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 2026-07-08.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$947.50
-1.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
MercadoLibre, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$1,635.15
+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
(43.2x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COST |
MELI |
| Current Price |
$947.50 |
$1,635.15 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$933.84 |
$2,370.97 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-1.4%
|
+45.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$420.2B |
$82.9B |
| Forward P/E |
47.6x
|
43.2x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
28.3x
|
27.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
2.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
47.7x
|
7.7x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.6%
|
+49.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
43.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
9.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.3%
|
29.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.1%
|
12.92%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates as a membership-only warehouse club offering a wide range of merchandise at low prices. The company exhibits high business quality with a durable competitive moat driven by cost advantages, strong brand loyalty, and efficient operations, reflected in a robust ROE of 28.3% and solid revenue growth of 11.6% in the most recent quarter. Despite these strengths, t…
MercadoLibre is a leading Latin American e-commerce and fintech platform with a durable competitive moat driven by its integrated logistics and financial services stack. The company commands approximately 30 to 35 percent market share in e-commerce and over 30 percent in online payments in key markets like Brazil. It is founder-influenced with a long-tenured management team and reinvests heavily …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COST |
MELI |
| Zone Low |
$700.38 |
$1,778.23 |
| Zone High |
$793.76 |
$2,015.32 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|