Comparing ZipLink (OTCMKTS:ZIPL) and MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI)

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) and ZipLink (OTCMKTS:ZIPL) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.6% of MercadoLibre shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of MercadoLibre shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 57.5% of ZipLink shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for MercadoLibre and ZipLink, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MercadoLibre	0	2	13	1	2.94
ZipLink	0	0	0	0	N/A

MercadoLibre currently has a consensus price target of $2,246.07, suggesting a potential upside of 11.51%.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MercadoLibre and ZipLink”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MercadoLibre	$17.11 billion	5.97	$987.00 million	$22.35	90.12
ZipLink	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

MercadoLibre has higher revenue and earnings than ZipLink.

Profitability

This table compares MercadoLibre and ZipLink’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MercadoLibre	8.03%	43.52%	7.68%
ZipLink	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

MercadoLibre has a beta of 1.61, indicating that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZipLink has a beta of 33.29, indicating that its stock price is 3,229% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

MercadoLibre beats ZipLink on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre, Inc. operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps. The company also offers Mercado Fondo that allows users to invest funds deposited in their Mercado Pago accounts; Mercado Credito, which extends loans to certain merchants and consumers; and Mercado Envios logistics solution that enables sellers on its platform to utilize third-party carriers and other logistics service providers, as well as fulfillment and warehousing services for sellers. In addition, it provides Mercado Libre Classifieds, an online classified listing service, where users can list and purchase motor vehicles, real estate, and services; Mercado Ads, an advertising platform, which enables large retailers and brands to promote their products and services on the web; and Mercado Shops, an online storefronts solution that enables users to set-up, manage, and promote their own digital stores. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay.

About ZipLink

This record represents the public shell of ZipLink, Inc. In November 2000, ZipLink, Inc. suspended its operations and announced the lay off of substantially all of its employees except those necessary to wind down operations. Ziplink, Inc. operated as a wholesale connectivity provider in North America for the Business-to-Business marketplace, including Internet service providers, competitive local exchange carriers, Web appliance vendors, and PC manufacturers and distributors, as of September 30, 2000. ZipLink also offered a range of Internet connectivity services for Internet appliances, including Internet access and subscriber authentication. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Lowell, Massachusetts.