Amazon (AMZN 1.47%) dominates the e-commerce industry in North America, but a South American competitor is gaining traction and drawing comparisons to the online giant. MercadoLibre (MELI 5.20%) is an emerging-market e-commerce platform that is growing in many ways, much like its omnichannel rival Amazon.
Which one will make you richer in the long run? Let's have a look at what both stocks offer.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
Amazon is maturing
Amazon is unmatched in its sheer size and scale in global e-commerce. Yet that's only one facet of its business. Amazon also has a booming profit center in AWS and advertising. Amazon's revenue streams are diversified cash-flow machines with healthy margins.
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Amazon's stock underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year and the past five years. This could signal that it is shifting from a growth stock to a value stock due to the business maturing.
MercadoLibre is taking over
MercadoLibre, however, offers investors the chance to get in with a company that's growing much as Amazon did in the last decade. In addition to its e-commerce business, MercadoLibre is also a fintech and advertising powerhouse.
NASDAQ: MELI
Key Data Points
Mercado Pago, the fintech arm of MercadoLibre, is rapidly expanding. As of the company's third-quarter 2025 earnings report, Mercado Pago has 72 million monthly active users, a 29% year-over-year increase. More impressively, the fintech's credit portfolio grew 83% in the same period. This is a hugely positive sign for investors as the region adopts digital banking, credit cards, and e-commerce technology.
Both companies are elite, but if you're a growth-focused investor, you'd be wise to choose MercadoLibre over Amazon right now. Regulatory and currency risks throughout Latin American countries remain present; however, MercadoLibre has 27 consecutive quarters of growth above 30% year over year.
Lastly, according to e-commerce analytics firm eMarketer, Latin America is the fastest-growing e-commerce market in the world. This means an increasing number of people there will use digital forms of debit and credit to pay for everyday purchases, which is yet another win for MercadoLibre.
