MercadoLibre: Valued Like E-Commerce, Earning Like Fintech

Jaden Mealy15 FollowersFollow5ShareSavePlay(21min)Comments(4)SummaryMercadoLibre is mispriced as an e-commerce company despite fintech driving faster growth, with revenue growing 39% in 2025 and fintech expanding 46% year-over-year.Fintech has structurally outpaced e-commerce since 2021, increasing revenue mix from about 34% to roughly 43% while maintaining higher margins and engagement.MercadoLibre’s ecosystem creates a durable moat, supported by increasing market share of approximately 5.5% and payments volume exceeding GMV by several multiples.MELI shows improving profitability, with operating margins rising from about 6% to 10–11% and operating cash flow reaching approximately $10.5 billion in 2025.Leila Melhado/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Thesis MercadoLibre (MELI) has seen extraordinary growth over the past 5 years, expanding into a multinational company with a strong base of operations in South America. Through this, we have seen a transition from a purely This article was written byJaden Mealy15 FollowersFollowI am Jaden Mealy, an undergraduate sophomore student studying Finance and Mathematics at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. I have been involved in both the Boston College Investment Club and Sales and Trading Club, where I participate in equity research, having completed a number of stock pitches already. I also manage a personal portfolio and regularly conduct complex fundamental analysis on my primary sectors of interest, technology and financial services. I have passed my SIE, Series 65, Series 63, and Series 3 exams, and am currently pursuing my CFA LL1 certification. Professionally, I will be joining Corning Inc. as an Automotive Finance Intern in the summer of 2026, where I will be gaining exposure to corporate and technological finance, forecasting inventories and revenues similar to what I have already done in previous pitches. My goal in terms of writing for Seeking Alpha is two-pronged. I hope to provide readers with easy-to-read, truthful, and detailed analysis of stocks I truly enjoy learning about and valuing, while also improving my own modeling and investment skills in the meantime. I hope to both share my investment philosophy with other users while improving and refining my own expertise at the same time. My promise to you is to deliver legitimate and functional analysis, benefitting everyone involved. - Jaden MealyAnalyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.