Gurugram, November 3, 2025 — Bharti Airtel has turned heads with another stellar performance this quarter, posting an 89% jump in profit and proving that smart strategy can outshine scale — even in a market long dominated by Reliance Jio. The telecom giant reported a net profit of ₹6,792 crore for the second quarter of FY26, as revenues climbed sharply to ₹52,145 crore, driven by growth across India and Africa.
At a time when most telecom players are chasing subscribers or upgrading to 5G, Such as VI, Airtel’s focus on premium users, data growth, different countries such as AFRICA and Europe, broadband, and digital services is paying off. The company’s results show that quality — not just quantity — is defining the new telecom game.
A Snapshot of Airtel’s Standout Q2 Performance
| Metric | Q2 FY26 | YoY Growth | QoQ Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | ₹52,145 crore | +25.7% | +5.4% |
| EBITDA | ₹29,919 crore | +35.9% | +6.2% |
| Net Profit | ₹6,792 crore | +89% | +14.2% |
| ARPU (India) | ₹256 | Up from ₹233 | — |
| Capex | ₹11,362 crore | — | — |
| Customer Base | 624 million | +10.7% YoY | — |
Report – India Drives Airtel’s Core Growth still in 2025-2026
Airtel’s business in India continues to be the core engine of growth and increase momentum, touching ₹38,690 crore in revenue, up 22.6% year-on-year. Mobile services drove much of this rise, all thanks to higher data consumption of daily 5G users and a richer customer mix.
The company’s Average Revenue Per User has now increased and touched ₹256, maintaining its lead over competitors even outside india.
Now FY2026 report says –
- Average monthly data usage surged to 28.3 GB per user, a 27% jump from last year, showing India’s insatiable appetite for mobile internet.
- Airtel also added 5.1 million new smartphone users and nearly one million postpaid customers during this quarter.
Furthermore, the Homes Broadband segment is quietly turning into a growth star. Free TV channels, Free Subscription on OTT and Unlimited WIFI are now replacing the Setup Box system. As per the Airtel Q2, the company added a record 951,000 new users, taking total broadband subscribers to 11.9 million. Revenue from this division jumped 30.2% year-on-year, driven by expanding fibre coverage and faster Wi-Fi offerings.
| Metric | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue (India) | ₹38,690 crore | +22.6% YoY |
| EBITDA (India) | ₹23,204 crore | Margins at 60.0% |
| Mobile ARPU | ₹256 | Up from ₹233 last year |
| Homes Broadband Adds | 951,000 | Record quarterly growth |
How Africa is Powering Airtel’s Global Growth Story
Beyond India, Airtel’s Africa business is a rising powerhouse. Airtel continues to try to dominate a few countries, such as –
Operating across 15 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar, and Zambia
- Airtel Africa reported a 24.2% YoY revenue growth (in constant currency)
- EBITDA margins improving to 48.8% — up by 238 basis points.
This performance underscores how Airtel is benefiting from booming data usage, daily talk time, and mobile banking in African markets, where smartphone penetration and 4G adoption are still accelerating.
| Metric | Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Base (Africa) | 174 million | +11% YoY |
How AI is Transforming the Telecom Game — and Airtel is Leading It
On August 4, 2025, Airtel’s daughter company or digital arm Xtelify, launched the Airtel Cloud — a secure, India-centric cloud platform. It means Airtel’s ambitions now extend far beyond telecom. It works AI-driven telco platform for predictive analytics and customer experience improvement.
Not only this, Airtel also did a strategic collaboration, Airtel partnered with Perplexity AI to offer a free one-year “Perplexity Pro” subscription to all its mobile, broadband, and DTH users — a move that blends connectivity with cutting-edge digital utility. Jio also did with Gemini, which means now telecom subscriptions are moving to AI-based recharge on SIM.
Airtel’s Financial Foundation Powers Its Next Chapter
Airtel’s balance sheet continues to strengthen in FY2026 Q2. The company’s net debt-to-EBITDAaL ratio has improved to 1.19x, down from 2.50x a year ago.
a testament to its disciplined capital management and robust cash flows.
Also, Airtel invested ₹11,362 crore this quarter in expanding 5G infrastructure and fibre networks.
In the words of Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel’s Vice-Chairman and Managing Director:
“We delivered another quarter of solid performance. Our India Mobile business maintained an industry-leading ARPU of ₹256, led by the continued premiumisation of our portfolio. Homes, postpaid, and Africa all delivered strong growth.”
Bottom line – In a market once written off as Jio’s turf, Bharti Airtel has quietly engineered a comeback powered by strategy, not scale. By doubling down on high-value users, broadband growth, Europe, and Africa’s digital boom.
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