AZO vs. MELI: AutoZone vs. MercadoLibre Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI) both fall under the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group, but AZO is classified in Specialty Retail while MELI is classified in Broadline Retail.

Company profile comparison for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Profile Item	AZO	MELI
Name	AutoZone, Inc.	MercadoLibre Inc.
Country/Region	United States	Uruguay
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Specialty Retail	Broadline Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Automotive Retail	Broadline Retail
Market Capitalization	51.77 billion USD	76.55 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	April 2, 1991	August 10, 2007
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AZO

MELI

GSPC

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
Total Return (1Y)	-12.81%	-26.90%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	6.56%	4.74%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	11.68%	-2.06%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AZO

MELI

GSPC

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

MercadoLibre (MELI) has an aggressive beta of 1.39, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while AutoZone (AZO) is defensive at 0.37 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	30.55%	42.09%
Beta (5Y)	0.37	1.39
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-35.88%	-64.17%
Avg. Volume (3M)	268.95K	581.53K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AZO and MELI are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.56	-0.74
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.74	-0.97

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: MercadoLibre (MELI) earns 26.22% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; AutoZone (AZO) has no ROE this period.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 62.17%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%
AZO: --

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

26.22%

Max: 62.17%
Q3: 29.44%
MELI: 26.22%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): AZO does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; MELI is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) at 12.65% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of MercadoLibre (MELI) at 4.91%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

12.65%

Max: 16.94%
AZO: 12.65%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

4.91%

Max: 16.94%
Q3: 8.69%
MELI: 4.91%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) at 18.03% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of MercadoLibre (MELI) at 6.29%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

18.03%

Max: 21.45%
AZO: 18.03%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

6.29%

Max: 21.45%
Q3: 10.89%
MELI: 6.29%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
ROE (TTM)	--	26.22%
ROA (TTM)	10.97%	3.80%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.65%	4.91%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.03%	6.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)	51.71%	46.66%

Growth

Revenue Growth

MercadoLibre (MELI) at 39.06% clears its industry range for revenue growth, far stronger top-line momentum than AutoZone (AZO) at 7.39%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: MercadoLibre (MELI) reports EPS growth of 4.54%, ranked against its industry; AutoZone (AZO) has no EPS growth figure this period.

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
Revenue Growth (YoY)	7.39%	39.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.22%	38.91%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	4.54%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	60.50%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

MercadoLibre (MELI) at 1.17 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while AutoZone (AZO) at 0.90 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for AZO.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.90

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
AZO: 0.90
Min: 0.48

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.17

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
MELI: 1.17
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: MercadoLibre (MELI) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97 against its industry range, while AutoZone (AZO) reports no figure this period.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01
AZO: --

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.97

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
MELI: 1.97
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): AZO does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; MELI is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.90	1.17
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	1.97
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.00	2.23

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither AutoZone (AZO) nor MercadoLibre (MELI) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
AZO: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
MELI: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither AutoZone (AZO) nor MercadoLibre (MELI) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
AZO: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
MELI: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

AutoZone (AZO) at 21.08 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while MercadoLibre (MELI) at 40.50 sits in the richer quartile — MELI needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

21.08

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
AZO: 21.08
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

40.50

MELI: 40.50
Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

MercadoLibre (MELI) at 1.99 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while AutoZone (AZO) at 2.55 sits in the pricier quartile — AZO costs more per dollar of sales.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.55

Max: 4.32
AZO: 2.55
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.99

Max: 4.32
MELI: 1.99
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

AutoZone (AZO) reports a negative P/B ratio of -20.79, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile MercadoLibre (MELI) reports 9.34, ranking against industry peers normally.

AZO

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

-20.79

Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45
AZO: -20.79

MELI

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

9.34

Max: 10.96
MELI: 9.34
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

AutoZone (AZO) vs. MercadoLibre (MELI): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for AutoZone (AZO) and MercadoLibre (MELI)
Metric	AZO	MELI
P/E Ratio (TTM)	21.08	40.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.55	1.99
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-20.79	9.34
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.31%	-3.36%