MercadoLibre (MELI) Competitors

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) and MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, community ranking and profitability.

Does the media favor BABA or MELI?

In the previous week, Alibaba Group had 85 more articles in the media than MercadoLibre. MarketBeat recorded 143 mentions for Alibaba Group and 58 mentions for MercadoLibre. MercadoLibre's average media sentiment score of 1.20 beat Alibaba Group's score of 0.80 indicating that MercadoLibre is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alibaba Group	73 Very Positive mention(s)	27 Positive mention(s)	31 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
MercadoLibre	37 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, BABA or MELI?

Alibaba Group has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MercadoLibre has a beta of 1.62, suggesting that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BABA or MELI?

Alibaba Group received 2027 more outperform votes than MercadoLibre when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 84.38% of users gave Alibaba Group an outperform vote while only 65.99% of users gave MercadoLibre an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Alibaba Group	Outperform Votes 2706 84.38%	Underperform Votes 501 15.62%
MercadoLibre	Outperform Votes 679 65.99%	Underperform Votes 350 34.01%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of BABA or MELI?

13.5% of Alibaba Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.6% of MercadoLibre shares are held by institutional investors. 12.5% of Alibaba Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of MercadoLibre shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, BABA or MELI?

Alibaba Group has higher revenue and earnings than MercadoLibre. Alibaba Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MercadoLibre, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alibaba Group	$130.35B	2.62	$11.08B	$4.93	29.15
MercadoLibre	$14.47B	8.04	$987M	$28.34	81.01

Is BABA or MELI more profitable?

Alibaba Group has a net margin of 8.98% compared to MercadoLibre's net margin of 7.57%. MercadoLibre's return on equity of 40.71% beat Alibaba Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alibaba Group	8.98%	12.28%	7.44%
MercadoLibre	7.57%	40.71%	7.24%

Do analysts rate BABA or MELI?

Alibaba Group presently has a consensus price target of $126.79, suggesting a potential downside of 11.76%. MercadoLibre has a consensus price target of $2,320.31, suggesting a potential upside of 1.07%. Given MercadoLibre's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MercadoLibre is more favorable than Alibaba Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alibaba Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
MercadoLibre	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.06

Summary

MercadoLibre beats Alibaba Group on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.