Market Crash - Which stocks should you be looking at?
When markets tumble, fear takes over—but that’s when long-term investors get to work. While others panic, we hunt for quality businesses that can thrive through the storm and come out stronger.
Here are three standout companies that offer resilience, innovation, and upside, even in a downturn:
MercadoLibre
Wise
Nvidia
MercadoLibre (MELI): Latin America’s Digital Titan
How It Makes Money
Think of MELI as the Amazon + PayPal + FedEx of Latin America.
Marketplace (MercadoLibre) connects millions of buyers and sellers.
FinTech (MercadoPago) handles payments and transfers.
Logistics (MercadoEnvios) powers same-day deliveries.
Credit, ads, and shops round out a powerful digital ecosystem.
Management & Capital Allocation
Founder Marcos Galperin still runs the show and owns 7.5%. He’s long-term focused, growth-minded, and investor-aligned. Capital is invested wisely to scale the business and fuel free cash flow.
Balance Sheet & Valuation
$7.1B cash vs. $1.4B net debt
PE: 51x – expensive, but 14x P/FCF which is cheap but quality rarely comes cheap
Strong FCF margin, outperforming Amazon and eBay
Market Potential
148M users, 3.2M sellers
LATAM e-commerce to hit $923B by 2026
MELI is growing revenue at 40–50% a year
Performance
+6891% since IPO, +27.1% CAGR
Outperformed Amazon on compounding over time.
Risks
Currency devaluation (Argentina in particular)
Political & economic volatility
Credit risk in lending business
SCC View
💥 Buy – decent valuation for a premium business leading the digital economy of an entire continent.
🌐 Wise PLC (WISE): Making Money Borderless
How It Makes Money
Wise started as a hack by two frustrated Estonians sick of overpriced bank transfers. Today, it's a £12.3B fintech giant making global money movement fast, cheap, and transparent.
Business Model: Low cost, high tech, and capital-light. With 66% of new users from word-of-mouth, the product speaks for itself.Wise fixes broken international money transfers.
77.5% from transfers
22.5% from accounts, cards, and APIs
Charges 0.87–1.14% per transaction vs. 3–10% at banks
Management & Capital Allocation
Co-founder Kristo Käärmann still leads and owns 18.3%. Hasn’t sold a single share since IPO—rare conviction.
ROCE: 30.1%
ROE: 23.5%
Rock-solid capital discipline
Balance Sheet
Extremely low debt
Interest coverage: 24x
CapEx-to-revenue: just 0.92
This is a lean, scalable, software-like business.
Market Potential
Addressable market: £27 trillion
Handles <5% of retail and <1% of SMB cross-border transfers
Strategic B2B growth via Wise Platform (e.g. Morgan Stanley)
Performance
+111.3% since 2022, CAGR: 28.3%
Outperformed the FTSE 100 by a wide margin
Valuation
Historically cheap
DCF suggests 40% margin of safety
High margins: 80.8% gross, 36.6% operating, 27.6% net
Risks
Regulatory hurdles
FX volatility
Cybersecurity threats
SCC View
🧠 Buy – A mission-driven disruptor with strong financials and vast runway in a £27T market.
🤖 Nvidia (NVDA): The AI Superpower
How It Makes Money
Nvidia designs world-class chips—mainly GPUs—for data centers, gaming, AI, and autonomous driving.
80% share of the AI chip market
Dominates hyperscaler data center build-outs
CUDA software ecosystem creates developer lock-in
Capital Allocation & R&D
$7.3B R&D in 2023 alone
High FCF conversion
Strategic bets on AI and compute infrastructure
Management
CEO Jensen Huang = Visionary
Owns 3.9% ($137B stake)
Flat org structure, direct involvement, and relentless innovation.
Balance Sheet
Healthy ratios
Low capital intensity relative to returns
Strong cash flow machine
Valuation
P/FCF: 44.5x – richly priced but when we look at the forward valuation is expected to be 28x in 2026 which is cheap.
Market expects 30% annual growth
Big reward… but also high expectations
Market Potential
GPU market: $274B by 2029 (CAGR: 33.2%)
Data center revenue already 80% of NVDA’s top line
The “arms dealer” of the AI revolution and the next wave that is coming
Performance
+34,971% since IPO
28.2% CAGR since IPO
Crushed AMD and Intel in returns
Risks
Valuation bubble?
Customer concentration (Amazon, Meta, etc.)
Geopolitical risks (Taiwan supply chain)
SCC View
⚖️ Underweight – Nvidia is extraordinary, but current prices bake in perfection. Wait for a better entry point.
Final Thoughts
These three companies represent the best of their categories:
MercadoLibre: Dominates Latin American commerce and fintech
Wise: Disrupts a giant market with a simple, scalable model
Nvidia: Powers the AI revolution with unmatched tech
In a market crash, the real winners emerge. These businesses combine visionary leadership, efficient capital use, and massive market opportunities. If you’re investing through chaos, look for companies like these—durable, innovative, and built for the long haul.
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