Critical Survey: MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) vs. NextPlat (NASDAQ:NXPL)

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) and NextPlat (NASDAQ:NXPL) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.6% of MercadoLibre shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.3% of NextPlat shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of MercadoLibre shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 38.2% of NextPlat shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares MercadoLibre and NextPlat’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MercadoLibre	6.04%	29.58%	4.82%
NextPlat	-23.14%	-58.05%	-39.81%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for MercadoLibre and NextPlat, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MercadoLibre	1	5	11	1	2.67
NextPlat	1	0	0	0	1.00

MercadoLibre presently has a consensus price target of $2,255.33, indicating a potential upside of 35.42%. Given MercadoLibre’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe MercadoLibre is more favorable than NextPlat.

Volatility & Risk

MercadoLibre has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NextPlat has a beta of 1.9, indicating that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares MercadoLibre and NextPlat”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MercadoLibre	$31.80 billion	2.65	$2.00 billion	$37.89	43.95
NextPlat	$50.25 million	0.32	-$10.46 million	($4.32)	-1.39

MercadoLibre has higher revenue and earnings than NextPlat. NextPlat is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MercadoLibre, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

MercadoLibre beats NextPlat on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc. operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps. The company also offers Mercado Fondo that allows users to invest funds deposited in their Mercado Pago accounts; Mercado Credito, which extends loans to certain merchants and consumers; and Mercado Envios logistics solution that enables sellers on its platform to utilize third-party carriers and other logistics service providers, as well as fulfillment and warehousing services for sellers. In addition, it provides Mercado Libre Classifieds, an online classified listing service, where users can list and purchase motor vehicles, real estate, and services; Mercado Ads, an advertising platform, which enables large retailers and brands to promote their products and services on the web; and Mercado Shops, an online storefronts solution that enables users to set-up, manage, and promote their own digital stores. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay.

About NextPlat

NextPlat Corp operates as a healthcare and e-commerce company in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia and Pacific, and Africa. The company operates full-service retail specialty services pharmacies that provides prescription pharmaceuticals prescription pharmaceuticals, third-party administration, risk and data management services, compounded medications, tele-pharmacy services, anti-retroviral medications, medication therapy management, contracted pharmacy services, and health practice risk management to healthcare organizations and providers, as well as supplies prescription medications to long-term care facilities. It also offers COVID-19 related diagnostics and vaccinations, and medication adherence packaging; and value-added services, such as prior authorization assistance, same-day home-medication delivery, on site provider consultation services, primary care reporting and analytics, and customized packaging solutions, as well as acquires and leases an e-commerce platform to collaborate with businesses to optimize their ability to sell their goods online. In addition, it operates e-commerce websites, as well as third-party e-commerce storefronts that provides mobile satellite services solutions for satellite-enabled voice, data, personnel and asset tracking, machine-to-machine, and internet of things connectivity services; voice, data communications, internet of things (IoT), and machine-to-machine services; tracking and monitoring solutions and services; satellite communications products; and GPS enabled emergency locator distress beacons. Further, it offers satellite tracking devices used to monitor the location, movements, and history of anything that moves; SolarTrack, a compact, lightweight, IoT tracking device powered by the sun; and GTCTrack, a subscription-based mapping and tracking portal. The company was formerly known as Orbsat Corp. and changed its name to NextPlat Corp in January 2022. NextPlat Corp is based in Coconut Grove, Florida.