MELI vs. ULTA: MercadoLibre vs. Ulta Beauty Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 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

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

Company profile comparison for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Profile Item	MELI	ULTA
Name	MercadoLibre Inc.	Ulta Beauty, Inc.
Country/Region	Uruguay	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Broadline Retail	Specialty Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Broadline Retail	Other Specialty Retail
Market Capitalization	76.55 billion USD	27.57 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	August 10, 2007	October 25, 2007
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MELI

ULTA

GSPC

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA), 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
Total Return (1Y)	-26.90%	29.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	4.74%	19.79%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-2.06%	11.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MELI

ULTA

GSPC

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA), 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.09%	36.05%
Beta (5Y)	1.39	0.82
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-64.17%	-44.56%
Avg. Volume (3M)	581.53K	548.94K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

MELI and ULTA 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 MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.74	0.69
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.97	1.01

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 46.12% sits in the top ROE quartile, while MercadoLibre (MELI) at 26.22% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for ULTA.

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%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

46.12%

Max: 62.17%
ULTA: 46.12%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 9.34% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of MercadoLibre (MELI) at 4.91%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

9.34%

Max: 16.94%
ULTA: 9.34%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 12.51% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of MercadoLibre (MELI) at 6.29%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

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%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

12.51%

Max: 21.45%
ULTA: 12.51%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
ROE (TTM)	26.22%	46.12%
ROA (TTM)	3.80%	14.84%
Net Margin (TTM)	4.91%	9.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)	6.29%	12.51%
Gross Margin (TTM)	46.66%	43.10%

Growth

Revenue Growth

MercadoLibre (MELI) at 39.06% clears its industry range for revenue growth, far stronger top-line momentum than Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 9.71%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both MercadoLibre (MELI) at 4.54% and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 1.18% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	39.06%	9.71%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	38.91%	6.68%
EPS Growth (YoY)	4.54%	1.18%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	60.50%	2.21%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both MercadoLibre (MELI) at 1.17 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 1.35 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

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

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.35

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
ULTA: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both MercadoLibre (MELI) at 1.97 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 0.95 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.95

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
ULTA: 0.95
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.17	1.35
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.97	0.95
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.23	1.19

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

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

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%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

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

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

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

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%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

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

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 23.50 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.

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

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

23.50

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
ULTA: 23.50
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

MercadoLibre (MELI) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): 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 Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 2.13 sits in the pricier quartile — ULTA costs more per dollar of sales.

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

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.13

Max: 4.32
ULTA: 2.13
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both MercadoLibre (MELI) at 9.34 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 10.44 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

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

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

10.44

Max: 10.96
ULTA: 10.44
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for MercadoLibre (MELI) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	MELI	ULTA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	40.50	23.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.99	2.13
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	9.34	10.44
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-3.36%	3.32%