MELI MercadoLibre Inc
$1,817.51
▼ 2.1%Updated Oct 16, 2:25 PM ET
Report Card
MELI at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
How the 0–100 rating is calculatedOverall: Neutral · 46/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
Key Metrics
Market Cap
$89.40B
P/E
47.99x
Forward P/E (est.)
51.51x
ROE
29.6%
Revenue Growth
42.1%
EPS Growth
-6.8%
Profit Margin
6.0%
FCF Yield
1.7%
Debt / Equity
1.36x
ROIC
14.0%
Interest Coverage
—
Current Ratio
1.12x
Dividend Yield
—
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
-2.7%
Rating Score
46/100
Business Overview
MercadoLibre Inc (MELI) is a large-cap NASDAQ-listed company in the Retail industry, within the Consumer Discretionary sector, with a market value around $89.40B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $20.34B in revenue and $2.00B in net profit.
Our model rates MELI Neutral (46/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Economic Moat
Evidence of durable competitive advantage in the filed financials (9 years of history).
Profit margins and economic moats, explainedThe filed history looks like a business competitors struggle to attack: high and steady margins, revenue that grows through cycles, and strong returns on capital.
66.3% average over the last 3 years
±9.7 pts around 57.8% across 9 years
grew in 8 of the last 8 year-over-year periods
positive in 9 of 9 years
14.0% latest fiscal year
A moat can't be proven by numbers alone — this scores the evidence a durable advantage leaves behind (pricing power, consistency, returns on capital), computed the same way for every stock. Pair it with the business overview before concluding anything.
Revenue Growth
4Y CAGR
37.4%
Revenue moved from $1.22B in 2017 to $20.34B in 2025, a 42.2% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year grew a strong 42.1% year over year. Consistent top-line growth is one sign of healthy demand.
Profitability
Gross Margin
63.2%
Operating Margin
15.7%
Net Margin
9.8%
ROE
29.6%
MercadoLibre Inc keeps about 6.0% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 63.2% gross margin and 15.7% operating margin. Return on equity is 29.6% and return on invested capital about 14.0%. Margins are moderate — typical of a competitive but profitable business.
Debt Analysis
Total Debt
$10.63B
Net Debt
$6.98B
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.18x
Debt / Equity
1.36x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 1.4x, with a current ratio of 1.1x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $10.63B of total debt against $3.65B of cash.
Cash Flow Analysis
Operating CF
$12.12B
Free Cash Flow
$10.77B
FCF Margin
53.0%
In the latest year MercadoLibre Inc produced about $12.12B of operating cash flow and $10.77B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 1.7% on today's price. Cash flow is what ultimately pays shareholders, so it is worth tracking over time.
Dividend Safety
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
What to look for in a dividend stockThe dividend is being paid, but coverage or consistency is thinner than an income investor should rely on without a closer look.
Per share (latest FY)
$0.60
Total paid (latest FY)
$6.62M
History on record
2 years
dividend uses 0% of free cash flow
0% of net income paid out
no current raise streak
payout was cut at least once in the last 2 years
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
Valuation Analysis
P/E
47.99x
P/S
3.09x
P/B
15.6x
EV / EBITDA
—
MELI trades at 48.0x trailing earnings (about 51.5x on estimated forward earnings), 3.1x sales, and 15.6x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly -2.7% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a rich multiple that prices in a lot of future growth.
DCF Fair Value (Educational)
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
How this DCF estimate is calculatedDCF fair value / share
$8,799.71
Current price
$1,817.51
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$10.77B
Growth, years 1–5
20.0%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Metrics vs. Sector Range
Where MELI sits versus the Consumer Discretionary companies we cover.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 85 Consumer Discretionary companies in our coverage that have fundamentals data — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
Sector Peer Comparison
How MELI stacks up against its Consumer Discretionary peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
Among the 85 rated Consumer Discretionary companies we cover, MELI ranks #52 by our overall rating. It trades at a premium versus the sector on earnings (48x P/E vs. 24.6x median) with a higher return on equity (29.6% vs. 26.2%) and faster revenue growth (42.1% vs. 6.8%).
P/E vs sector
48x
median 24.6x
ROE vs sector
29.6%
median 26.2%
Growth vs sector
42.1%
median 6.8%
Sector rank
#52
of 85 rated
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Consumer Discretionary companies by sub-industry and size, preferring ones with full data. Sector medians and rank use the 85 rated companies among the 158 Consumer Discretionary stocks we cover. Educational, not a recommendation.
5-Year Projection Model
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
What drives this projection, and its limits2030 scenario price range (Base Case)
$6,922.07 – $11,457.22
vs. $1,817.51 today · implied CAGR 31% – 45%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $28.88B | $41.00B | $58.22B | $82.68B | $117.40B |
| Net income | $2.89B | $4.10B | $5.82B | $8.27B | $11.74B |
| EPS | $58.71 | $83.36 | $118.38 | $168.09 | $238.69 |
| Share price (low) | $1,702.48 | $2,417.52 | $3,432.88 | $4,874.70 | $6,922.07 |
| Share price (high) | $2,817.90 | $4,001.42 | $5,682.02 | $8,068.46 | $11,457.22 |
| CAGR (low–high) | -6% / 55% | 15% / 48% | 24% / 46% | 28% / 45% | 31% / 45% |
Educational scenario model, not a forecast or investment advice. It starts from the latest annual revenue in SEC filings. By default, growth is trailing revenue growth (held between 3% and 45% a year), the net margin is the latest one (held between 3% and 50%, so a loss-making company is modeled with a small profit), and the Base case P/E runs from 60% to 100% of today's. Carrying recent growth forward five years can miss badly in either direction. Outputs are only as good as the assumptions.
Bull Case
The case for MELI:
- Revenue is growing 42.1% a year, a sign of real demand.
- Strong return on equity (29.6%) shows capital is put to work well.
Bear Case
The case against MELI:
- A rich 48.0x earnings multiple prices in a lot of growth.
- Like any single stock, it is exposed to competition, the economic cycle, and shifts in its end markets.
Key Risks
Valuation risk — at 48.0x earnings, disappointing results could compress the multiple.
Balance-sheet risk — debt/equity of 1.4x magnifies the impact of higher rates or weaker earnings.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
Investment Thesis
On balance, the picture is mixed: MercadoLibre Inc is a large-cap consumer discretionary business still growing nicely, with modest profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 48.0x earnings, which our model scores Neutral (46/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 30 Wall Street analysts covering MELI recommend (September 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Latest SEC Filings
MELI's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen. How to read a 10-K
In the Idea Lab
MELI — frequently asked questions
Is MELI a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates MercadoLibre Inc Neutral (46/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is MELI's rating on The Stocks School?
MercadoLibre Inc currently scores 46/100 (Neutral) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does MELI's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from MercadoLibre Inc's SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for MELI calculated?
It's a scenario model. It starts from the latest annual revenue and net margin in SEC filings, grows revenue at an assumed rate (trailing revenue growth by default), and applies a P/E range built around today's multiple to show the resulting share-price range. When a stock has no growth or P/E data, the starting values are placeholders. It's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this MELI analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell MELI. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.