Two Market Powerhouses Worth Considering in 2026 — Of Course Including Nvidia (NVDA)

Few things in the investment world prove truly unstoppable. Yet when you examine the stock market carefully, certain companies stand out as more resilient and growth-oriented than others. Of course, identifying which ones requires looking beyond just flashy headlines and recent momentum. This analysis examines two companies that have demonstrated both scale and scalability — firms with genuine competitive moats and the flexibility to pursue multiple growth pathways.

Why These Growth Stocks Deserve a Second Look

What separates exceptional long-term investments from the crowd? Companies with durable competitive advantages — think powerful brand recognition and high switching costs for customers — tend to outperform. Add optionality into the mix — a firm’s capacity to pivot toward new profitable opportunities — and you’ve identified the characteristics worth seeking in a long-term portfolio.

Both companies profiled below share these traits. Each has already achieved significant scale, yet each maintains considerable runway for expansion. Perhaps most intriguing: both remain attractively valued by historical standards, trading below their five-year average price-to-earnings multiples.

Latin America’s Digital Commerce Leader: MercadoLibre (MELI)

MercadoLibre, valued at approximately $116 billion, functions as a comprehensive digital ecosystem across Latin America. The platform mirrors a hybrid of Amazon and PayPal, combining a dominant e-commerce marketplace with substantial fintech capabilities. Operating across 18 nations, the company serves as an integrated platform for buying, selling, lending, facilitating payments, and offering insurance solutions.

The user engagement metrics tell a compelling story: 77 million unique active marketplace buyers and 72 million monthly fintech users — both categories expanding at rates exceeding 25% annually. Third-quarter results reinforced this trajectory, with net revenues climbing 39% year-over-year and net profit margins reaching 5.7%.

The valuation proposition stands equally appealing. The forward price-to-earnings ratio sits at 31, substantially below the five-year average of 64. Here’s what makes this particularly interesting: e-commerce penetration in Latin America hovers around only 15%. For context, that means roughly 85% of the potential market remains largely untapped. As digital adoption accelerates and consumer confidence grows, MercadoLibre possesses extraordinary expansion potential.

The AI Infrastructure Backbone: Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia commands the semiconductor landscape, boasting a market capitalization of $4.6 trillion — making it the world’s largest chip manufacturer by valuation. The trajectory has been remarkable: third-quarter revenue surged 62% year-over-year, while net income jumped 65%.

The company’s transformation deserves emphasis. Once primarily recognized for gaming graphics processors, Nvidia evolved into the critical infrastructure provider for artificial intelligence applications. The graphics processing units (GPUs) manufactured by Nvidia power the data centers where the vast majority of AI computation occurs globally.

A colleague has projected that Nvidia could expand toward $10 trillion in valuation by 2030, partly by establishing partnerships that position the company as a vertically integrated player — providing not merely chips, but also software and networking solutions throughout the AI ecosystem. If your investment thesis assumes continued AI expansion and accelerating data center buildout, Nvidia’s growth prospects appear compelling.

Regarding valuation: the forward price-to-earnings multiple recently stood at 24, well below the five-year average of 37. Of course, this discount to historical averages suggests the market may be pricing in future challenges or simply reflecting a more measured sentiment compared to past euphoria.

Valuation Snapshot: Both Trade Below Historical Averages

What strikes many investors about these two firms is the pricing disconnect. Despite their demonstrated growth acceleration, both companies trade at valuations below their historical norms:

• MercadoLibre: Forward P/E of 31 versus five-year average of 64
• Nvidia: Forward P/E of 24 versus five-year average of 37

This valuation gap creates an interesting asymmetry. Typically, companies showing such explosive revenue growth command premium multiples. The fact that both trade with discounts suggests either near-term market caution or genuine opportunity for patient investors.

The Bottom Line: Why These Companies Matter

Building a resilient long-term portfolio requires balancing growth potential against realistic valuation. Both MercadoLibre and Nvidia exhibit the hallmarks of compelling long-term holdings: proven execution, substantial remaining market opportunities, durable competitive advantages, and — of course — reasonable entry points relative to historical context.

Investors seeking exposure to transformative secular trends — whether Latin American digital commerce expansion or artificial intelligence infrastructure proliferation — might find these companies merit serious consideration. The specific balance and sizing depend on individual risk tolerance and investment horizon, but the fundamental case for each appears reasonably grounded in both near-term momentum and longer-term structural tailwinds.