Where Will MercadoLibre Be in 5 Years?

Shares of South American e-commerce and payments leader MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) has been on a tear this year, up 61.5% for 2020. Investors were initially wary of how the coronavirus might hit the company, sending shares down in the initial March plunge.

Even though MercadoLibre is an e-commerce company, which should theoretically benefit from the stay-at-home economy, MELI's e-commerce business had traditionally skewed toward bigger-ticket items, which may be in less demand in a recession. And in recent years, MercadoLibre's payments, finance, and ad businesses have grown to become an even bigger part of the MercadoLibre empire, and all of these economically sensitive businesses were called into question as the world headed into a recession.

Yet MELI's stock turned around in a big way in April, then accelerated in May after MELI's first quarter earnings report on May 5. Management reported activity returning to growth on its e-commerce platform, and payments volume actually continuing its torrid growth as the "stay-at-home" economy pushed people more and more toward electronic payments solutions and away from cash.

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Source Fool.com