Archive · 27 Aug 2026
Jefferies Keeps Bharti Airtel as Top Telecom Stock Pick
Jefferies is a financial research firm that studied India’s telecom companies.
It said Bharti Airtel is its favourite telecom stock.
Airtel’s revenue grew faster than the overall telecom industry in the June 2026 quarter.
Airtel also gained some market share and attracted more customers using higher-value plans.
The telecom industry grew even though companies had not yet raised tariffs.
Jefferies expects the next major tariff increase in April 2027.
Vodafone Idea showed a small improvement in revenue and average revenue per user.
However, Vodafone Idea continued to lose active subscribers and market share in many circles.
Jefferies retained Bharti Airtel as its preferred telecom stock, citing revenue growth, subscriber quality and market-share gains.
Telecom-sector annualised revenue rose 8% year-on-year to about US$33 billion in the June 2026 quarter.
Bharti Airtel’s revenue grew 10% year-on-year, while its ARPU increased 7% and subscribers rose 3%.
Airtel gained 20 basis points of revenue market share to approximately 40% of industry revenue, despite losses in eight circles.
Vodafone Idea’s revenue increased 3% despite a 3% active-subscriber decline, but it lost market share in 13 of 22 circles.
- Who
- Jefferies, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
- What
- Jefferies retained Bharti Airtel as its top telecom-sector stock pick while assessing industry growth and Vodafone Idea’s stabilisation.
- When
- The analysis covers the quarter ended June 2026; Jefferies expects the next major tariff hike in April 2027.
- Where
- India’s telecom market, including circles such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and eastern and western Uttar Pradesh.
- Why
- Jefferies cited Airtel’s stronger revenue growth, premiumisation, better-quality subscribers and continued market-share gains.
- Jefferies’ preferred stock
- Bharti Airtel
- Sector annualised revenue
- About US$33 billion in the June 2026 quarter
- Sector revenue growth
- 8% year-on-year
- Airtel revenue growth
- 10% year-on-year in the June quarter
- Airtel revenue market share
- Approximately 40%, after a 20-basis-point gain versus FY26
- Vodafone Idea revenue growth
- 3% year-on-year, despite a 3% decline in active subscribers
- Expected next major tariff hike
- April 2027