eBay vs MercadoLibre
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put eBay and MercadoLibre side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- MercadoLibre is the larger business, with $28.9B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $11.1B for eBay, about 2.6 times as much.
- MercadoLibre grew revenue faster (39.1%, against 8.0%).
- eBay kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (20.5% operating margin, against 11.1%).
- MercadoLibre turned more of its sales into free cash flow (37.3% FCF margin, against 12.9%).
- MercadoLibre earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (35.0%, against 26.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of MercadoLibre’s earnings: a P/E of 45.4x against 24.6x for eBay.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
eBay
EBAY
6/11
Gross marginOperating marginNet marginReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
MercadoLibre
MELI
5/11
Revenue growth5-year growthFCF marginReturn on capitalNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | EBAY FY25 | MELI FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $54.0B | $84.6B |
| Revenue | $11.1B | $28.9B |
| Free cash flow | $1.4B | $10.8B |
| Net income | $2.0B | $2.0B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.0% | 39.1% |
| 5-year growth | 4.5% | 48.7% |
| Share count change | −6.6% | 0.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 71.5% | 44.5% |
| Operating margin | 20.5% | 11.1% |
| Net margin | 18.3% | 6.9% |
| FCF margin | 12.9% | 37.3% |
| Return on capital | 26.8% | 35.0% |
| Return on equity | 41.6% | 36.0% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $3.8B | $3.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 0.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.0B | $1.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 24.6x | 45.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 4 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.