Bharti Airtel fixes record date for its highest-ever dividend of Rs 24/share. What’s the last date to buy?

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday fixed July 24 (Friday) as the record date to determine eligibility of shareholders for its highest-ever annual dividend payout of Rs 24 per share for the financial year which ended on March 31, 2026.

Bharti Airtel, in May, announced that its board of directors recommended a final dividend of Rs 24 per fully paid-up equity share for FY26, subject to shareholders’ approval. This comes after the company paid a dividend of Rs 16 per share in July last year, and Rs 8 per share in the year before.

The telco has declared 22 dividends since July, 2009, and currently has a dividend yield of 0.84%, according to data on Trendlyne.

How to be eligible for Bharti Airtel’s dividend?

Bharti Airtel in an exchange filing released on Friday said that the Rs 24 dividend will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the depository records as at close of business hours on Friday, July 24. This effectively makes July 23 (Thursday) the last date for interested investors to buy shares of the company to be eligible for the dividend payout.


Under Sebi's T+1 settlement cycle, investors must purchase a company's shares at least one trading day before the record date to ensure the shares are credited to their demat accounts in time, and they become eligible for the corporate action. Therefore, July 23 would be the last opportunity for investors to buy the shares so that they are credited to their accounts by July 24, making them eligible for Bharti Airtel’s dividend.

Also read: TCS announces interim dividend of Rs 12 per share. Check record date

Bharti Airtel share price

Bharti Airtel shares dropped nearly 1% to trade at Rs 1,915 apiece, as seen at 11.50 am on Friday. The stock has gained around 8% in one month but dropped more than 9% in 2026 so far and 3% in one year. In the longer term, the shares of the company have delivered 116% returns over three years and 261% over five years.

Nomura in a recent note named Bharti Airtel its top telecom pick and increased its target price to Rs 2,355 apiece, while highlighting that the implied valuation discount when compared to Reliance Industries’ Jio Platform is unwarranted.

The international brokerage maintained its ‘Buy’ call on the stock. The latest target price implies an upside potential of nearly 22% from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 1,931.10 apiece on NSE.

Also read: 10 reasons why Nomura stays bullish on Bharti Airtel

Calling Bharti Airtel an "ARPU compounder with multiple optionalities”, Nomura said that it is one of India’s premium telecom companies, and a structural beneficiary of a consolidated three-player market. “With 5G rollout largely complete and capex intensity past its peak, we believe the resulting strong FCF generation is playing out into a deleveraging cycle," it said.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)