Bharti Airtel Ltd. is on brokerages' radar after the company's net profit for the fourth quarter of FY26 rose 10.5% sequentially, according to an exchange filing. The telecom giant posted a consolidated bottom-line of Rs 7,325 crore, compared to Rs 6,631 crore in the preceding quarter.
The Average Revenue Per User slipped slightly on a quarter-on-quarter basis to Rs 257 from Rs 259. The ARPU was 245 in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations rose 2.6% to Rs 55,383 crore from Rs 53,982 crore in the previous quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation stood at 31,492 crore, up 2.3% from Rs 30,783 crore in Q3FY26.
Brokerages are broadly positive on Airtel's Q4, with Jefferies retaining its Buy rating, and hiking its target price to Rs 2,350 from Rs 2,250. Macquarie has echoed the sentiment and also maintained its Outperform rating.
Macquarie on Bharti Airtel
- Macquarie maintains an Outperform rating with a target price of Rs 2,220.
- The brokerage said Q4 results were broadly in line, although reported ARPU and capex trends appeared softer.
- It views Airtel's progressive dividend payout as a positive step, though not a meaningful catalyst by itself.
- Bharti Airtel shares have recently corrected amid promoter selling, concerns around capital allocation into the NBFC business, and delays in the next tariff hike.
- Despite these near-term overhangs, Macquarie remains positive on the company's fundamentals over a one-year horizon, though it expects the stock to trade sideways to lower in the near term.
Jefferies on Bharti Airtel
- Jefferies maintains a Buy rating and has raised its target price to Rs 2,350 from Rs 2,250.
- The brokerage said revenue and EBITDA came in ahead of expectations, although profits missed estimates.
- India mobile delivered better-than-expected growth and margin expansion.
- The Homes and Africa businesses also posted strong growth.
- Jefferies expects robust free cash flow generation to support higher shareholder payouts.
- It also noted that the company secured better-than-expected share swap terms, which further strengthens the investment case.
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