Bharti Airtel gains 2% as ARPU rises to ₹271 in Q2

BHARTIARTL Limited (BHARTIARTL) rose over 2% on November 6, after reporting a 31% year-on-year jump in Q2 FY27 consolidated net profit to ₹8,887.5 crore. The results came out after market hours on November 5. Revenue grew 16.7% to ₹60,877.5 crore. Average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to ₹271 from ₹256 a year ago and ₹264 in Q1. India mobile revenue grew 10.1%, and home broadband revenue jumped 25.3%. The customer base reached 693 million. CLSA raised its target, and HSBC kept its Buy rating. ARPU growth is the key positive. Airtel continues to earn more from each user by moving customers to higher-value plans, and rising 4G and 5G use should keep supporting this. Net income before one-time items rose 32.7% to ₹9,015 crore, showing the profit growth is largely operational. Part of the ARPU jump was engineered. The company withdrew cheaper ₹299 prepaid packs in August, which works like a quiet price hike and can push price-sensitive users to switch. Sequential growth was also moderate, with revenue up 4% and EBITDA up 4.9% from Q1. Network costs and a 13% rise in licence fees added to expenses. Investors should watch ARPU trends, subscriber churn after the plan changes, home broadband growth, and any industry-wide tariff hike. The key question is whether Airtel can keep lifting ARPU without losing customers to rivals. Disclosure: I do not hold any position in Bharti Airtel Limited. This post is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.