Bharti Airtel Q2 Results: Profit More Than Doubles as Premium Users Drive ARPU Leadership

Mumbai | November 6 – Bharti Airtel posted a strong September quarter (Q2 FY26), with net profit jumping to ₹8,651 crore, more than double the ₹4,153 crore recorded a year earlier. The telecom major’s performance was supported by rising high-value smartphone and postpaid subscribers, stronger revenue contribution from homes and enterprise services, and steady execution across its Africa operations.

Revenue from operations rose 26% year-on-year to ₹52,145 crore, with India revenue (including Indus Towers contribution) growing 22.6% YoY to ₹38,690 crore. Airtel Africa also delivered a 36% rise in revenue in rupee terms.

Premium Users Push ARPU Higher

Airtel’s strategy of focusing on premium users continued to drive profitability.
ARPU increased to ₹256, comfortably ahead of Reliance Jio’s ₹211.4 reported for the same period. The company added 5.1 million smartphone users and nearly 1 million postpaid customers, while data usage per user climbed 26.6% YoY to 28.3GB a month.

Gopal Vittal, Airtel’s Managing Director, noted that momentum was especially strong in urban and high-usage segments:

“We are seeing sustained preference for premium network experience, particularly among postpaid and high-end smartphone users.”

He added that the company’s African operations also continued to perform steadily, supporting consolidated margins.

Stronger Balance Sheet and Network Expansion

Airtel continued to invest in strengthening its digital and network footprint.
Quarterly capital expenditure stood at ₹11,362 crore, with ₹9,643 crore directed toward India — largely for expanding 5G and fibre.

At the same time, net debt declined 5% YoY to ₹1.94 lakh crore, reflecting disciplined capital allocation. Vittal highlighted this dual approach:

“Our priority remains balancing growth with prudence. Network leadership, margin resilience, and free cash flow generation are central to how we operate.”

PL Capital View

Bharti Airtel’s results reaffirm the premiumisation trend in India’s telecom market. The company’s ARPU leadership, stable market share gains in postpaid, and expanding home broadband footprint offer visibility on sustained earnings momentum.

Over the medium term, tariff rationalisation and measured 5G monetisation could drive further upside. Airtel remains well-positioned to benefit from increased digital content usage and improving subscriber mix. PL Capital maintains a ‘Accumulate’ stance on Bharti Airtel, with a target price of ₹2,259, reflecting confidence in sustained margin improvement and robust cash-flow generation.

Outlook

With festive-season demand and rising data-led consumption supporting user engagement, the near-term growth environment remains favourable. Airtel’s continued emphasis on quality, customer experience, and disciplined execution keeps it competitively ahead.