Amazon vs. MercadoLibre: valuation, growth, and cash flow compared

The article compares Amazon and MercadoLibre on valuation, growth, profitability, and cash flow, framing Amazon as the better risk-adjusted value and MercadoLibre as the higher-growth but riskier option. Amazon trades at a much lower 21.1x trailing P/E versus MercadoLibre’s 49.7x, with a very low 0.24 PEG and 88.9% EPS growth. MercadoLibre outpaces Amazon on revenue growth (46.0% vs. 15.8%), ROE, ROIC, and free cash flow yield (13.4% vs. Amazon’s -0.4%), but its declining EPS, margin compression, and 168.6% debt-to-equity raise concern. The piece suggests Amazon’s heavy spending, likely on AI and data centers, is pressuring near-term cash flow but supports long-term scale. Overall, the market takeaway is that Amazon looks cheaper and more stable, while MercadoLibre offers stronger top-line momentum but with higher leverage and greater macro sensitivity.