Not Amazon, Not Shopify. No Other Company Has Done What MercadoLibre Just Did
Key Points
MercadoLibre just recorded its 30th straight quarter of 30% revenue growth or better.
No other company has achieved that milestone.
Despite that accomplishment, the stock is down substantially from its all-time high.
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MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) might not be a household name in the U.S., but it's often called the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) of Latin America for its e-commerce dominance in that region and for the way it's built a massive network of competitive advantages.
That includes businesses in e-commerce, fintech, logistics, credit, and asset management.
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In addition to its similarities to Amazon as a business, MercadoLibre's stock performance has mirrored Amazon's, up nearly 5,000% since it went public. However, MercadoLibre just achieved a new growth milestone that no other e-commerce company, including Amazon or Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP), or any other company has been able to do.
Image source: Getty Images.
Initiating the 30/30 club
In baseball, the 30/30 club refers to a player who hits 30 home runs and steals 30 bases, but we may need a new definition of the term following MercadoLibre's recent run.
The Latin American e-commerce company just became the first publicly traded company of a significant size to record 30 straight quarters of at least 30% revenue growth, as the chart below shows.
MELI Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
As you can see, that streak began in 2019 and has continued since. In fact, the company has even accelerated its revenue growth recently by investing in faster delivery and lowering free shipping thresholds. During that time, the company grew from $473 million in Q1 2019 to $10.2 billion in Q2 2026, representing more than 20-fold growth.
What's particularly impressive about that streak is that it included both the pandemic, during which e-commerce growth soared, and the post-pandemic normalization, when nearly every e-commerce stock plunged as growth slowed dramatically.
The chart below shows how MercadoLibre's growth compares with that of Shopify and Amazon over the last ten years.
MELI Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
As you can see, both Amazon and Shopify have historically delivered strong growth, but their post-pandemic drops were more severe than MercadoLibre's. That kept Shopify out of the 30/30 club. Amazon, on the other hand, faced the law of large numbers, as its growth seems to have slowed because the company has gotten so big. However, even earlier in its history, its cyclical nature made it unable to deliver such a streak as revenue growth slowed significantly during times like the dot-com bust and the financial crisis.
The secret to MercadoLibre's success
MercadoLibre maintained its streak through the post-pandemic era because it is more than just an e-commerce business. Its fintech business, for example, has been growing faster than e-commerce for a long time, and it's extended its fintech business to serve brick-and-mortar stores. It's also expanded its lending and logistics businesses at the same time.
MercadoLibre benefits from having a long growth runway in Latin America. Online shopping and online payments aren't as common in that region as they are in the U.S., so the company should benefit as these behaviors gain adoption.
Additionally, the company primarily operates in three countries: Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, giving it ample white space to expand across the rest of Latin America.
Is MercadoLibre a buy?
What's surprising about MercadoLibre's recent stock performance is that shares are actually down substantially from their all-time high, even as the company has achieved this unprecedented streak.
The stock is currently down 27% from its 2025 peak, with profits falling due to investments in areas like logistics amid intensifying competition.
Those investments are worth making, and MercadoLibre has the network effects and competitive advantages to continue growing despite competition, especially since there's still significant growth opportunity in the market.
The recent sell-off offers an appealing discount for MercadoLibre shares. Profits are expected to return to growth, and the company has proven that it has an unmatched ability to deliver high levels of revenue growth over a long period of time.
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Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon, MercadoLibre, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, MercadoLibre, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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