Marketplaces and the Delivery Layer
LD Eakman@ldeakman
+3.4%
since Oct 1
The idea
I think ordinary online shopping keeps growing for years the way it did in the late 90s and 2000s, while AI agents doing our buying stays a niche behavior for now. So this basket owns global marketplaces, tilted toward steadier large caps, alongside earlier-stage marketplaces still climbing the adoption curve in emerging markets, plus the rails underneath: payments, parcel delivery, and warehouse automation that get paid regardless of how an order gets placed. No single name dominates, and I keep a modest cash reserve.
What it owns
- Regions still early in online shopping adoption are following the growth curve that played out in developed markets. · MercadoLibreIt operates a marketplace with its own logistics layer in Latin America, a region still early in the online shopping adoption curve., Sea LimitedShopee is a marketplace with its own delivery network in Southeast Asia, where online buying is still spreading to new customers., CoupangIt built same-day delivery underneath its marketplace, keeping Korean shoppers ordering through traditional checkout rather than exploring new interfaces., PDD HoldingsIt operates a cross-border marketplace pushing goods to shoppers worldwide through traditional browse-and-buy behavior., Alibaba GroupIt is China's largest marketplace operator with Cainiao as its delivery layer, capturing value as Chinese online spending grows.31%
- Established marketplaces with their own delivery networks compound as online buying grows globally. · Amazon.comIt is a global marketplace that owns its own delivery layer, collecting revenue on both the sale and the shipment as online buying grows., WalmartIt uses its store network as a logistics backbone for a growing online marketplace, compounding as e-commerce adoption climbs., eBayIt operates a marketplace for resale shopping, where browsing and comparing behavior persists through traditional online checkout.18%
- Every online purchase settles over these networks, so they win as transaction volumes grow regardless of how orders are placed. · MastercardIt collects a transaction fee on every online purchase routed through its card network, regardless of how the order was placed., VisaIt processes payment on every online purchase made with cards, winning as transaction volumes grow and cards remain the default payment method., PayPalIt is the checkout button that processes online purchases, collecting a fee on each transaction as shopping volumes grow., DLocalIt processes payments for merchants selling into Latin America, Africa, and Asia, capturing value on cross-border e-commerce growth.17%
- More packages require more vans, sorting hubs, and fulfillment capacity regardless of who clicks buy. · United Parcel ServiceIt moves the parcels that online buying generates, capturing value on each shipment as e-commerce volumes grow., FedExIt carries international and domestic packages tied to online shopping, with an emphasis on cross-border shipments from global marketplaces., ZTO ExpressIt carries a large share of China's e-commerce parcels, the delivery layer under the country's major marketplaces., GXO LogisticsIt provides outsourced fulfillment for retailers that cannot build their own logistics layer, winning as e-commerce fulfillment demand grows.15%
- Buildings and automation systems that fulfillment runs on capture a landlord's and equipment maker's cut of e-commerce growth. · PrologisIt owns the warehouses that e-commerce fulfillment flows through, collecting rent as online buying drives demand for logistics space., SymboticIt sells warehouse automation systems that make e-commerce fulfillment cheaper and faster for large retailers., Zebra TechnologiesIt makes the scanners and tracking hardware every warehouse and delivery operation in e-commerce uses to move boxes.11%
- Cash8%