the functioning of merchant capitalism through the analysis of profits and risks in the Spanish colonial market. Through accounting documents and the correspondence of the Solier family in Geneva, this work extracts information about financial and commercial profitability while linking them to maritime and commercial risks respectively. We observe profitability differences depending on the evolution of risks. We also give some insights about the network around the company Cayla, Cabanes, Solier et cie. which was the core of the Solier family’s investments in the Spanish colonial market.