Bharti Airtel has quietly crossed a landmark that few saw coming. With its market capitalisation now standing at approximately Rs 11.24 lakh crore against HDFC Bank’s Rs 11.17 lakh crore, the telecom giant has nudged past India’s largest private lender to become the country’s second most valued listed company — trailing only Reliance Industries.
The re-rating has been driven by a powerful combination of earnings momentum, Africa’s explosive growth, and rising investor confidence in Airtel’s long-term architecture.
On the earnings front, the numbers are hard to argue with. Airtel reported consolidated quarterly revenue of Rs 55,383 crore for Q4 FY26, marking 15.7% year-on-year growth and 2.6% sequential growth, driven by strong performances in both India and Africa operations. ARPU climbed to Rs 257 in Q4 FY26 from Rs 245 a year earlier, while the homes business — broadband and connected services — grew 37.3% year-on-year. For the full year, FY26 consolidated revenue crossed Rs 2.1 lakh crore, up 22% year-on-year.
Africa, once a drag on sentiment, has turned into a growth engine. Airtel Africa posted a profit of $813 million in FY26, more than doubling from $328 million in the previous year, driven primarily by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and foreign exchange gains. Revenue rose 29.5% to $6.4 billion, with Nigeria alone recording 47.5% constant-currency growth. The company is now planning to list its fintech arm Airtel Money in the second half of 2026.
Airtel crossed 650 million customers globally during the year and launched a telco-grade sovereign cloud, while also receiving RBI approval for its lending business.
HDFC Bank, meanwhile, trades at a TTM PE of 15.46 — significantly cheaper than Airtel’s 42.11 — underscoring how differently the market is now pricing growth versus value.