- Bharti Airtel briefly became India's second-most valued company by market cap on Monday
- Airtel's market cap reached Rs 11.78 lakh crore, surpassing HDFC Bank's Rs 11.74 lakh crore
- HDFC Bank regained second spot later with Rs 11.87 lakh crore versus Airtel's Rs 11.84 lakh crore
Bharti Airtel Ltd. has surpassed HDFC Bank Ltd. on Monday to become the second-most valued company in India by market capitalisation. This comes on the back of Airtel shares extending its gains for the fourth consecutive session.
Earlier in the day, Bharti Airtel had amassed a market capitalisation of Rs 11.78 lakh crore compared to HDFC Bank Rs 11.74 lakh. The latter has recovered since and as of now 12:30, HDFC Bank remains ahead with a market capitalisation of Rs 11.87 lkah crore, compared to Bharti Airtel's Rs 11.84 lakh crore. The two companies are jostling for the second spot.
Reliance Industries Ltd. remains the most valued Indian company at Rs. 18.11 lakh crore.
Bharti Airtel's impressive feat comes on the back of the company's stock performance. Although shares of Airtel have fallen 7.5% on a year-to-date basis, it has fared much better than HDFC Bank, whose shares have fallen more than 22% since the turn of the year.
The volatility in HDFC Bank is a result of uncertainty around its chairman succession plan. Shares of the lender had earlier seen a sharp decline after part-time Chairman Atanu Chakraborty's shock resignation.
Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, reported a fourth quarter in which management said it was determined to double down on all levers to boost average revenue per user, citing opportunity in the mobility business through premiumization and upgradation to postpaid.
Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal also said he aspires to see promoter entity Bharti Telecom return to a controlling shareholding of 51% over the next decade, up from just over 40% currently.
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