COST vs MELI: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and MercadoLibre, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-09.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$999.89
-20.7% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
VS
MercadoLibre, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$1,632.52
+45.0% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MELI has more upside to fair value
(+45.0%).
MELI trades at a lower forward P/E
(43.1x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MELI |
| Current Price |
$999.89 |
$1,632.52 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$793.02 |
$2,367.15 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-20.7%
|
+45.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$443.6B |
$82.8B |
| Forward P/E |
51.9x
|
43.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.9x
|
22.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
2.7x
|
| Price / FCF |
48.8x
|
7.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.2%
|
+30.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
45.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
9.9%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
29.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.05%
|
13.89%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global membership-based warehouse club model that leverages scale, low costs, and superior employee retention to deliver consistent revenue and earnings growth. The company reported $269.9 billion in net sales for fiscal 2025 with an 8% year-over-year increase, driven by strong segments in Foods and Sundries and membership fees exceeding $5.65 billion in th…
MercadoLibre, Inc. operates a leading e-commerce and fintech platform in Latin America, combining a dominant commerce marketplace with a rapidly growing fintech segment. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by network effects, strong brand recognition, and a comprehensive logistics infrastructure. Despite a recent earnings growth decline of 15.6% in the most recent quarter,…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MELI |
| Zone Low |
$594.76 |
$1,775.36 |
| Zone High |
$674.07 |
$2,012.08 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|