Tech stocks have sold off over rising interest rates and worries about the high cost of AI infrastructure. The author holds and periodically adds to MercadoLibre (MELI), arguing it is less exposed to that spending because it is not a cloud provider: its first-half 2026 capex was $712 million, versus $98 billion for Amazon. The company has built fintech (Mercado Pago) and logistics (Mercado Envios) businesses by turning Latin America's challenges into opportunities. First-half revenue rose 49% to $19 billion, but net income fell 13% to $883 million due to margin cuts and bad-loan expenses. Brazil accounts for about 54% of revenue, and the stock plunged after Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva's surprise reelection, which the author thinks is unlikely to derail the company; the stock trades at a P/E of 45 versus the S&P 500's 26, and its $85 billion market cap is small next to Amazon's $2.7 trillion.
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Related tickers and likely impact
QQQ
▼ Likely negativeInvesco QQQ Trust
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 690.49 |
| Change that session | -3.47% |
AAPL
▼ Likely negativeApple Inc.
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 344.79 |
| Change that session | -1.18% |
AMZN
▼ Likely negativeAmazon
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary |
| Industry | Broadline Retail |
| Market cap | $2.6T |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 240.47 |
| Change that session | -1.36% |
GOOGL
▼ Likely negativeAlphabet Inc. (Class A)
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $3.5T |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 279.76 |
| Change that session | -1.43% |
META
▼ Likely negativeMeta Platforms
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $1.6T |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 614.98 |
| Change that session | -1.53% |
MSFT
▼ Likely negativeMicrosoft
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Systems Software |
| Market cap | $3.9T |
| Close on 10/30/2026 | 521.90 |
| Change that session | -1.55% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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