Telecom leader Bharti Airtel disclosed Q3 FY26 results Thursday, posting a 55% YoY profit decline to ₹6,630.5 crore for October-December, versus ₹14,781.2 crore previously. High base from last year’s exceptional ₹7,545.6 crore gains, plus ₹256.8 crore labor code costs, drove the fall. QoQ, profits slipped 2.3% from ₹6,791.7 crore.
Revenue, however, powered ahead 19.92% to ₹54,683.9 crore from ₹45,599 crore. Expenses grew 12.98% YoY to ₹23,198.8 crore, supporting network expansions.
ARPU marked progress at ₹259, improving from ₹256 in Q2 FY26 and ₹245 in Q3 FY25. Network data consumption reached 26,056 million GB, up 6.6% QoQ from 24,446 million GB and 29.2% YoY from 20,174 million GB.
Per-user data usage averaged 29.8 GB monthly—5% above Q2’s 28.3 GB and 21.5% over last year’s 24.5 GB. Staff strength reduced to 24,186, a decline of 205 from September and 340 from December FY25.
These results highlight Airtel’s strategic pivot toward higher ARPU and data volumes, even as profitability normalizes. With 5G gaining traction, the company eyes premiumization and efficiency for future quarters.