Team siliconindia

• Bharti Airtel shares fell nearly 3% after promoter Indian Continent Investment planned a Rs 9,310 crore stake sale via block deal.
• The company reported strong Q1FY26 results with 28.5% revenue growth and a 43% jump in net profit.
• Airtel added 4 million smartphone data users, raised ARPU to Rs 250, and expanded network with 1,800 new towers in the quarter.

Shares of Bharti Airtel fell sharply in early trade, declining nearly 3% following reports that its promoter entity, Indian Continent Investment, plans to offload a 0.8% stake in the company through a block deal. The stock dipped as much as 2.9% to Rs 1,868.70 on the BSE, with market capitalization slipping to Rs 10.68 lakh crore. The trading session saw heightened activity, with 1.21 crore shares exchanging hands compared to the two-week average of 3.24 lakh shares.

The telecom giant’s shares had reached a 52-week high of Rs 2,045.50 on July 2, 2025, and a low of Rs 1,430 on August 8, 2024. Over the last year, Bharti Airtel delivered a strong return of 28% to shareholders, with gains of 10% in the past six months and nearly 17% year-to-date. However, the stock has recently witnessed an 8% decline in the past month.

According to market sources, the promoter is expected to offload up to 5 crore equity shares valued at approximately Rs 9,310 crore (about $1.06 billion) via a block deal scheduled for Friday. The floor price has been fixed at Rs 1,862 per share for the transaction.

As per the latest shareholding data from the BSE, promoter Bharti Telecom held a 40.47% stake in the company at the end of June quarter, while other promoter entities Indian Continent Investment and Pastel held 2.47% and 8.32%, respectively.

Despite the share price volatility, Bharti Airtel posted strong financial results for Q1FY26, driven by robust growth in India and a recovery in Africa. The company’s consolidated revenue stood at Rs 49,463 crore, marking a 28.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase. India revenues surged 29% YoY to Rs 37,585 crore, supported by a 21.6% rise in mobile revenues owing to improved realizations and customer additions.

Net profit for the quarter grew an impressive 43% YoY to Rs 5,947.9 crore, compared to Rs 4,160 crore in Q1FY25. Operating EBITDA reached Rs 28,167 crore, with a healthy margin of 56.9%.

Bharti Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to Rs 250 from Rs 211 in the same quarter last year, reflecting strong momentum in both the Indian and African markets.

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Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, highlighted that the company added 4 million smartphone data customers during the quarter, maintaining the ARPU at Rs 250. “Our digital network now serves over 600 million customers across India and Africa, with steady sequential growth of 2% and an improving order book”, he said.

The company reinforced its leadership in the postpaid segment with net additions of 0.7 million customers in Q1FY26, taking the total postpaid base to 26.6 million. Smartphone data users increased by 21.3 million, an 8.2% YoY rise.

Infrastructure expansion remained a focus, with Airtel adding 1,800 new towers and 7,500 mobile broadband stations during the quarter, further strengthening its network capabilities.