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The internet has continued to propel the exchange of goods and services with Shopify (SHOP) and MercardoLibre (MELI) being two of the fastest-growing commerce platforms.

The expansive growth of both companies makes them strong investments going into 2024. Furthermore, Shopify’s Zacks Internet-Services Industry and MercardoLibre’s Internet-Commerce Industry are both in the top 14% of over 250 Zacks industries. Let’s take a look at why now is a good time to buy Shopify and MercardoLibre's stock. 

Performance Overview

Based in Canada, Shopify’s internet infrastructure platform for commerce has provided tools to start, grow, market, and manage retail businesses of any size. Shopify went public in May of 2015 and has skyrocketed +188% in 2023 and is now up over +2,500% since its IPO.

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Comparable to Amazon (AMZN) or Alibaba (BABA), MercardoLibre has become the premier e-commerce platform throughout Latin America as the market leader in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Columbia among other South American countries. MercardoLibre went public back in 2007 with its stock soaring +89% this year and now up +1,400% over the last decade which has topped Amazon’s +668% and Alibaba’s -20% performance since its 2014 IPO.

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Expansive Top-Line Growth  

Shopify’s total sales are now projected to jump 25% in fiscal 2023 and climb another 19% in FY24 to $8.31 billion. More astonishing, FY24 sales projections would be an 184% increase over the last five years with 2020 sales at $2.92 billion.

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Turning to MercardoLibre, sales are now expected to soar 36% this year to $14.35 billion versus $10.54 billion in 2022. Plus, FY24 sales are expected to climb another 22% and projections of $17.5 billion would represent an astonishing 340% increase over the last five years with MercardoLibre's sales at $3.97 billion in 2020.  

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Strengthening EPS Outlook

Correlating with their expansive top-line growth Shopify and MercardoLibre are becoming more profitable. Shopify’s road to probability has become very intriguing with earnings anticipated at $0.70 per share in FY23 compared to $0.04 a share last year. Fiscal 2024 EPS is expected to expand another 48% to $1.04 per share.

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Furthermore, over the last 60 days, FY23 and FY24 earnings estimates have soared 30% and 33% respectively.  

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As for MercardoLibre, the company’s massive earnings potential continues to be on display with EPS now projected to soar 139% this year to $22.80 per share compared to $9.53 a share in 2022. Even better, FY24 EPS is expected to expand another 52% to $34.76 per share.  

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It’s also noteworthy that earnings estimate revisions for FY23 are up 11% over the last 60 days while FY24 EPS estimates have climbed 16%.

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Bottom Line

In correlation with the very positive trend of earnings estimate revisions, Shopify’s stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with MercardoLibre sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). These commerce leaders have been rapidly expanding since the pandemic and look like very viable investments for 2023 and beyond.

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