Buy Airtel Shares After Solid Q4 Results? Motilal Oswal & Others Predict Upside Ahead; "Buy" Call Issued

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced its financial results for the January-March quarter of FY25, surprising market analysts with better-than-anticipated earnings. However, despite the strong performance, Bharti Airtel's share price failed to sustain early momentum and gave up most of its initial gains during today's trading session in the stock market.

Bharti Airtel Share Price Update

On May 14, Bharti Airtel shares opened at Rs. 1,870.70, marking a 2.7% rise from the previous close of Rs. 1,820.60. Despite this uptick, the Airtel stock has seen a 3.8% decline in the last five trading sessions and is down 1.4% so far in May. Last week, Bharti Airtel shares hit a new 52-week high of Rs 1,917. In the longer term, Airtel's share price has delivered solid returns, up 17% in the last six months and 42% over the past 12 months.

Bharti Airtel Q4 Results Highlights

Bharti Airtel delivered a strong Q4 FY25 performance, beating street estimates. The telecom giant's performance was supported by higher data consumption and an increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

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The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 11,022 crore, showing a 25.4% decline in QoQ from Rs 14,781.2 crore in Q3, but rising 432% YoY growth. Bharti Airtel's revenue for the March quarter rose 2.1% to Rs. 47,876 crore, up from Rs. 46,878 crore in the previous quarter.

Airtel's EBITDA stood at Rs 27,404 crore, down 5.7% from Rs 29,056.7 crore in Q3. The EBITDA margin came in at 57.2%, slightly above expectations but below the 62% reported in the previous quarter.

There was a rise in ARPU to Rs. 245, up from Rs. 209 a year ago, showing a 17.2% year-on-year increase. ARPU is a very important metric for measuring a telecom company's operational strength.

What Experts Say About Airtel Stock: Buy, Sell or Hold?

Bharti Airtel's Q4 results have impressed the market, beating analyst expectations with stronger-than-expected performance. This has led to a bullish outlook on Airtel stock by several top brokerage firms.

Axis Securities has maintained a 'Buy' rating on Airtel stock, citing strong fundamentals and steady performance.

Motilal Oswal has also issued a buy recommendation. In its analysis, the firm said that Airtel reported a stable quarter, with a 1-2% quarter-on-quarter growth in India wireless revenue and EBITDA. Although the quarter had two fewer days, this was offset by the positive impact of previous tariff hikes.

Motilal Oswal also highlighted that Airtel's home broadband segment saw strong subscriber growth, while the enterprise segment's margins improved significantly after exiting low-margin contracts, suggesting that Airtel stock is a strong buy for long-term investors.

Bharti Airtel Dividend Announcement

The board of Bharti Airtel also recommended a final dividend of Rs. 16 per fully paid-up equity share (face value Rs. 5 each) and Rs. 4 per partly paid-up share (paid-up value Rs. 1.25) for FY 2024-25.

Disclaimer: The recommendations made above are by market analysts and are not advised by either the author, nor GoodReturns. The author, nor the brokerage firm nor GoodReturns would be liable for any losses caused as a result of decisions based on this write-up. Goodreturns.in advises users to consult with certified experts before making any investment decision.