Analysts project Bharti Airtel's Q1 revenue to climb 14.5% to ₹57,224 crore, with profits expected to surge 47% year-on-year. This growth is driven by subscriber additions and a shift toward higher-value postpaid plans. Investors are now watching for management commentary on potential future tariff hikes and capital spending plans.
Bharti Airtel is expected to report a stable performance for the first quarter ending June 2026, according to recent analyst estimates. The company is projected to see its revenue from operations reach ₹57,224 crore, representing a 14.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, net profit is estimated to climb 47% year-on-year to ₹8,759 crore. This growth is supported by continued subscriber additions and the company's focus on attracting customers to higher-value postpaid services.
Trends in ARPU and Subscriber Base
A key metric for telecom investors is the Average Revenue Per User, or ARPU, which measures the money a company earns from each customer on average. Analysts expect this figure to see a modest quarter-on-quarter growth of about 1.5% to reach ₹261. This increase is primarily driven by higher data usage as customers move toward premium plans, even in the absence of broad tariff hikes during this period. For comparison, Reliance Jio recently reported an ARPU of ₹215.6 for the June quarter.
While subscriber growth remains steady, the pace of new mobile additions is estimated at 3 million for the quarter, which is lower than the 4.7 million added in the previous three months. By the end of March, Bharti Airtel’s total user base across mobile, home broadband, and other services stood at 482 million. Reliance Jio, currently the largest operator by user count in the country, reported a total base of 533.3 million subscribers following an addition of 8.9 million users in the June quarter.
Performance Across Business Segments
The company’s operations extend beyond mobile services, with the Africa business and the enterprise segment acting as important pillars for growth. Airtel Africa has reported a strong 31% year-on-year revenue increase to $1.85 billion for the quarter, with profits rising by 27%. Domestically, the enterprise segment, which includes data centers and cloud solutions, is projected to contribute ₹5,600 crore in revenue, marking an 11% year-on-year increase with stable profit margins of 43%. Additionally, the home broadband business continues to grow, though the expansion of fixed wireless access services may face some pressure due to rising installation costs.
Investors looking ahead will prioritize management commentary regarding potential tariff increases in the coming months, which would be a significant factor for future revenue growth. Furthermore, the company’s capital spending plans and the utilization of its cash flow will be important to track, alongside any updates on the strategic development of its Nxtra data center business. These factors, combined with the competitive landscape, will determine the sustainability of the current profit growth trajectory.