Bharti Airtel gets its highest share price target from CLSA after Q2 results; check upside potential

Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. will be in focus on Friday, November 6, as investors assess brokerage reactions to the company’s September quarter (Q2FY27) results, announced after market hours on Thursday.

Brokerages largely maintained a positive view on the telecom operator, highlighting steady growth in its India mobile business, improving average revenue per user (ARPU), strong enterprise performance and robust cash generation. However, they also flagged elevated subscriber churn and lower-than-expected net additions.

Citi has a ‘Buy’ rating on Bharti Airtel, with a price target of ₹2,230. The brokerage said the company delivered a robust second quarter, with India mobile revenue and EBITDA growing 3.4% and 3.8%, respectively, on a sequential basis. Both metrics were around 1% ahead of its estimates.

The brokerage said that this performance came despite elevated subscriber churn following the company’s premiumisation initiatives during the quarter, including the withdrawal of the ₹299 plan. Stronger-than-expected ARPU growth helped offset the impact of lower net subscriber additions.

The enterprise business also reported a strong quarter, with Airtel Business revenue and EBITDA growing 11% and 15%, respectively, year-on-year. Overall India revenue and EBITDA, excluding Indus Towers, increased 11% and 12%, respectively.

Citi added that consolidated EBITDA stood at around ₹35,200 crore, up 5% sequentially and 1.5% ahead of its estimates. Capital expenditure and free cash flow generation remained steady, although net debt increased 6% sequentially, largely due to the dividend payout during the quarter.

CLSA has an ‘Outperform’ rating on Bharti Airtel and has raised its price target to ₹2,765. This target implies a potential upside of 34% from the stock’s last closing level on Thursday.

CLSA said consolidated revenue and EBITDA came in at ₹60,900 crore and ₹34,900 crore, respectively, in Q2FY27. Both figures were ahead of estimates, with the positive surprise largely driven by the company’s India and Africa operations.

India mobile revenue and EBITDA grew 3-4% sequentially and 10-11% year-on-year, according to the brokerage.

CLSA also highlighted Bharti Airtel’s record-high postpaid net additions during the quarter. ARPU increased to ₹271, up 3% sequentially, and is now 24% higher than that of the sector leader.

The brokerage further noted that consolidated free cash flow stood at a strong ₹19,000 crore, or around $2 billion, after accounting for leases and capital expenditure. The company’s gearing remained low at 1.2x.

Bharti Airtel Q2FY27: Key numbers

On a consolidated basis, Bharti Airtel reported a 4% sequential increase in revenue to ₹60,877.5 crore from ₹58,539.1 crore. Revenue growth of 4% was ahead of the estimated 2.5%.

EBITDA margin expanded 50 basis points sequentially to 57.4% from 56.9%, while EBITDA was broadly in line with estimates.

Profit before exceptional items rose 11.9% to ₹9,015.1 crore from ₹8,057.2 crore. Net profit after exceptional items increased 8.8% to ₹8,887.5 crore from ₹8,167.4 crore. The September quarter included a charge of ₹180 crore towards Airtel Money IPO-related costs.

India mobile business

Revenue from the India mobile business increased 3.4% sequentially to ₹30,943.1 crore from ₹29,928.9 crore. Mobile EBITDA rose 3.8% to ₹18,873.5 crore from ₹18,187.1 crore, with the EBITDA margin at 61%.

Mobile EBIT increased 7.4% sequentially to ₹10,675.6 crore from ₹9,939.2 crore.

ARPU improved 2.7% to ₹271 from ₹264 in the previous quarter, reflecting the company’s focus on premiumisation and higher-value subscribers.

However, subscriber additions remained weak. Bharti Airtel added 7.16 lakh net subscribers during the quarter, compared with 32.65 lakh in the previous quarter. Monthly churn also increased 30 basis points to 2.9%.

Of the 33 analysts tracking Bharti Airtel, 31 have a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, while two analysts have a ‘Sell’ rating.

Shares of Bharti Airtel settled 0.52% higher at ₹2,056.90 on Thursday, November 5. The stock is down around 3% so far in 2026.