Bharti Airtel’s latest quarterly scorecard shows resilience amid challenges, with Q3 FY26 net profit tumbling 55% to ₹6,630.5 crore from ₹14,781.2 crore YoY. The Mumbai-headquartered firm released these figures Thursday, attributing the dip to prior exceptional gains and fresh expenses.
Specifically, Q3 FY24’s ₹7,545.6 crore windfall created a tough comparison, while ₹256.8 crore additional labor code outlays bit into margins. Profits edged down 2.3% from Q2’s ₹6,791.7 crore.
On the upside, revenue accelerated 19.92% to ₹54,683.9 crore, dwarfing last year’s ₹45,599 crore. Expenses increased 12.98% to ₹23,198.8 crore, aligning with aggressive 5G deployments.
ARPU strengthened to ₹259, up from ₹256 QoQ and ₹245 YoY, fueled by post-tariff hike momentum. Data usage on networks peaked at 26,056 million GB—29.2% YoY growth and 6.6% QoQ.
Monthly per-user data consumption rose to 29.8 GB, a 21.5% annual leap from 24.5 GB and 5% from 28.3 GB prior quarter. Headcount dipped to 24,186 employees, down 205 QoQ and 340 YoY, reflecting lean operations.
Airtel’s trajectory emphasizes customer monetization and infrastructure scale, setting the stage for market dominance as India accelerates digital adoption.