CAT vs MELI: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and MercadoLibre, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-21.
Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials
$808.99
-2.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
MercadoLibre, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$1,828.94
+25.8% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MELI has more upside to fair value
(+25.8%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
MELI |
| Current Price |
$808.99 |
$1,828.94 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$790.88 |
$2,300.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.2%
|
+25.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$372.6B |
$92.7B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.6x
|
33.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.0x
|
2.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
41.4x
|
7.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.0%
|
+49.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
33.9%
|
42.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
8.3%
|
| Return on Equity |
54.1%
|
26.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.76% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.41%
|
13.44%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Caterpillar is the world's premier manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas power units, and industrial gas turbines, organized across Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy & Transportation, and Financial Products, with 118,000 employees and a century-old brand. Business quality is high: return on equity of 54.1%, TTM operating margin of 17.5%…
MercadoLibre operates Latin America's leading ecommerce marketplace alongside Mercado Pago payments, credit, logistics, advertising and loyalty products, creating a broad ecosystem with meaningful network effects and cross-sell. Business momentum remains strong: revenue and financial income grew 49.8% year over year in the most recent quarter to $10.169 billion, GMV increased 44%, TPV rose 56%, a…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
MELI |
| Zone Low |
$593.16 |
$1,725.00 |
| Zone High |
$672.25 |
$1,955.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|