Bharti Airtel has posted another strong quarter. India's second-largest telecom company reported a 24% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 10,710 crore for July–September 2026, the second quarter of FY27, up from Rs 8,651 crore a year earlier. Revenue rose 16.7% to Rs 60,878 crore, and average revenue per user (ARPU) climbed to Rs 271. The results were announced after market hours on Thursday, November 5.
The stock responded on Friday, rising about 3% in early trade to touch Rs 2,120 on the NSE, close to its record high.
Two profit numbers, both correct
If you have seen different profit figures in the headlines, here is why. The Rs 10,710 crore figure is total consolidated profit, including the share belonging to minority shareholders in subsidiaries such as Airtel Africa. The profit attributable to Airtel's own shareholders was Rs 8,888 crore, up about 31% from Rs 6,792 crore. That second number is the one analysts track, and it came in below estimates: the LSEG consensus compiled by Reuters was about Rs 9,673 crore.
Revenue and operating profit, however, beat expectations. Consolidated EBITDA rose 17.8% to Rs 35,240 crore, and the margin improved to 57.9% from 57.4% a year ago.
Airtel Q2 FY27 at a glance
| Revenue | Rs 60,877.5 crore (+16.7% YoY) |
| Consolidated net profit | Rs 10,710 crore (+24% YoY) |
| Profit to shareholders | Rs 8,888 crore (+31% YoY) |
| EBITDA | Rs 35,240 crore, margin 57.9% |
| Mobile ARPU | Rs 271 (Rs 256 a year ago) |
| Total customers | 69.25 crore (India and Africa) |
| India customers | About 49.9 crore |
| Capex | Rs 12,467 crore |
ARPU climbs without a tariff hike
The most watched number in Indian telecom is ARPU, and Airtel's rose to Rs 271 from Rs 256 a year ago and Rs 264 in the June quarter. Interestingly, this came without any broad tariff increase since July 2024. Instead, the company has been nudging users towards higher-value plans, adding postpaid customers and dropping some cheaper prepaid packs.
Postpaid was a bright spot, with a record 1.2 million net additions in the quarter. "Our postpaid momentum remained strong with record high net customer additions of 1.2 million," said Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman. India revenue grew 2.7% over the previous quarter, which Vittal called strong growth. Smartphone data users rose to about 304.6 million, and an average customer now uses around 36.5 GB of data a month, according to figures reported by TelecomLead.
Broadband, Africa and data centres
Home broadband continues to expand quickly, with about 1.54 crore customers, up nearly 29% in a year. Airtel Africa remained a strong contributor, with revenue growing about 20.6% in constant currency terms.
The company also spent Rs 2,826 crore on a land parcel for data centres during the quarter. Vittal said the investment marks another step towards "realising our ambition of building 1 GW of data centre capacity." Net debt excluding leases fell to Rs 88,277 crore from about Rs 1.26 lakh crore a year earlier, giving Airtel more room to invest.
What it means for mobile users
For customers, the big question is whether recharge plans will cost more. Brokerage JM Financial, which kept its 'buy' rating and raised its target price to Rs 2,410, says it now sees "improved visibility of a tariff hike of ~15% in the next six months." Airtel itself has not announced any hike, but steady ARPU growth and heavy 5G and data centre spending mean the industry has strong reasons to raise prices.
LIC also reports a 20% profit jump
In another big result on Thursday, Life Insurance Corporation of India reported a 20% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 12,076 crore for the September quarter. Net premium income rose 16.2% to about Rs 1.47 lakh crore, the value of new business grew 17.1% to Rs 3,710 crore, and the solvency ratio improved to 235%.
What to watch next
Investors will now watch for any signal on tariffs, progress on Airtel's data centre plans and the pace of 5G monetisation. With profit to shareholders falling short of estimates but revenue and margins ahead, the market's verdict so far suggests it is focused on the growth story rather than one quarter's miss.
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