More Stories

Informist, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026

MUMBAI – December quarter earnings will likely be key triggers for shares of telecommunication companies in the near term, with expectations of tariff hikes pushed further after an executive of Reliance Jio Infocomm said the company is happy with the traction in its average revenue per user growth. Analysts expect the tariff hike to take place only after the listing of Jio Platforms.

A tariff hike by industry players will be closer towards the end of the first half or second half of this calendar year after Reliance Jio Infocomm clarified that they are not looking at a tariff hike in the near term, according to an analyst at a large-sized retail firm tracking the sector. The analyst expects marginal cuts in earnings estimates for telecom companies in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) as the Street was expecting a tariff hike by the end of the March quarter. The analyst expects a modest growth in average revenue per user in the first half of FY27. Reliance Jio's average revenue per user is expected to remain modest in the near term as the company is unlikely to have tariff hikes until after its listing, a report by Financial Express said quoting analysts.

On the technical charts, shares of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea look weak, according to Rupak De, technical analyst at LKP Securities. The analyst said shares of Vodafone Idea are expected to find support at INR 8.8 and resistance at INR 10.20. Shares of Bharti Airtel might fall to INR 1,900 and that they resistance at INR 2,020.

Vodafone Idea is due to report its December quarter earnings Tuesday. The company is expected to report a consolidated net loss of INR 65.63 billion, according to the average of estimates from six brokerages. This is higher than the net loss of INR 55.62 billion reported by the company in the previous quarter, but slightly lower than the net loss of INR 66.09 billion reported in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The company's consolidated revenue for the December quarter is expected to rise marginally on quarter to INR 112.40 billion, according to the average of six estimates. 

The company's blended average revenue per user is expected to grow between INR 1 and INR 2 on a sequential basis for the reporting quarter, according to three brokerage firms that track the company. This rise is expected to be on the back of upgrades and an improved subscriber mix. However, the improvement in subscriber mix and average revenue per user are going to be offset by the continued subscriber loss seen by the company.

Bharti Airtel is likely to report a consolidated net profit of INR 73.08 billion for the December quarter, according to estimates from six brokerages, up nearly 8% on quarter and 1% on year. The company's consolidated revenue is expected to rise to INR 539.34 billion, up over 3% on quarter and nearly 20% on year. The company will announce its earnings on Feb. 5.

JM Financial Institutional Securities expects the revenue from the company's wireless segment to grow 1.7% on quarter and its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation to grow 2.1% on quarter. The brokerage expects the company to see a healthy wireless subscriber addition of 3.30 million with its average revenue per user improving to INR 259, up 1% on quarter. Nuvama Wealth Management expects the company's mobile service business in India to rise 3.4% on quarter led by its subscriber addition and expects its average revenue per user growth to remain moderate. The brokerage expects revenue for its India business to rise 4.3% on quarter and 2.7% for its business in Africa in INR terms. ICICI Securities expects the company's average revenue per user to rise 0.8% on quarter, led by premiumisation, which helps its mobile services to post a revenue growth of 1.3% on quarter. The company's EBITDA growth for its India business could appear to be slow with a 0.2% rise on quarter due to a reversal of provision in Indus Towers, the brokerage said.

TOP HEADLINES

* Earnings Outlook:Vodafone Idea Q3 net loss to widen QoQ on high network cost
* Railtel Corp gets order worth INR 1.41 bln from defence ministry
* BoFA Securities Europe sells 1.21 million shares of Bharti Airtel
* Analyst Concall: Tata Comm sees breakeven for digital ops EBITDA medium term
* Earnings Review:Tata Communications Q3 PAT doubles QoQ as other income rises
* Indus Towers' step-down subsidiary incorporates telecom infra arm in Uganda
* Tata Tele Maha net loss narrows QoQ to INR 1.5 billion in Oct-Dec
* Earnings Outlook: Digital portfolio ops to drive Tata Comm Q3 sales, PAT
* Bharti Airtel adds over 2,400 5G sites in MP, Chhattisgarh in past 12 mos

Following are the resistance and support levels for key telecom stocks for next week as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

Reported by Akshat Saksena

Edited by Ashish Shirke

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.