Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s Top 10 Stock Picks

7. MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI)

Duquesne Capital’s Stake Value: $98,720,000 

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is an online marketplace headquartered in Uruguay. The company was founded in 1999 and is now present in 18 countries and has over 65 million buyers and 12 million sellers. Unique active buyers reached 61 million during the third quarter of 2024, up from 50 million in the third quarter of 2023, representing a solid growth trajectory.

MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is one of the largest e-commerce companies in Latin America and recorded $12.9 billion in gross merchandise volume in the third quarter of 2024, up by 14%, and sold nearly 456 million items, up from 357 million items in the third quarter of 2023. Overall, the company’s commerce segment saw a 48% increase in revenues and financial income from the same period last year.

While MELI shares a solid growth trajectory, it is not limited to its financial performance and growing user base in e-commerce. MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is also expanding its financial services segment rapidly, by acquiring new customers in key markets, with revenues and financial income growing by 215% year-over-year. In the third quarter of 2024, the company saw a 35% year-over-year increase in monthly active users, which reached 56 million.

Polen Capital’s Polen International Growth Strategy stated the following regarding MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is Latin America’s largest ecommerce business and an increasingly important player in payments and credit lending Recent earnings results show acceleration in the underlying business despite a challenging macro environment. Management continues to execute very well, taking market share in ecommerce while expanding their offerings in fintech to their user base of over 150 million people. Earlier in 2024, we expected profit margins, which had expanded significantly in recent years, to contract slightly. We see ongoing product development and fulfillment capabilities investments as sound outlays to support longer-term growth.”