Bharti Airtel Q2 Results: Profit Rises 31% to ₹8,888 Crore; ARPU at ₹271

The Bharti Airtel Q2 results showed consolidated net profit up almost 31% year-on-year at ₹8,888 crore for the September quarter as ARPU rose to ₹271, the telecom major announced on Thursday.

The telecom operator saw its revenue from operations increase 16.7% year-on-year to ₹60,878 crore, driven by its Indian and African operations. It had posted a net profit of ₹6,791.7 crore in the same quarter last year. The numbers were announced after market hours on November 5.

Airtel net profit rose about 9% sequentially from ₹8,167 crore in the previous quarter ended June. The topline grew 4% quarter-on-quarter from ₹58,539 crore. Consolidated EBITDA rose 17.8% year-on-year to ₹35,240 crore.

Airtel ARPU rises to ₹271 on a richer customer mix

Average revenue per user (ARPU), which most telcos use as a profitability metric, increased to ₹271 from ₹256 in the corresponding quarter last year. Airtel attributed the increase to more subscribers joining its network and improved realisations.

India revenue grew 9.4% year-on-year to ₹42,308 crore, an increase of 2.7% quarter-on-quarter. Mobile revenue in India rose 10.1% year-on-year on the back of a mix shift towards higher-value plans. Growth in the Homes and Airtel Business segments also helped.

Airtel added 2.9 million smartphone data customers during the quarter. It also added 1.2 million net postpaid customers, which it described as its best quarter for postpaid additions. Homes added 676,000 customers in the quarter, taking its base to 15.4 million. In Africa, revenue rose 25.7% in reported currency and 20.6% in constant currency.

Bharti Airtel Q2 results: capex and the data centre push

Airtel spent ₹12,467 crore as consolidated capex this quarter, of which ₹9,908 crore was deployed in India. The company also spent ₹2,826 crore on a strategic land parcel to build out its Airtel data centre footprint in India.

In the quarter, Airtel added 497 towers and 11,684 mobile broadband base stations to its network. It has built 5,649 towers and 44,718 km of fibre over the last year to grow its mobile and home broadband network.

The land acquisition will help the company work towards its ambition of 1 GW of data centre capacity, said Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal. He added that early traction for financial services since the commercial launch has been encouraging, and that the company’s balance sheet remains strong and resilient.

“Our new growth engines continue to gain momentum,” Vittal said in the results announcement. Full financial statements are available on Bharti Airtel’s investor results page.

Vittal, who earlier led the company as managing director and CEO, became Executive Vice Chairman in January 2026, when Shashwat Sharma took over as MD and CEO. His comments this quarter centred on the data centre and financial services businesses, alongside the core mobile operations.

What the numbers mean for investors

For investors, the Bharti Airtel Q2 results show that higher realisations from premium customers have helped lift profits. Capex, however, remains high. A ₹15 rise in Airtel ARPU year-on-year means the company is earning more per customer rather than relying only on adding subscribers.

Airtel’s moves in data centres and financial services will be worth watching for Indian corporates. The 1 GW target places it among Indian companies building capacity for enterprise and cloud workloads, which can open new streams of income.

These results follow competitor Jio Platforms’ recent stock market listing, which now provides a listed comparable for the Indian telecom space. Expect closer comparisons between the two players on ARPU, margins and capex. Jio’s parent, Reliance Industries, has also reported its September-quarter numbers, with Reliance’s Q2 profit jumping 41% to ₹25,548 crore.

Management is likely to be asked about tariffs, growth plans in Africa and capex outgo, while updates on the data centre and financial services segments will also be of interest. For more quarterly earnings coverage, see our Business News section.