Mercado Ads Scales Up: Can it Become MELI's Third Growth Engine?
MercadoLibre MELI is expanding its ecosystem with increasing momentum in digital advertising, positioning Mercado Ads as a strong candidate for its next core growth engine. Mercado Ads helps sellers and brands reach millions of shoppers on and off MELI's platform using its first-party data for precise targeting. It offers Product Ads, Brand Ads, Display Ads and Video Ads, with Display and Video also shown outside MELI's ecosystem.
Brand ads have seen strong growth after being expanded beyond top brands to more sellers. Display ads followed a similar path, growing more than 100% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. These gains are supported by new features like automated creative generation and improved analytics, which have made the ad tools more effective and widely accessible across the platform.
The company took a bold step in the first quarter by launching Mercado Play, its TV streaming app, on more than 70 million smart TVs. With 15,000-plus hours of free content, the app targets a region where less than half the population pays for streaming, unlocking untapped ad inventory and creating value for users, content studios and Mercado Ads, especially in video.
Now a $1 billion-plus annual revenue business, Mercado Ads grew nearly 50% year over year on an FX-neutral basis in the first quarter of 2025. Display ad revenues more than doubled, and its share of total ad revenues rose 10 percentage points year over year. Ad penetration increased across Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. MercadoLibre believes this is only the beginning of a much larger opportunity in Latin America's digital ad market.
MELI Competes for Ad Spend in Latin America
As Latin America's digital ad market expands, Mercado Ads is facing stronger competition from global players like Amazon AMZN and Sea Limited SE. Both are stepping up efforts to capture ad spend in MELI's key markets.
Amazon is growing its ad business in Brazil and Mexico, offering tools like Sponsored Products through its LATAM hub. With brand support and access to millions of Amazon shoppers, it's becoming a major draw for regional and global sellers.
Shopee, backed by Sea Limited, is expanding in Latin America with new tools for brands and low-cost ad options. Focused on price-sensitive and mobile-first sellers, especially in Brazil, Sea Limited's Shopee's rising presence adds further pressure on MELI's hold over regional ad dollars.
MELI's Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
MELI shares have gained 50.6% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's growth of 5.7% and 2.8%, respectively.
MELI's YTD Price Performance
From a valuation standpoint, MELI stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales ratio of 4.20X compared with the industry's 2.01X. MELI has a Value Score of D.
MELI Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at $12.01 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days, indicating 14.60% year-over-year growth.
The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pegged at $47.75 per share, which has been revised downward by 1.9% over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 26.69% year-over-year growth.
MercadoLibre currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double"
Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
3 Brilliant Stocks That Could Soar by 39% to 80%, According to Wall Street
Buying and holding quality stocks is one of the most efficient ways to build wealth. Three Motley Fool contributors believe now is a great time to consider buying shares of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), and RH (NYSE: RH) (formerly Restoration Hardware). What's more, Wall Street analysts also see attractive upsides for these stocks based on their average price targets. Here's why these stocks are poised to soar. Alibaba stock: 39% upside John Ballard (Alibaba): Alibaba is one of the leading e-commerce and cloud service companies in the world. Intensifying competition in China's e-commerce market and regulatory uncertainty have weighed on the stock price over the past few years. But this could also spell significant upside for investors from here as the company continues to see strong demand in its cloud business. The average analyst's 12-month price target of $162 implies a 39% upside from the current share price. The stock trades at a modest forward price-to-earnings multiple of 11.7, indicating that investors are undervaluing its expected growth. Alibaba, like its U.S. counterpart Amazon, is a very tech-centered business. Investments in artificial intelligence (AI), where Alibaba Cloud offers data intelligence services and other AI services for other companies, are driving accelerating growth in its cloud business, with revenue up 18% year over year in the most recent quarter. Alibaba also uses AI in its e-commerce business to understand user behavior, make personalized product suggestions, and manage supply chains. This makes it a formidable competitor, despite its recently weak revenue growth. However, consumer spending is back on the rise in its Taobao and Tmall marketplaces. Overall, Alibaba's revenue growth has accelerated sharply in recent quarters, and it's also reporting improving margins. Analysts expect the company's earnings to grow at an annualized rate of 16% over the next several years. Given the low earnings multiple the stock trades at today, Alibaba could not only reach Wall Street's average 12-month price target but potentially double in value within the next three to five years. Lyft stock: 80% upside Jeremy Bowman (Lyft): Lyft may be a forgotten stock for most investors, and it's easy to see why. Shares of the No. 2 ridesharing company in the U.S. are down nearly 80% from where they stood at its 2019 IPO, as it entered the market overvalued and struggled during the pandemic. However, while it plays second fiddle to Ube r, Lyft has innovated with new features, recently made a smart new acquisition, and is building momentum. According to one Wall Street analyst, the stock has an 80% upside currently: Last month, Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial gave it a buy rating and boosted his 12-month price target on the stock by $2 to $28. Lyft is in a much stronger position than it was a couple of years ago as the company is both delivering solid growth and has turned profitable. In the first quarter, revenue rose 14% to $1.5 billion while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) nearly doubled from $59.4 million to $106.5 million. It also posted a small profit of $2.6 million on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis. Among the new products driving growth are price lock, which allows customers to lock in a price for a regular commute, Women+, which allows women riders and drivers to match with each other, and Lyft Silver, a service designed to fit the needs of seniors. Lyft also paved the way for its expansion into Europe by acquiring Freenow, a mobility company that's active in nine countries. Overall, Lyft looks poised to continue its double-digit percentage growth and ramp up its profitability, and the stock looks cheap at a price-to-sales ratio of around 1.1. RH stock: Up to 137% upside Jennifer Saibil (RH): RH stock has been driven down by macroeconomic pressures, but the business is bouncing back, and the stock should follow. The company is a luxury furniture retailer that operates around 100 galleries in selected affluent communities, mostly in the U.S., though it has recently been expanding into Europe. It also has robust digital channels. However, its bigger ambition is to grow itself into a diversified global luxury brand, and it already operates several upscale restaurants and experiences, including rentable jets and yachts. While its target demographics are generally more resilient than the mass market, RH hasn't been immune to inflation and economic slowdowns. But even amid sagging sales in recent years, it has continued to launch new merchandise lines and open new galleries. Its next, in Paris, is set to open shortly on the Champs-Élysées. Meanwhile, performance at its U.K. gallery has been fantastic, with sales up 47% over last year in the 2025 fiscal first quarter (which ended May 3) and online demand up 44%. Two German locations that have been open for at least a year demonstrated a 60% increase in demand in fiscal Q1, and RH is experiencing accelerating demand in its locations in Brussels and Madrid. In sum, the retailer seems to have turned a corner. It has reported year-over-year revenue increases for the past four quarters, including double-digit percentage increases for the past two quarters. The fiscal first quarter was phenomenal, with a 12% sales increase and an adjusted operating margin of 7%. Yet RH stock is 75% off its peak. The average target price on Wall Street is 24% higher than today's price, and one analyst expects it to jump 137% higher over the next 12 to 18 months. Trading at the cheap valuation of 13 times forward 1-year earnings, RH stock could be a profitable pick right now for risk-tolerant investors. Should you invest $1,000 in Alibaba Group right now? Before you buy stock in Alibaba Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alibaba Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to175%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon and RH. John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group, Lyft, and RH. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Globe and Mail
Mercado Ads Scales Up: Can it Become MELI's Third Growth Engine?
MercadoLibre MELI is expanding its ecosystem with increasing momentum in digital advertising, positioning Mercado Ads as a strong candidate for its next core growth engine. Mercado Ads helps sellers and brands reach millions of shoppers on and off MELI's platform using its first-party data for precise targeting. It offers Product Ads, Brand Ads, Display Ads and Video Ads, with Display and Video also shown outside MELI's ecosystem. Brand ads have seen strong growth after being expanded beyond top brands to more sellers. Display ads followed a similar path, growing more than 100% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. These gains are supported by new features like automated creative generation and improved analytics, which have made the ad tools more effective and widely accessible across the platform. The company took a bold step in the first quarter by launching Mercado Play, its TV streaming app, on more than 70 million smart TVs. With 15,000-plus hours of free content, the app targets a region where less than half the population pays for streaming, unlocking untapped ad inventory and creating value for users, content studios and Mercado Ads, especially in video. Now a $1 billion-plus annual revenue business, Mercado Ads grew nearly 50% year over year on an FX-neutral basis in the first quarter of 2025. Display ad revenues more than doubled, and its share of total ad revenues rose 10 percentage points year over year. Ad penetration increased across Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. MercadoLibre believes this is only the beginning of a much larger opportunity in Latin America's digital ad market. MELI Competes for Ad Spend in Latin America As Latin America's digital ad market expands, Mercado Ads is facing stronger competition from global players like Amazon AMZN and Sea Limited SE. Both are stepping up efforts to capture ad spend in MELI's key markets. Amazon is growing its ad business in Brazil and Mexico, offering tools like Sponsored Products through its LATAM hub. With brand support and access to millions of Amazon shoppers, it's becoming a major draw for regional and global sellers. Shopee, backed by Sea Limited, is expanding in Latin America with new tools for brands and low-cost ad options. Focused on price-sensitive and mobile-first sellers, especially in Brazil, Sea Limited's Shopee's rising presence adds further pressure on MELI's hold over regional ad dollars. MELI's Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates MELI shares have gained 50.6% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's growth of 5.7% and 2.8%, respectively. MELI's YTD Price Performance From a valuation standpoint, MELI stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales ratio of 4.20X compared with the industry's 2.01X. MELI has a Value Score of D. MELI Valuation Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at $12.01 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days, indicating 14.60% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pegged at $47.75 per share, which has been revised downward by 1.9% over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 26.69% year-over-year growth. MercadoLibre currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double" Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Globe and Mail
What Makes E-Commerce the Biggest Driver of Alibaba's Revenue Growth?
Alibaba 's BABA e-commerce business continues to be the company's biggest strength. Its main platforms, Taobao and Tmall, help drive strong customer management revenues, which grew 12% year over year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, driven by the improvement of take rates. Better tools and shopping incentives have improved user activity and order frequency, helping the company recover its core business despite a tough macro environment. Alibaba sees e-commerce as key to future growth, both in China and globally. With stronger monetization tools and better AI-driven search and recommendations, the company plans to grow consumption quality rather than just volume. Its global platforms, like AliExpress and Lazada, are also expected to benefit from rising cross-border demand. Alibaba is combining its food delivery platform, and Fliggy, its travel services platform, with its core e-commerce business, realigning resources around its main revenue engine and building a stronger delivery network. In April, the company also launched a new rapid delivery feature on Taobao, which the company called a strategic upgrade, as it helps it evolve from an e-commerce platform into a broader consumer-focused platform. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Taobao and Tmall Group earned RMB 93.2 billion ($12.9 billion) in revenues, up 4% year over year, and made up 47% of total company revenues. International commerce, including AliExpress and Lazada, earned RMB 27.4 billion ($3.8 billion), up 45% year over year, with AliExpress alone growing 22%. Together, domestic and global e-commerce remain Alibaba's strongest growth drivers. BABA Faces Stiff Competition in the E-Commerce Space As Alibaba sharpens its focus on e-commerce, it faces growing competition from domestic rivals JD and PDD Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR PDD, both of which are rapidly expanding in China's digital retail market. is driving growth through strong category execution and ecosystem integration. Its RMB 200 billion 'export to domestic' program and food delivery momentum are boosting engagement. In the first quarter of 2025, JD Retail revenues grew 16.3% year over year. PDD Holdings continues to scale its group buying model while expanding merchant support. In the first quarter of 2025, online marketing services revenues rose 15% year over year, driven by PDD Holdings' enhanced tools to improve reach and performance. BABA's Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates BABA shares have gained 34.4% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's growth of 5.7% and 2.8%, respectively. BABA's YTD Price Performance From a valuation standpoint, BABA stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month Price/Earnings ratio of 10.39X compared with the industry's 24.70X. BABA has a Value Score of B. BABA Valuation The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.48 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days, indicating 9.73% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $10.47 per share, which has remained steady over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 16.2% year-over-year growth. Alibaba currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Research Chief Picks Stock Most Likely to "At Least Double" Our experts have revealed their Top 5 recommendations with money-doubling potential – and Director of Research Sheraz Mian believes one is superior to the others. Of course, all our picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier recommendations like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%. See Our Top Stock to Double (Plus 4 Runners Up) >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (JD): Free Stock Analysis Report PDD Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (PDD): Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (
