Key Points
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), Latin America’s largest e-commerce and fintech company, closed at a record high of $2,613.63 per share on June 30, 2025. Yet it’s never split its stock.
Today, MercadoLibre trades at about $1,800. Concerns about higher spending and macro headwinds weighed down its stock, but its business is still growing like a weed. From 2025 to 2028, analysts still expect its revenue and EPS to grow at CAGRs of 29% and 27%, respectively.
The expansion of its fintech platform into a full digital banking ecosystem for Latin America’s underbanked population, the integration of those services into its market-leading e-commerce platform, and the growth of its higher-margin advertising business should fuel that growth. Economies of scale should further dilute its logistics expenses and widen its moat.
But will the company ever split its high-flying stock to broaden its appeal among smaller retail investors? Let’s review what stock splits actually are, and if they actually matter to MercadoLibre’s future.
Why stock splits don’t really matter
We don’t determine whether a stock is cheap or expensive based on its trading price. Instead, we should look at its price-to-sales and price-to-earnings ratios. At two times this year’s sales, MercadoLibre looks cheap relative to its top-line growth. At 45 times this year’s earnings, it looks a bit pricier — but not too expensive — relative to its bottom-line growth.
If MercadoLibre splits its stock, it’s merely cutting a single pizza into smaller slices. Its price-to-sales and price-to-earnings ratios don’t change. Most brokerages now offer fractional trading, so investors can simply buy a fraction of one share of MercadoLibre rather than wait for it to split into lower-priced shares.
Stock splits only really matter for options traders, who peg a single contract to a round lot of 100 shares, or the company’s employees, who can receive more flexible stock-based compensation packages. So while a stock split might generate some short-term buzz, it doesn’t mean much to long-term investors.
What should we expect from MercadoLibre?
MercadoLibre probably won’t split its stock this year, but I believe its scale, robust growth rates, and reasonable valuations still make it a great long-term investment.
With 84.1 million active commerce buyers and 82.9 million active fintech users in its latest quarter, it remains one of the easiest ways to profit from the secular growth of Latin America’s e-commerce and fintech markets — even if its near-term margin pressure makes it less appealing in this choppy market.
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Leo Sun has positions in MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
