Vodafone Idea share price movement
Share price of Vodafone Idea gained 4 per cent at ₹14.14 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day deals amid heavy volume in an otherwise weak market.
In the past three trading days, the telecom services company’s market price rallied 9 per cent after it reported its June 2026 quarter (Q1FY27) earnings. On Friday, the stock quoted higher for the sixth straight trading day, soaring 12 per cent during the period.
At 11:32 AM, Vodafone Idea traded 4 per cent higher at ₹14.09, compared to a 0.43 per cent decline in the BSE Sensex. The counter saw huge trading volume, with a combined 506.82 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE.
Vodafone Idea Q1 results
Vodafone Idea’s losses narrowed substantially to ₹3,754 crore in the first quarter (April-June/Q1) of 2026-27 (FY27), compared with ₹6,608 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year (Q1FY26), helped by an exceptional gain of ₹1,611 crore from the reassessment of the fair market value of equity shares owned by Vodafone Plc that are to accrue to the company over five years as part of a 2018 settlement.
A shift by more users to higher-value 4G and 5G services, leading to higher average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric for the company, also helped narrow losses. Revenue from operations grew about 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to ₹11,689 crore from ₹11,023 crore. The earnings beat Bloomberg estimates, which projected steeper losses and lower revenue.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at ₹5,034 crore, an annual increase of 9.1 per cent. Customer ARPU increased to ₹195, up 10.2 per cent YoY, the highest growth in the industry.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea dismissed concerns that Bharti Airtel’s 5G-powered ‘Fast Lane’ postpaid offering is putting pressure on its premium customer base, saying it has seen no dip in postpaid additions and remains confident of competing as network investments improve customer experience.
Vodafone Idea expects further ARPU expansion from the migration of 2G users to 4G and 5G, as well as upgrades from regular data plans to unlimited offerings. The management said it continues to have a significant pool of customers using smartphones primarily for voice, giving it an opportunity to drive data adoption as network coverage expands, ICICI Securities said in a note.
Ambit Capital view on Vodafone Idea post Q1 results
Vodafone Idea added 0.3 million subscribers in Q1, the first quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) gain since the merger. Ex-M2M, ARPU grew 2.6 per cent QoQ, helping core telecom grow 1.8 per cent QoQ. Despite the fundraising delay, capex (₹1,900 crore) was sustained for Vodafone Idea. Benefits are visible as it gains subs and ex-M2M ARPU rises, analysts at Elara Capital said in the Q1 result update.
Recent ratings upgrade is helping debt fundraising conversations, and the pace of network investments should pick up once that is done. Vodafone Idea’s survival and need for Jio’s Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investors to profitably exit post-IPO should drive 15 per cent price hike by December 2026.
Analysts at Ambit Capital expect 12 per cent biennial hikes thereafter. This should drive 12 per cent FY26-29E revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) as 2G users upgrade (35 per cent of subs) and operating leverage should help cash-EBITDA grow at 28 per cent CAGR. Revenue growth differential with Airtel at 310bps now vs 1,660bps a year ago. Estimates are unchanged.
‘While we remain Buyers on the hopes of supportive government stance, investors looking for lower risk upside exposure to India’s telecom tariff resets should consider owning Bharti Airtel and Indus instead,” analysts at Ambit Capital said with a target price of ₹18.7 for Vodafone Idea.
Meanwhile, with strong promoter commitment, the brokerage firm believes that debt fundraising is assured for Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Idea’s guidance of 60-70k tower rollout in the next 12-18 months vs Disclaimer: Views and outlook shared on the stock belong to the respective brokerages and are not endorsed by Business Standard. Reader discretion is advised.
