Worried About a Market Crash? This Top Growth Stock Is Worth Buying Now
Is the stock market headed for a crash? That’s the question on many investors’ minds as the S&P 500 slides and the cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (Shiller P/E) hits 41 — a level not seen since the dot-com bubble burst. While it’s too early to call a downturn, the jitters are real, especially for growth stocks that have already entered their own mini-bear markets.
One name that stands out amid the sell-off: MercadoLibre(NASDAQ: MELI), the Latin American e-commerce and fintech powerhouse. Its shares have fallen roughly 35% from all-time highs, but the company’s underlying business tells a different story — one of rapid expansion and strategic resilience. Rather than fleeing, some investors are seeing an opportunity.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team has just released a report on a little-known company, which we call an "Indispensable Monopoly," providing critical technology that both Nvidia and Intel need. Continue »
MercadoLibre has built its success by turning Latin America’s notoriously difficult market conditions into advantages. It became the region’s leading fintech by serving cash-based consumers shut out of traditional banking, and it created its own logistics network to bypass unreliable shipping infrastructure. These moats are hard to replicate.
Yet the company’s recent decisions have sparked concern. In e-commerce, it has slashed prices to fend off competitors like Shopee and Amazon, compressing margins. Meanwhile, its fintech arm, Mercado Pago, saw loan volumes surge faster than revenue, raising worries about rising defaults. Net income growth, once in the double digits, slowed to just 5% in 2025, and profits fell 16% year over year in Q1 2026.
But these are short-term pains in a long-term play. MercadoLibre’s revenue growth remains stellar: 39% in 2025 and 49% in Q1 2026, underscoring the massive addressable market. The company is deliberately accepting lower margins to solidify its marketplace dominance — a strategy that could pay off as weaker rivals struggle to keep up. On the fintech side, Mercado Pago is tightening credit limits and using AI to better assess borrower risk, aiming to reduce non-performing loans.
In the broader context, Latin America’s e-commerce penetration is still well below that of developed markets, and digital payments are expanding rapidly. MercadoLibre is uniquely positioned to capture this growth, even if it means navigating short-term headwinds.
While the stock may continue to struggle in the near term, the moves the company is making — investing through the cycle — could make it a more attractive investment over a three- to five-year horizon. Patient investors who buy during this dip may be rewarded if the company executes on its long-term strategy.
Before you buy stock in MercadoLibre, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team has just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and MercadoLibre was not one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could generate monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004 — if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you would have $477,813!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005 — if you invested $1,000 then, you would have $1,320,088!*
Now, it is worth noting that Stock Advisor's total average return is 986% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 208% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 24, 2026.
Will Healy has positions in MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends MercadoLibre. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
This article was originally published by The Motley Fool.