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 2026-09-25.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$896.48
+24.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
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 |
COST |
MELI |
| Current Price |
$896.48 |
$1,828.94 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$1,117.50 |
$2,300.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+24.7%
|
+25.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$397.6B |
$92.7B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
32.7x
|
33.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.3x
|
2.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
42.4x
|
7.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.1%
|
+49.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
17.5%
|
42.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.9%
|
8.3%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.0%
|
26.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.62% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.36%
|
13.44%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global network of membership-based warehouse clubs, selling branded and private-label merchandise across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, and China, supplemented by pharmacies, optical centers, food courts, hearing aid centers, tire installation, 636 gas stations, and e-com…
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 |
COST |
MELI |
| Zone Low |
$838.12 |
$1,725.00 |
| Zone High |
$949.88 |
$1,955.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|