Bharti Airtel Q1 results: Net profit soars 37% YoY, ARPU improves 6% to ₹264; key details to know

The telecom firm posted a 37.32% year-on-year (YoY) surge in its consolidated net profit to ₹8,167.4 crore during the quarter under review, compared to ₹5,947.9 crore in the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year (Q1 FY26).

Its revenue from operations jumped 18.35% YoY to ₹58,539.1 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, as against ₹49,462.6 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal year, according to a regulatory filing.

The growth in the company’s topline was supported by strong growth across India and Africa operations.

At an operational level, its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), also known as operating profit, stood at ₹33,599 crore for the reporting quarter, growing 19.3% YoY.

In the corresponding period of FY26, it had logged an EBITDA of ₹28,167 crore.

Its EBITDA margin expanded by basis points (bps) YoY to 57.4% in Q1 FY27, in contrast to 56.9% in Q1 of the last fiscal year.

Airtel's average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by 5.6% YoY to ₹264 during the reported quarter, compared to ₹250 a year ago.

Key highlights

The firm’s India mobile revenue grew 9.2% YoY, driven by improved ARPU and strong gains in smartphone data customers

Its homes business recorded another robust quarter, posting 33.2% YoY revenue growth, backed by the company’s focus on quality customers and convergence agenda.

The Airtel business delivered revenue growth of 12% YoY, led by healthy orderbook execution and strong momentum in the digital services portfolio. Furthermore, its Digital TV segment saw its revenue rise 1.4% YoY. Its revenue from Passive Infrastructure Services increased 4.6% YoY, supported by new site rollouts and colocation expansions.

During the quarter, Bharti Airtel added 14.9 million customers and reached a customer base of 681 million across 15 countries.

“Focus on a stronger portfolio led to strong net additions in the postpaid segment. We recorded the highest-ever quarterly postpaid customer additions of 1.0 Mn, thereby reaching a customer base of 30.0 Mn. The smartphone data customer base grew by 21.1 million over the past year, marking a 7.5% YoY increase,” Airtel said.

What the Vice Chairman said

Commenting on the results, Gopal Vittal, the Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said: “We delivered yet another quarter of strong performance, supported by the resilience of our diversified portfolio and sharp execution across businesses. Consolidated revenue rose 5.7% sequentially to ₹58,539 crore with strong growth momentum across India and Africa. India revenue increased 4.2% sequentially while Africa delivered 5.7% constant currency growth.”

He further stated that Airtel completed a large and earnings per share (EPS) accretive share swap transaction to increase the company’s stake in Airtel Africa to over 79%, during the quarter. “This is a strong reflection of our conviction in Africa’s long-term growth potential and the significant opportunities across our businesses,” Vittal stated.

“India Mobile achieved sequential growth of 3.8%, driven by continued portfolio mix improvement. Our postpaid strategy continues to deliver strong outcomes with the highest ever customer additions of 1 million. We added 5 million smartphone customers with an industry-leading ARPU of ₹264,” he added.

The Homes business saw strong momentum with revenue growth of 4.4% QoQ and 473,000 customer additions, underpinned by Airtel’s focus on quality acquisitions and driving convergence, Vittal said.

Airtel Business also delivered 3.2% sequential revenue growth, led by strong performance across the portfolio, he added.

“Our balance sheet remains strong, reflecting disciplined capital allocation and focused investments to future-proof Airtel,” Vittal stated.

Bharti Airtel has a total market capitalisation of ₹12.29 lakh crore as of August 4, 2026, according to data on the NSE.