Bharti Airtel Ltd — Q4 FY26 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript Bharti Airtel Ltd filed with BSE on 20 May 2026. Every statement cites a verbatim quote from that document — open any citation to read it. This is a record of what management said, not a recommendation. How we check these summaries
The short read
Bharti Airtel reported FY2026 consolidated revenue of about Rs.2,11,000 Crores and EBITDAaL of about Rs.1,08,000 Crores with a 51.2% margin, while Q4 consolidated revenue came in at about Rs.55,400 Crores, up 2.6% sequentially. Management highlighted progress in new growth bets including data centers, financial services and Airtel Cloud, an RBI approval for its NBFC subsidiary Airtel Money, and a Board-approved share swap to raise its stake in Airtel Africa by 16.3%. The Board recommended a dividend of Rs.24 per share for FY2026, up from Rs.16 per share the prior year, and Bharti Hexacom separately reported Q4 revenue of Rs.2414 Crores and a mobile customer base of 28.8 million.
1 statement from this call is not shown because its supporting quote could not be reproduced within our quoting limits. Nothing shown here is affected: every statement on this page carries its verified quote.
Numbers mentioned
Consolidated revenue: about Rs.2,11,000 Crores (FY2026)
p. 3
“Our consolidated revenue crossed another milestone and came in at a lifetime high of about Rs.2,11,000 Crores backed by strong performance in both India and Africa.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDAaL: about Rs.1,08,000 Crores, margin 51.2% (FY2026)
p. 3
“EBITDAaL came in at about Rs.1,08,000 Crores with a margin of 51.2%.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
India EBITDAaL excluding passive: about Rs.72,500 Crores, growing around 18% (FY2026)
p. 3
“India EBITDAaL excluding passive, came in at about Rs.72,500 Crores, growing around 18% and delivered a 3.1% improvement and stood at 51.7%.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Capex India excluding passive: around Rs.31,000 Crores (FY2026)
p. 3
“Capex for FY2026 for India excluding passive was around Rs.31,000 Crores.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Operating free cash flow: solid Rs.41,500 Crores plus (FY2026)
p. 3
“Operating free cash flow, which is EBITDAaL minus capex was a solid Rs.41,500 Crores plus.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net debt to EBITDAaL: 1.1 (FY2026)
p. 3
“Net debt to EBITDAaL now stands at 1.1.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Dividend per share: Rs.24 per share (FY2026)
p. 3
“The Board recommended a dividend of Rs.24 per share, a significant increase over last year's Rs.16 per share.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Consolidated revenue: about Rs.55,400 Crores, growth of 2.6% sequentially (Q4 FY2026)
p. 3
“Consolidated revenues came in at about Rs.55,400 Crores, a growth of 2.6% sequentially.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
India revenues excluding passive: about Rs.36,100 Crores (Q4 FY2026)
p. 3
“India revenues excluding passive came in at about Rs.36,100 Crores.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
India EBITDAaL margin: about 52%, up 20 basis points (Q4 FY2026)
p. 3
“EBITDAaL margins came in at about 52%, an improvement of 20 basis points.”
Soumen Ray, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Mobile ARPU: Rs.257 (Q4 FY2026)
p. 4
“Our ARPU for the quarter came in at Rs.257, which on an EDB basis was an increase of Rs.3 for the quarter.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Mobile net additions: 4.7 million (Q4 FY2026)
p. 4
“Mobile, we added 4.7 million customers in Q4 and 5.8 million out of those were smartphone customers.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Airtel Business revenue: about Rs.5,500 Crores, growing 2.6% sequentially (Q4 FY2026)
p. 5
“Airtel Business revenue came in at about Rs.5,500 Crores, growing 2.6% sequentially.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Digital businesses revenue growth: 27% (FY2026)
p. 5
“Digital businesses delivered a strong revenue growth for us growing at 27% in FY2026.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Airtel Payments Bank annualized revenue run rate: about Rs.3400 Crores, growing 23% Y-o-Y (Q4 FY2026)
p. 4
“Annualized revenue run rate is now about Rs.3400 Crores, growing 23% Y-o-Y.”
Soumen Ray, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bharti Hexacom revenue: Rs. 2414 Crores, growing 2.3% sequentially (Q4 FY2026)
p. 13
“we delivered another quarter of strong performance with revenue of Rs. 2414 Crores, growing 2.3% sequentially.”
Soumen Ray, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bharti Hexacom EBITDAaL: over Rs. 1155 Crores, margin 47.9% (Q4 FY2026)
p. 13
“EBITDAaL for the quarter came in at over Rs. 1155 Crores with a margin of 47.9%.”
Soumen Ray, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bharti Hexacom mobile customer base: 28.8 million (Q4 FY2026)
p. 13
“We ended the quarter with mobile customer base of 28.8 million.”
Soumen Ray, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bharti Hexacom homes net adds: 148,000 (Q4 FY2026)
p. 13
“Our homes business continues to see strong momentum with record high net ads of 148,000, driving a revenue growth of about 21% sequentially.”
Soumen Ray, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
What management said it would do
A record of statements made on the call, in the words management used. Parakho does not forecast, endorse or assess them, and their presence here is not a view on whether they will happen.
Data center capacity — 1 gigawatt · next few years
stated as an aspiration by Soumen Ray
p. 4
“In data centers, we continue to make steady progress against our ambition of building 1 gigawatt capacity over the next few years.”
Soumen Ray, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
India capex — ballpark of this year, give or take a little bit · FY2027
stated conditionally by Gopal Vittal
p. 8
“our sense is that we will be in the ballpark of this year, give or take a little bit.”
Gopal Vittal, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Financial services capital allocation — Rs. 20,000 Crores over five years, of which Rs.14,000 Crores from Airtel · next five years
stated conditionally by Sunil Bharti Mittal
p. 12
“the total amount that we are looking at allocating in the next five years, we have stated Rs. 20,000 Crores, of which Rs.14,000 Crores has to come from Airtel.”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bharti Telecom stake in Airtel — 51% or just over 50% · next decade
stated as an aspiration by Sunil Bharti Mittal
p. 10
“my own wish is that in the next, it is hard to put in years on it, in the next decade as I, kind of, come to a point where I hand over the reins to the next generation as shareholders, Bharti Telecom should get back to controlling shareholding- 51% or just over 50%.”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Airtel stake in Airtel Africa — up to 90% · next several years
stated as an aspiration by Sunil Bharti Mittal
p. 12
“Ambition for Airtel should be whatever is allowed to go up to 90%, one day should get there and that is being ably helped by Airtel Africa’s own buyback program.”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Combined customer base (India and Africa) — 800 million customers, 500 million in India and 300 million in Africa
stated as an aspiration by Sunil Bharti Mittal
p. 13
“we will get to a 800 million customers by way of mobile, home broadband, our digital services, our financial services and both between India and Africa, getting to 500 million here and 300 million in Africa is a dream which is visible.”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bharti Hexacom dividend payout
stated firmly by Soumen Ray
p. 14
“We have increased the dividend payout significantly and we have been committed that we will be looking at a progressively increasing dividend payout and we continue to remain on that.”
Soumen Ray, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Edge data centers build-out — 56 world class edge data centers · next 18 to 24 months
stated firmly by Gopal Vittal
p. 8
“we are focused right now on building in the next 18 to 24 months- 56 world class edge data centers, which will really stand us in very good stead over the next two to three decades and build a strong point of differentiation for us for computation that could happen at the edge over time”
Gopal Vittal, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q&A highlights
Management's answers to analyst questions, in Parakho's words rather than a transcript. Each row names who answered and carries the verbatim quote it was drawn from.
Gopal Vittal outlined the priority order of capital allocation: core business investment first, then deleveraging, then adjacencies like data centers, financial services and cloud, with nothing planned outside these areas currently.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Manish Adukia: How is management thinking about steady-state dividend payout and further capital deployment outside India given strong free cash flow?
p. 6
“the way we think about it is, the first and primary port of call is to really invest in the core business.”
Gopal Vittal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gopal Vittal argued the pricing architecture in India is broken relative to global markets and needs repair, while entry-level price increases will be approached cautiously.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Manish Adukia: Is it realistic to expect tariff hikes given strong free cash flow returns already, and what will change the ARPU trajectory?
p. 7
“my belief is that the price architecture in this country is broken.”
Gopal Vittal, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Shashwat Sharma said there has been some softening in handset shipments and rising prices, with no impact seen yet but it cannot be ruled out, while organic ARPU levers like postpaid remain strong.
Answered by Shashwat Sharma
Asked by Ankur Rudra: Could smartphone shipment drops be an additional headwind to organic ARPU growth in FY2027?
p. 8
“we have seen some bit of softening of shipments of handsets, etc., and prices going up, so we have not yet seen any impact but we cannot rule it out.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gopal Vittal said capex would be roughly similar to the current year, with radio capex moderating in India, transport capex increasing, and continued investment in data centers, homes and financial services.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Ankur Rudra: What are the capex plans for the coming year given demands from new initiatives and the core business?
p. 8
“our sense is that we will be in the ballpark of this year, give or take a little bit.”
Gopal Vittal, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gopal Vittal declined to give specific ROCE targets but said operating leverage should continue to improve returns as growth continues.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Aditya Suresh: Can management articulate return on capital employed targets over the next two to three years?
p. 9
“On return on capital, I will dodge the bullet of what our targets are, I do not think we give those targets out.”
Gopal Vittal, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gopal Vittal explained the model is colocation/tenancy-based, including with Google's data center in Visakhapatnam, and that the company is not currently offering GPU as a service.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Aditya Suresh: What is the business model for Nxtra data centers, and is there a GPU rental component with the Google partnership?
p. 9
“the model is really around tenancy, this is a colocation model, specifically with Google, they are building a very large AI data center in Visakhapatnam and we are, sort of, building it for them”
Gopal Vittal, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Soumen Ray said the core would remain fully funded and the company is not chasing a target but would spend as needed, including for future 5G densification.
Answered by Soumen Ray
Asked by Sumangal Nevatia: Is wireless capex, now at a decade low of about 16% of sales, close to bottoming out?
p. 9
“if tomorrow we need to do higher 5G densification, we will not shy away, so we are not chasing a target but we will be optimal and prudent in deploying whatever is required”
Soumen Ray, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Shashwat Sharma said new addition ARPUs are plateauing and quarter-on-quarter ARPU appears to be bottoming out over the last two quarters.
Answered by Shashwat Sharma
Asked by Sumangal Nevatia: Will homes ARPU deceleration continue given the land grab phase?
p. 10
“some of our quarter-on-quarter ARPUs are kind of bottoming out, which trend is, we are beginning to see in the last two quarters.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Sunil Bharti Mittal said the vision remains for Bharti Telecom to hold controlling shareholding of around 51%, aided by the Africa transaction reducing the equalization gap with Singtel.
Answered by Sunil Bharti Mittal
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: Will Bharti Telecom seek to maintain sole promoter control or move to an equal stake structure with Singtel/ICIL?
p. 10
“the belief remains that we must have everything through one Company, that should be the controlling promoting shareholder - Bharti Telecom”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gopal Vittal described a portfolio view across commoditized, connectivity, data center and digital businesses with differing margins, and said the company measures competitive home broadband performance via third-party data rather than commenting on competitors directly.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: How should B2B/enterprise growth and margins evolve, and how does the fiber-versus-FWA strategy compare with peers?
p. 11
“Our effort has to be to grow the topline faster and grow the absolute EBITDA, absolute profit faster.”
Gopal Vittal, page 11 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Soumen Ray explained that a one-off in Africa will unwind, and that in India much of the debt reduction and rights money came in late in the quarter, with AGR dues paid on the last day, so reduction in finance cost will show going forward.
Answered by Soumen Ray
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: Why has interest and finance cost remained sticky despite deleveraging?
p. 12
“a large part of debt reduction actually happened towards the end of the quarter. The money of the rights also came in around end of mid of March, the payment of the AGR dues happened on the last day”
Soumen Ray, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Sunil Bharti Mittal described disciplined capital allocation toward core business, data centers, cloud and financial services, and reiterated the ambition to increase Africa ownership and reach 800 million customers combined.
Answered by Sunil Bharti Mittal
Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman: What other growth areas beyond lending could be growth engines for the group in the next decade?
p. 13
“we will get to a 800 million customers by way of mobile, home broadband, our digital services, our financial services and both between India and Africa, getting to 500 million here and 300 million in Africa is a dream which is visible.”
Sunil Bharti Mittal, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gopal Vittal said the market remains competitive and the company will not act unilaterally against its own business interests, without committing to a timeline.
Answered by Gopal Vittal
Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman: Is there a path toward usage-based/metered pricing in 5G?
p. 13
“As of now, it is a competitive market. We will not do anything that will hurt our business.”
Gopal Vittal, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Soumen Ray said Hexacom has closed the ARPU gap and remains competitive, though postpaid penetration, international roaming and smartphone upgrades will create some differential growth versus Airtel.
Answered by Soumen Ray
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: Why has Hexacom's mobile revenue and EBITDA growth lagged Airtel's this year, and what corrective measures are planned?
p. 14
“I think our impression that Hexacom is underpenetrated the two circles that it operates, has borne out well.”
Soumen Ray, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Soumen Ray attributed it partly to unlimited 5G data pack adoption breaking the price ladder, alongside handset price pressures on 2G to 4G upgrades.
Answered by Soumen Ray
Asked by Pranav Kshatriya: What drove the lack of ARPU growth this quarter beyond international roaming?
p. 14
“there is something else which is played out, which is the whole, eat as much as you can on 5G packs, that is the more adoption happens, that will clearly create a headwind.”
Soumen Ray, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Soumen Ray said the provision reflects prudent accounting practice on an existing matter whose interpretation changed, not a new demand.
Answered by Soumen Ray
Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman: What does the regulatory charge this quarter pertain to, and is there a new demand from the government?
p. 15
“It is just interpretation of issues as time progresses and various things happen in the ecosystem but nothing new.”
Soumen Ray, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
Geopolitical crisis impacting international roaming, capex due to INR depreciation, and gas supply restrictions affecting the galvanizing industry and tower build-outs
p. 4
“There are a few areas of our operations, which are seeing impact including international roaming, capex on account of INR depreciation, restriction on gas supply affecting galvanizing industry in turn leading to lower tower build-outs.”
Soumen Ray, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Energy price increases affecting Africa operations
p. 4
“The other obvious impact is energy price increase. Africa has already been impacted by it.”
Soumen Ray, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
ARPU increase weaker than desired due to West Asia crisis and international roaming revenue impact
p. 4
“We are not happy with the ARPU increase of Rs.3, part of this issue was linked to West Asia crisis”
Shashwat Sharma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Memory and chipset supply constraints and price increases affecting the homes/fiber business
p. 5
“Given the global environment, there has been challenge on this business with memory and chipset supply as well as prices.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cost pressures concentrated in server and memory prices and component availability
p. 6
“the cost pressures we are seeing today remain confined to a few specific areas: particularly in servers and memory prices as well as availability of these components.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Rising fixed wireless access costs due to chipset and memory price increases
p. 11
“The fixed wireless access has now become very much more expensive.”
Gopal Vittal, page 11 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Potential softening of handset shipments and rising handset prices affecting feature-phone-to-smartphone upgrades
p. 8
“handset prices have gone up very sharply in the last few weeks, which we will watch.”
Shashwat Sharma, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Headwinds from lower international roaming and handset price pressure affecting 2G to 4G upgrades at Hexacom
p. 14
“The headwinds that we have are similar to any other player in any other geography, which is lower international roaming, handset prices slightly going up and hence having a pressure on 2G to 4G upgrades”
Soumen Ray, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
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