Bharti Airtel's m-cap hits ₹11.90 lakh crore, surpasses HDFC Bank to become 2nd largest stock; key factors

Key factors like the March quarter results, topline growth, and healthy business performance in the African market contributed to the momentum of the stock. The shares of Bharti Airtel have gained over 10% in the last five market sessions.

According to data compiled from NSE, Bharti Airtel’s market capitalisation (m-cap) surged to ₹11.90 lakh crore at the intraday high level of the stock on Monday, May 18, compared with HDFC Bank’s M-Cap level of ₹11.89 lakh crore.

Shares of Bharti Airtel surged 2.5% to hit their intraday high of ₹1,953.80 on Monday, compared to ₹1,905.40 at the previous market close, according to NSE data.

Factors fuelling Bharti Airtel’s rise

In the March quarter results, Bharti Airtel’s consolidated net profits (attributable to the owners of the company) dropped 33.54% to ₹7,325 crore for the financial year ended 2025-26, compared year-on-year with ₹11,021 crore in the same period a year ago, as per the financial statements.

Although the net profits dropped year-on-year, the company’s revenue from core operations advanced 15.68% to ₹55,383 crore in the fourth quarter, compared with ₹47,876 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Bharti Airtel’s top-line witnessed growth on the backdrop of the sustained growth in India and Africa business operations.

The consolidated statements showed that the company’s India revenues were up 7.7% YoY to ₹39,566 crore, with an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 60% in the quarter ended March 31, 2026.

While Africa business revenues recorded 22.3% YoY growth with an EBITDA margin of 49.5% in constant currency.

The company filings also showed that Bharti Airtel’s total customer base stood at 66.6 crore across 15 countries, with 48.2 crore users in India, and 18.4 crore in Africa, two of the company’s largest operational markets.

On a sequential basis, Bharti Airtel’s net profit after tax (PAT) witnessed a sequential rise of 8.7% to ₹9,257 crore in the March quarter, compared with ₹8,502 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal year ended 2025-26.

The investors' sentiment was further fuelled by the ₹24 per share final dividend issue for shareholders, which will be paid within 30 days of the company’s board meeting.

Q4 earnings were largely in line with market expectations, as the positive momentum was from the company’s revenues beating estimates. The company also reduced its net debts from the infusion of rights issue.

Bharti Airtel share price trend

Bharti Airtel's share price delivered more than 266% returns on its investment in the last five years, and over 143% returns in the last three years, according to NSE data. The company’s stock has gained 7.3% in the last one year period.

So far in 2026, the telecom company’s stock has lost 7.7% on a year-to-date basis, but has gained 5.4% in the past one month.

The company’s shares hit their 52-week high of ₹2,174.50 on November 21, 2025, while the 52-week low was at ₹1,740.50 on May 13, 2026, according to the exchange data.