SpaceX's $86B IPO Creates Buzz, But MercadoLibre and On Holding Offer Compelling Growth Stories

SpaceX Dominates Headlines, But Other Growth Stories Deserve Attention

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) has captured the investing world's imagination following its historic initial public offering, which raised $86 billion after being oversubscribed more than four times. With Elon Musk at the company's helm, the space exploration giant commands considerable attention — but its lofty valuation and financial fundamentals have some analysts pointing investors toward other opportunities in the growth space.

At a price-to-sales ratio of 105, SpaceX carries a premium that leaves little room for error. The company continues to spend aggressively, and profitability remains elusive — factors that have led some market observers to look elsewhere for growth at a more reasonable price.

Two names drawing increased attention in this context are MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) and On Holding (NYSE: ONON), both of which present distinct growth profiles alongside more digestible valuation metrics.

MercadoLibre: Latin America's E-Commerce and Fintech Powerhouse

MercadoLibre has been a consistent high-growth story for years, and its first-quarter 2026 results reinforce that narrative. Revenue climbed 49% year over year — a pace that management itself has described as startup-like, despite the company being several decades old and already the dominant platform in its region.

The growth is broad-based across the business. Unique active buyers on the e-commerce platform rose 26% year over year in Q1, while fintech monthly active users expanded 29%. Total payment volume surged 50%, and gross merchandise volume increased 42% — metrics that suggest the platform's ecosystem is deepening across multiple dimensions simultaneously.

Unlike SpaceX, MercadoLibre is profitable, a distinction that matters when evaluating growth companies trading at elevated multiples.

Room to Run in Underpenetrated Markets

Despite years of expansion, MercadoLibre's core markets across Latin America remain meaningfully underpenetrated in both e-commerce and financial services. The company has been actively lowering barriers to entry — for example, reducing the free shipping threshold in Brazil — a move that contributed to record new user additions in Q1 2026. Management has indicated plans to replicate this approach across additional markets.

The stock has faced pressure this year as the company invests heavily in market share and expands its credit products, which typically carry elevated risk in their early stages. This near-term earnings pressure has pulled the valuation down to approximately 43 times trailing-12-month earnings, a level near its 10-year low — a notable contrast to SpaceX's 105x price-to-sales multiple.

On Holding: Premium Activewear Brand Building Long-Term Loyalty

On Holding is carving out an increasingly prominent position in the competitive activewear market, attracting a customer base that analysts describe as affluent and less sensitive to inflationary pressures. The Swiss brand's first-quarter 2026 results reflected strong execution across both wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels.

Currency-neutral sales grew 26% year over year in Q1 2026. More telling are the margin trends: gross margin expanded from 59.9% to 64.2%, while profit margin widened from 7.8% to 12.4%. These improvements signal that On's commitment to full-price selling is translating directly to the bottom line.

CEO Caspar Coppetti has been explicit about the strategy, stating: "Our results represent this strategy, the kind that builds the brand for years and decades to come."

Growing Reach Among Younger Consumers

On Holding's brand penetration story remains early-stage even in established markets. In the U.S., brand awareness reached 30% for the first time in Q1 2026 — suggesting significant runway ahead. Among younger demographics, On registered its largest-ever increase in the 18-to-24-year-old share of its direct-to-consumer customer base during the quarter.

The brand's growing resonance with younger shoppers was further reflected in the annual Piper Sandler Taking Stock With Teens survey, where On ranked fourth in footwear — a meaningful signal of increasing market share among the next generation of consumers.

On Holding currently trades at approximately 39 times trailing-12-month earnings, a valuation that places it well below SpaceX's revenue-based multiple.

What Investors Are Watching

The SpaceX IPO has reset expectations for what a newly public company can command in terms of market enthusiasm and capital. However, data suggests that the contrast between SpaceX's valuation and its current profitability profile — compared to profitable, fast-growing alternatives like MercadoLibre and On Holding — is a dynamic worth monitoring closely.

For MercadoLibre, the key variables to track include credit product performance, market expansion progress, and whether near-term margin pressure stabilizes. For On Holding, brand penetration metrics and full-price sell-through rates will indicate whether the premium positioning remains intact as the company scales globally.