Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL) Q2 26/27 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q2 consolidated revenue was Rs 60,878 crore, up 16.7% YoY and 4.0% QoQ; customer base reached 692.6 Mn across 15 countries.

• EBITDA rose 17.8% YoY to Rs 35,240 crore, with a 57.9% margin; net income before exceptional items grew 32.7% to Rs 9,015 crore.

• Consolidated EBITDAaL was ~INR 31,500 crore, up ~5.5%; EBITDAaL margin was 51.7%.

• Performance reflected growth in India and Africa, premiumization, execution and cost efficiencies; opportunities include homes, B2B, financial services, data centers and cloud.

Financial highlights

• Q2 EBIT rose 23.3% YoY to Rs 20,556 crore; PBT increased 26.7% to Rs 15,608 crore, and net income after exceptional items was Rs 8,888 crore, up 31%.

• H1 revenue grew 18% YoY to Rs 1,19,417 crore; EBITDA rose 19% to Rs 68,838 crore and net income before exceptional items increased 34% to Rs 17,072 crore.

• Consolidated operating free cash flow, defined as EBITDA less CapEx, exceeded INR 19,000 crore; quarterly consolidated CapEx was Rs 12,467 crore.

• H1 operating cash flow was Rs 67,455 crore; investing and financing cash outflows were Rs 41,602 crore and Rs 31,063 crore, respectively, leaving Rs 19,152 crore in cash and equivalents.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects continued mobile ARPU growth from plan upgrades, postpaid, roaming and top-ups; the Q2 prepaid pricing intervention has played out, with further growth expected from other levers.

• Core CapEx remains as guided; additional investment is expected in data centers and cloud, with no specific forward CapEx guidance for those growth areas.

• Home strategy prioritizes accelerated fiber expansion; FWA will serve as an interim option at the fringes until fiber reaches areas with sufficient demand.

• Management sees growth potential in mobile ARPU, home penetration and B2B; data-consumption-based pricing remains a longer-term industry opportunity.

• Africa’s homegrown technology stack and group synergies are expected to support go-to-market capabilities and operating gains; early Financial Services traction was encouraging.