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Telecom major Bharti Airtel delivered strong financials for the June quarter (Q1FY26), with consolidated net profit increasing 13.9% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to Rs. 5,948 crore, beating analyst estimates of Rs. 5,660 crore. The company attributed the growth to strong performances in its India mobile segment, high data usage, and strong subscriber additions.
The Bharti Airtel Q1FY26 results reflect steady growth driven by strong subscriber retention and digital expansion. Airtel profit in the June quarter surged due to increased data consumption and improved operational efficiency.
Airtel's consolidated revenue for the quarter was Rs. 49,463 crore, up 3.3% from the previous quarter and 28.5% year-on-year. Although short of expectations of Rs. 49,762 crore, this top-line growth was driven largely by higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and more adoption of 5G.
The telecom operator’s EBITDA rose 2.8% sequentially to Rs. 28,167 crore, with a 41.2% year-on-year growth. However, operating margins softened slightly to 56.9%, compared to 57.2% in the March quarter.
Airtel reported a 2% increase in ARPU, which rose to Rs. 250, up from Rs. 245 in the previous quarter. The telco’s mobile subscriber base also expanded marginally to 362.8 million, while monthly churn rose to 2.7%, indicating intensified competition.
The company reported Airtel ARPU of Rs. 250, marking a significant jump in revenue per user year-over-year. Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Vice-Chairman, said, “The India mobile segment delivered 2.9% sequential growth, supported by an extra day in the quarter and our ongoing strategy to upgrade users to premium offerings.”
Airtel’s home broadband business achieved record additions, with 939,000 net subscribers added in Q1FY26, the highest in any quarter to date. This segment saw 7.6% sequential revenue growth, indicating growing demand for high-speed home internet.
The company added 3.9 million new 4G/5G customers, bringing the total to 280.7 million. However, despite this growth, Airtel continued to lag behind Reliance Jio in terms of data consumption: on average, Airtel users consumed 26.9 GB/month, while Airtel-Jio users used an average of approximately 37 GB/month.
This quarter, total data used on the Airtel network reached 22.84 GB, an increase of 8.4% QoQ.
The telco added 690,000 users to its postpaid user base, now at 26.57 million users. Voice usage per user averaged 1,142 minutes per month, slightly lower than the 1,163 minutes in Q4FY25.
Airtel's mobile services in India generated Rs. 27,396.6 crore in revenues, while the business reported a 7.7% annual decline due to exiting low-margin segments. However, Airtel noted continued growth in digital & core connectivity.
