Fact based stock research
Mercadolibre (NasdaqGS:MELI)

US58733R1023

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Mercadolibre stock research in summary

mercadolibre.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 12 (worse than 88% compared with investment alternatives), Mercadolibre (Internet Retail, Argentina) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Mercadolibre are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 7 (worse than 93% of alternatives), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 8, which means above-average debt burdens) but show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 91). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 12, is a sell recommendation based on Mercadolibre's financial characteristics. As the company Mercadolibre shows low value with an Obermatt Value Rank of 7 (93% of comparable investments are less expensive), investors should look at the other ranks. In this case, growth is expected to be above-average, better than 91% of comparable companies (Obermatt Growth Rank is 91). This is a typical case. Companies with above average growth tend to cost more than stocks with slower growth expectations. If this is a high-growth company, the low Obermatt Safety Rank of 8 is a good sign. The more debt a well-performing company has, the higher the returns to shareholders. However, if growth turns negative or interest rates increase, high debt may become a burden. If you believe the future is bright for Mercadolibre, even a low-value company (in terms of its key financial indicators) can be a good investment. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	7
Growth Rank	91
Safety Rank	8
Combined Rank	12

Country	Argentina
Industry	Internet Retail
Index	Good Governace Growth Markets, NASDAQ 100, NASDAQ
Size class	XX-Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

26-Dec-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Mercadolibre

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	3	1	3	7
GROWTH
GROWTH	97	91	100	91
SAFETY
SAFETY	39	8	15	8
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	64	60	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	31	34	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 26-Dec-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Mercadolibre is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	3	1	3	7
GROWTH
GROWTH	97	91	100	91
SAFETY
SAFETY	39	8	15	8
COMBINED
COMBINED	36	20	26	12

Last update of combined financial performance: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Mercadolibre the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 7 (worse than 93% compared with alternatives), Mercadolibre shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four indicators below average for Mercadolibre. Price-to-Sales is 21 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 79% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Mercadolibre's sales levels. Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) also has a low Price-to-Book Rank of 3, which means that both reliable company size indicators, sales, and invested capital cannot explain the high stock price of Mercadolibre. In addition, the two profit-related value indicators, Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a low rank of 7 and Dividend Yield, which is lower than 99% of comparable companies, also make the stock more expensive compared with investment alternatives. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 7, is a sell recommendation based on Mercadolibre's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. How can market participants pay such a high price for Mercadolibre? One reason may be that the company is simply too popular. If enough people want a particular stock, its price can exceed reasonable levels. This is often the case for companies offering new and exciting products and everybody wants a piece of the action. Should you pay a lot for a hot stock such as Mercadolibre? It's risky, and even if the stock price continues to grow because of popular demand, it may return to more typical lower levels later. And that return can be sudden and quick, making it impossible for retail investors to exit on time. Sometimes, high prices are deserved. This is the case when it is justified to believe that the company will dominate a market with high profit margins. It has happened in the past for many technology companies and indeed for commercially successful pharmaceutical discoveries. Sometimes they last, sometimes, they get eaten alive. Mercadolibre may be such a type of stock. That would mean, retail investors should be careful, only considering investing a small part of their wealth in this exciting category and always being ready to lose more than half, if not all of the investment. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is essential in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	19	15	15	21
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	32	1	5	7
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	1	1	1	3
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	1	1	1
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	3	1	3	7

Last update of Value Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Mercadolibre; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 91 (better than 91% compared with alternatives) for 2024, Mercadolibre shows one of the highest growth dynamics in its industry. Investors also speak of high momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Mercadolibre. Sales Growth has a value of 98 which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow more than 98% of its competitors. Profit Growth with a value of 82 and Capital Growth with a rank of 67 means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow both profits and invested capital more than of its competitors. But Stock Returns has only a rank of 49, which means that stock returns have recently been below 51% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 91, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Mercadolibre has only one below-average growth indicator, the stock returns. This is probably the least reliable growth indicator, because it measures company and investor expectations at the same time. The three other growth indicators, which are all positive for Mercadolibre, are more reliable measures of growth momentum. For this reason, the company seems to be on a good trajectory, unless you think the current period is not representative, because of unique events that will not be repeated in the future. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	92	86	94	98
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	1	100	98	82
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	84	86	67
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	85	13	97	49
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	97	91	100	91

Last update of Growth Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Mercadolibre.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 8 (better than 8% compared with alternatives), the company Mercadolibre has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Mercadolibre is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with all three metrics below average for Mercadolibre. Liquidity is at 38, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 62% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side when it comes to debt service. Even worse, Leverage is at a rank of 11, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 89% of its competitors. Finally, Refinancing is at a rank of 25 which means that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 75% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 8 (worse than 92% compared with alternatives), Mercadolibre has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. This combination is rather dangerous in most situations. Only very promising companies with bright future outlooks and stellar reputations can operate with such risky financing. Investors should look at Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks to confirm a very positive outlook or be careful with investing in stocks of Mercadolibre because it may suffer significantly in case of future difficulties. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	27	28	8	11
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	56	18	28	25
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	49	19	41	38
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	39	8	15	8

Last update of Safety Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Mercadolibre and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	73	93	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	66	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	54	46	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	18	24	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	64	60	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 26-Dec-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Mercadolibre.
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