Lakehouse Capital, a Sydney-based investment manager, released its “Lakehouse Global Growth Fund” November 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. November was a strong month for the fund, fueled by excellent results from several of portfolio companies. The Fund returned 8.0% net of fees and expenses for the month compared to 4.3% for its benchmark. Since its inception in December 2017, the Fund has returned 221.0% compared to 124.7% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index, Net Total Returns (AUD). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Lakehouse Global Growth Fund highlighted stocks like MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI), in the November quarter 2024 investor letter. MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is an online commerce platform that operates Mercado Libre Marketplace and Mercado Pago FinTech platforms. The one-month return of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) was -0.55%, and its shares gained 16.41% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 3, 2025, MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) stock closed at $1,834.17 per share with a market capitalization of $92.988 billion.
Lakehouse Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) in its November 2024 investor letter:
“The Funds largest position, Latin American e-commerce leader MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) delivered another impressive quarterly result. Net revenue grew 35% year-on-year to $5.3 billion, while operating profit declined 29% to $0.6 billion as management made the decision to reinvest some profits back into the business. This reinvestment was primarily to accelerate growth in the company’s credit offerings and continue the expansion of their logistics network, driving faster delivery times and lower per-unit shipping costs. Whilst such a move will depress margins in the near term, we don’t view it as a negative.
Building and owning a first-class logistics network is critical for the company’s success as it will ultimately help protect its market share and profits from competitors over the long-term. We also note that faster shipping accelerates sales growth, which in turn, fosters wider selection, better prices, and greater investment in logistics, all part of a virtuous cycle. As long-time MercadoLibre followers, we are more than happy for the company to make such long-term investments and continue to believe the company is in an ideal position to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead and deliver many years of above average growth and margin expansion.”
A customer using their phone to access an online commerce platform.
MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 87 hedge fund portfolios held MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) at the end of the third quarter which was 84 in the previous quarter. MercadoLibre, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MELI) net income rose by 11% year-over-year, reaching $397 million in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) and shared Loomis Sayles International Growth Fund’s views on the company. MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) was a strong contributor to Hardman Johnston Global Equity’s performance in Q3 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.