MELI vs PYPL vs UPST Stock Comparison

Mercadolibre, PayPal Holdings and Upstart Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MELI Mercadolibre Inc
$1,668.72 -4.8% 1M -22.8% 1Y
Market cap
$85.10B
P/E
45.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.18B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
3 wins
PYPL PayPal Holdings, Inc.
$54.99 -0.1% 1M -21.2% 1Y
Market cap
$49.17B
P/E
10.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.13B
Div. yield
–
Payment Processing Technology
7 wins
UPST Upstart Holdings, Inc.
$23.00 -3.4% 1M -56.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.29B
P/E
37.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.25B
Div. yield
–
Digital Lending Technology
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

PayPal Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (PayPal Holdings 7, Mercadolibre 3, Upstart Holdings 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMELIPYPLUPSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $85.10B $49.17B $2.29B MELI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.7x 10.0x 37.9x PYPL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 41.2x 9.9x 33.3x PYPL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +46.0% +5.7% +48.6% UPST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.3% 14.4% 4.8% PYPL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.7% 15.9% 1.8% PYPL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 0.3x 20.6x PYPL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -22.8% -21.2% -56.3% PYPL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.2%/yr -25.2%/yr -40.8%/yr MELI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.1% 44.0% 65.3% MELI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 70/100 50/100 PYPL

Percentile Scorecard

MELIPYPLUPST

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMELIPYPLUPST
Valuation 52 #80 of 167 92 #9 of 99 51 #49 of 99
Growth 79 #33 of 153 63 #35 of 94 75 #24 of 94
Profitability 86 #23 of 153 88 #12 of 90 49 #46 of 90
Financial Health 33 #120 of 179 39 #65 of 105 9 #96 of 105
Shareholder Returns – 67 #21 of 61 65 #22 of 61
Overall 62 70 50
  • MELI ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • PYPL ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • UPST ranked among 109 companies in Fintech

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMELIPYPLUPSTSPY
1 month -4.8%-0.1%-3.4% -0.8%
3 months -8.3%-1.9%-16.3% +3.5%
6 months -9.3%+10.5%-30.5% +7.0%
Year to date -17.2%-5.8%-47.4% +12.2%
1 year -22.8%-21.2%-56.3% +13.0%
3 years +39.0%+9.1%-0.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.6%+3.0%0.0% +23.1%
5 years +11.2%-76.6%-92.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.2%-25.2%-40.8% +11.0%
10 years +877.9%+29.9%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +25.6%+2.7%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMELIPYPLUPSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.1%44.0%65.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.9%48.4%68.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.031.012.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.55-0.48-0.86 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -64.2%-83.5%-96.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.3%-24.7%-56.4% -1.8%
52-week high $2,360.76$73.02$52.74 $779.14
52-week low $1,546.81$39.08$22.74 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMELIPYPLUPST
P/E now vs peer median 45.4xmedian 17.5x 9.8xmedian 20.6x 36.8xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.4x 1.4xmedian 2.3x 1.8xmedian 2.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.7xmedian 14.5x 7.2xmedian 15.4x 50.3xmedian 15.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 12.1x 7.2xmedian 16.4x -7.7xmedian 16.4x
P/B now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 1.7x 2.4xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 1.9x
PEG now vs peer median 1.29median 0.41 0.66median 1.05 1.25median 1.05

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMELIPYPLUPST
Revenue $35.18B $34.13B $1.25B
Gross profit $15.01B – $1.03B
Operating income $2.91B $5.95B $49.71M
Net income $1.86B $4.90B $60.33M
Free cash flow $12.41B $6.59B -$289.05M
R&D $2.58B $3.25B $304.91M
EPS (diluted) $36.75 $5.56 $0.55
Cash & equivalents $3.65B $8.31B $455.96M
Total debt $10.63B $13.40B $2.00B
Shares (diluted) 50.70M 882.00M 109.72M
Enterprise value $61.12B $7.39B $218.22M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMELIPYPLUPST
P/E 45.4x 9.8x 36.8x
P/FCF 6.8x 7.2x -7.7x
P/Operating cash flow 6.1x 6.3x -7.9x
P/S 2.4x 1.4x 1.8x
P/B 10.8x 2.4x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 10.8x 2.4x 2.8x
EV/EBITDA 20.7x 7.2x 50.3x
EV/EBIT 30.8x 8.3x 76.2x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 1.5x 3.0x
EV/FCF 7.2x 7.5x -13.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.4x 6.6x -13.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.29 0.66 1.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMELIPYPLUPST
Revenue growth (1Y) 46.0% 5.7% 48.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 41.3% 6.1% 27.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 35.8% – 53.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 33.9% – 33.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.0% 1.4% 199.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 18.1% 9.8% 29.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -9.3% 4.8% 1,050%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.0% 6.4% 30.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -9.3% 16.1% 990.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.3% 15.0% 29.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 64.1% 23.2% -335.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 45.3% 20.1% -13.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.0% 24.5% -341.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 44.5% 21.7% -13.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMELIPYPLUPST
Gross margin 42.7% – 82.5%
EBITDA margin 12.3% 20.2% 6.0%
Operating margin 8.3% 17.4% 4.0%
Pretax margin 7.4% 17.2% 4.9%
Net margin 5.3% 14.4% 4.8%
FCF margin 35.3% 19.3% -23.2%
Operating cash flow margin 39.5% 21.9% -22.8%
Return on equity 24.7% 24.6% 7.9%
Return on assets 3.8% 6.0% 2.0%
Return on invested capital 11.7% 15.9% 1.8%
Return on capital employed 22.8% 17.9% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 7.5x 1.5x -4.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 2.9% 11.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMELIPYPLUPST
Debt / assets 20.7% 16.2% 63.2%
Debt / equity 1.4x 0.7x 2.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.1x 0.3x 20.6x
Debt / FCF 0.9x 2.0x -6.9x
Liabilities / assets 84.7% 76.0% 74.9%
Equity / assets 15.3% 24.0% 25.1%
Interest coverage 13.7x – 1.2x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.3x –
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.4x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x –
Altman Z-score 2.32 1.89 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMELIPYPLUPST
Dividend yield – 1.0% –
Net buyback yield – 12.7% 3.7%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 13.7% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMELIPYPLUPST
Forward P/E 41.2xFY2026 9.9xFY2026 33.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $40.52FY2026 $5.55FY2026 $0.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.8%FY2026 +4.5%FY2026 -58.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +42.0% -3.1% +191.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $39.34BFY2026 $33.55BFY2026 $1.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +36.2%FY2026 +1.1%FY2026 +29.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +45.2% +5.1% +42.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMELIPYPLUPST
Held by institutions 77.8% 74.2% 60.0%
Institutions holding 1,438 1,378 363
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +0.8% +3.2%
Institutions buying 714 521 196
Institutions selling 525 671 98
Buyers to sellers 1.36 0.78 2.00

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MELIPYPLUPST
MELI 1.00 0.25 0.35
PYPL 0.25 1.00 0.29
UPST 0.35 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MELI, PYPL and UPST?

Mercadolibre (MELI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mercadolibre (MELI) $85.10B, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) $49.17B, Upstart Holdings (UPST) $2.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, MELI, PYPL and UPST?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mercadolibre (MELI) 45.7x, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 10.0x, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 37.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is cheapest (Mercadolibre (MELI) 41.2x, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 9.9x, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 33.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Upstart Holdings (UPST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mercadolibre (MELI) +46.0%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) +5.7%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) +48.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has the highest net margin (Mercadolibre (MELI) 5.3%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 14.4%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) leads (Mercadolibre (MELI) 11.7%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 15.9%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 1.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year PayPal Holdings (PYPL) returned the most: Mercadolibre (MELI) -22.8%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -21.2%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) -56.3%. Over five years, Mercadolibre (MELI) compounded fastest (Mercadolibre (MELI) +2.2%/yr, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -25.2%/yr, Upstart Holdings (UPST) -40.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mercadolibre (MELI) has been the steadiest (Mercadolibre (MELI) 41.1%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 44.0%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 65.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MELI, PYPL and UPST?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.