Mercadolibre Inc vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Mercadolibre Inc trades at $1,884.19 (market cap $98.35B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $538.28 (market cap $23.27B). The key difference: Mercadolibre Inc is far larger — about 4.2× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and Mercadolibre Inc is trading nearer its 52-week high, Ulta Beauty Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| MELI | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $98.35B | $23.27B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $2.51K | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $1.55K | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $106.00B | $25.35B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
MercadoLibre (MELI) trades at $1,824.34, up 0.2% with a bearish technical signal despite strong fundamentals. The company reported Q2 2026 EPS of $9.19, beating estimates by 6.2%, while revenue grew 50% year-over-year. Operating cash flow reached $12.12 billion in 2025, supporting aggressive growth investments. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with a $2,150 price target, though margin compression from strategic spending presents near-term headwinds.
MELI's growth-first strategy drives market share gains but pressures profitability, with net margin declining to 5.3%. The stock offers 18% upside to consensus target but faces execution risk in balancing expansion with returns. Competitive threats from global e-commerce players and Latin American economic volatility require monitoring. Long-term prospects remain positive given ecosystem strength and dominant market position.
ULTA Beauty trades at $548.66, down 2.92% on the day, with strong technical momentum indicated by bullish moving averages and key support at $542. Fundamentally, the company maintains robust profitability with 39.33% gross margins and 47.45% ROE, though recent earnings showed mixed results with a Q4 miss. Revenue growth has been consistent, reaching $11.3B in 2025, while analyst sentiment remains positive with 56.53% buy ratings.
The outlook for ULTA remains favorable with a consensus price target of $618.29 offering 12.7% upside potential. Key opportunities include omnichannel expansion and digital growth initiatives, while risks involve margin pressure from rising costs and competitive retail landscape. Institutional ownership trends show continued confidence with recent position increases by major funds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
MercadoLibre runs the largest e-commerce marketplace in Latin America, connecting a network of more than 140 million active users and 1 million active sellers as of the end of 2021 across an 18-country footprint. The company also operates a host of complementary businesses, with shipping solutions (Mercado Envios), a payment and financing operation (Mercado Pago), advertisements (Mercado Clics), classifieds, and a turnkey e-commerce solution (Mercado Shops) rounding out its arsenal. MercadoLibre generates revenue from final value fees, advertising royalties, payment processing, insertion fees, subscription fees, and interest income from consumer and small-business lending.
Read more on MELI →With more than 1,300 stores and a partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the U.S. The firm offers makeup (43% of 2021 sales), fragrances, skin care, and hair care products (20% of 2021 sales), and bath and body items. Ulta offers private-label products and merchandise from more than 500 vendors. It also offers salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow services, in all stores. Most Ulta stores are approximately 10,000 square feet and are in suburban strip centers. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
Read more on ULTA →