India’s Bharti Airtel roared ahead in Q1 FY26 with a 43% YoY rise in consolidated net profit to ₹5,948 cr. Exceptional ARPU growth, sustained homes segment momentum, digital innovations, and cost rationalization boosted margins and cash flow, reinforcing the company’s strategic positioning.
Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, posted a 43% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit to ₹5,948 crore in the first quarter of FY26, driven by improved operational efficiency, robust mobile average revenue per user (ARPU), and the continued momentum in its Homes and digital services segments. Consolidated revenue grew 28.5% YoY to ₹49,463 crore.
Net income from India operations was ₹5,292 crore, compared to ₹4,183.2 crore in the same period last year. India revenue grew to ₹37,584 crore from ₹32,484 crore, supported by better mobile realisations and a growing fixed broadband subscriber base.
ARPU and Mobile Growth Lead the Way
ARPU surged to ₹250, from ₹211 a year ago, maintaining Bharti Airtel’s lead in customer monetization among Indian telecom operators. The India mobile business recorded 2.9% sequential growth, aided by a focused premiumization strategy and one extra day in the quarter.
This performance reflects our disciplined execution, emphasis on quality customer additions, and increased usage of premium services.”
Vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel
Subscriber Base Expansion
The company’s total customer base surpassed 600 million globally, with India contributing 436 million users – up from 412 million last year. The postpaid segment alone added 0.7 million users, while smartphone users on the network rose by 21.3 million, marking an 8.2% YoY increase.
Homes and Digital Businesses Gain Traction
Bharti Airtel’s Homes segment reported a 25.7% YoY jump, crossing 11 million users, supported by a 939,000 customer increase through fixed wireless access (FWA). The Airtel Cloud sovereign platform was launched to expand its non-core digital services, targeting telecom and enterprise customers with Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offerings. Additionally, a new AI-powered software suite was introduced to improve customer retention and enhance ARPU.
These developments indicate Bharti Airtel’s long-term strategy of diversifying revenue beyond core telecom, especially as ARPU growth moderates.
Financial Prudence Amid Expansion
Capital expenditure reduced to ₹7,273 crore in Q1FY26, down from ₹8,503 crore a year earlier, reflecting completion of major 5G rollouts. Meanwhile, the company added 1,800 towers and 7,500 mobile broadband stations to boost service capacity.
The IPTV service launched last quarter gained 0.65 million users, while Digital TV revenue stood at ₹763 crore with 15.7 million subscribers.
Also Read: Airtel Rewards Investors with ₹20 Dividend Amid Record Growth!
International Operations Steady
Airtel Africa posted a 24.9% YoY revenue increase to $1.4 billion (constant currency), with net income at $78 million. The African customer base now stands at 169 million.
Financial Summary Table
| Metric | Q1FY26 | Q1FY25 |
| Consolidated Net Profit | ₹5,948 Cr | ₹4,183.2 Cr |
| India Net Income | ₹5,292 Cr | ₹4,183.2 Cr |
| Consolidated Revenue | ₹49,463 Cr | ~₹38,490 Cr |
| India Revenue | ₹37,584 Cr | ₹32,484 Cr |
| Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) | ₹250 | ₹211 |
| India Customer Base | 436 Million | 412 Million |
| Total Customer Base | 600 Million+ | N/A |
| Homes Business Customers | 11 Million | ~8.75 Million |
| Postpaid Customer Addition | 0.7 Million | N/A |
| Smartphone Users Growth | +21.3 Million | N/A |
| Capital Expenditure (India) | ₹7,273 Cr | ₹8,503 Cr |
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