MELI vs SBUX: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of MercadoLibre, Inc. and Starbucks Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
MercadoLibre, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$1,767.42
+41.4% upside to fair value
High Conviction
Grade A
VS
Starbucks Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$96.60
+19.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
QuantHub Verdict
MELI has more upside to fair value
(+41.4%).
MELI trades at a lower forward P/E
(35.0x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MELI |
SBUX |
| Current Price |
$1,767.42 |
$96.60 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$2,500.00 |
$115.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+41.4%
|
+19.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$89.6B |
$110.1B |
| Forward P/E |
35.0x
|
42.2x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.5x
|
22.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
3.1x
|
3.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
8.9x
|
45.1x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+39.1%
|
+2.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
44.5%
|
24.2%
|
| Operating Margin |
11.1%
|
9.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
33.7%
|
-22.9%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.55% |
| FCF Yield |
12.1%
|
2.2%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
MercadoLibre is the dominant e-commerce and fintech ecosystem across Latin America, operating the largest marketplace and digital payments platform in a region with 670M+ people where e-commerce penetration is still under 15%. Revenue grew 39% to $28.9B in FY2025 with $10.8B in free cash flow — a 12% FCF yield at current prices. The company is trading at its 5-year P/S minimum (3.1x) and P/FCF mi…
Starbucks is the world's largest specialty coffee retailer with over 39,000 stores across 86 markets, generating $37.2B in annual revenue. Under CEO Brian Niccol, now 19 months into his tenure after joining from Chipotle in September 2024, the company is executing the Back to Starbucks operational turnaround focused on service speed, menu simplification, and store experience reinvention. At P/S 2…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MELI |
SBUX |
| Zone Low |
$1,875.00 |
$88.00 |
| Zone High |
$2,125.00 |
$98.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|