Bharti Airtel shares jump 3% after Q2 net profit rises 31% YoY. What are brokerages saying?

Bharti Airtel shares jumped 3% to Rs 2,120 apiece on NSE on Friday after the telecom giant reported a 31% year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 8,887.5 crore in the July-September quarter of the ongoing financial year.

Bharti Airtel on Thursday released its results for the second quarter of the ongoing financial year, reporting a 17% YoY increase in revenue from operations to Rs 60,878 crore, from Rs 52,145 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

The telecom giant’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key earnings metric for companies in the sector, rose to Rs 271 during the quarter from Rs 256 a year ago, maintaining its industry-leading position. Notably, peer and recently-listed Jio Platforms reported an ARPU of Rs 218.8 at the end of the September quarter.


Vodafone Idea is yet to announce its second-quarter earnings.

Also read | Bharti Airtel Q2 Results: Net profit jumps 31% YoY to Rs 8,887 crore; revenue up 17%; ARPU rises to Rs 271

Bharti Airtel’s India mobile revenue grew 10% YoY, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew nearly 18% YoY to Rs 35,240 crore in Q2 FY27, compared with Rs 29,919 crore in the year-ago period. India revenue increased 9.4% YoY to Rs 42,308 crore, with the company's mobile business continuing to benefit from premiumisation of its customer portfolio, higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and strong additions in smartphone data customers.

Commenting on the performance, Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company delivered another quarter of consistent growth, supported by its diversified business portfolio.

What brokerages say about Bharti Airtel’s Q2 results?

Motilal Oswal shares that Bharti Airtel showed a good performance in Q2, largely driven by strong growth in Africa and robust wireless ARPU growth. After muted net additions in the first quarter, subscriber additions improved in homes, though ARPU decline accelerated. Further, the domestic brokerage noted that Bharti continues to trail Reliance Jio on HBB net additions.

Airtel Africa continued strong double-digit CC revenue and EBITDA growth, with further boost from cross-currency tailwinds. Reported capex rose 10% YoY, due to front-loading of capex in Africa. Bharti’s OCF generation remained healthy; however, recommencement of deferred 5G spectrum payments led to moderation in FCF to Rs 97 billion, Motilal noted. It has a ‘Buy’ call on the stock.

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Equirus Securities has a ‘long’ rating on the shares of Bharti Airtel with a target price of Rs 2,295 apiece, implying 12% upside potential. The brokerage noted that the company’s Q2 results were marginally ahead of expectations, supported by broad-based revenue growth and EBITDA margin expansion across segments. The seasonally strong quarter (92 days vs. 90 days in Q2) also supported performance. FCF generation remained healthy, while leverage continued to improve

Further, capex intensity declined to 20.5%, signalling improving balance-sheet strength and cash flow generation, Equirus said. India Mobile wireless ARPU stood at Rs 271, in line with the brokerage’s expectations. However, subscriber additions were lower than expected at 0.2% QoQ.

“While Airtel continues to deliver consistent ARPU improvement, we believe a stronger focus on subscriber growth remains important to sustain overall revenue momentum,” Equirus said.

Most brokerages are now awaiting management commentary during the earnings call.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.