Bharti Airtel dethroned HDFC Bank to become the second most-valued company in India in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap) after Reliance Industries, underscoring the shift in market leadership.
The cumulative m-cap of telecom major Bharti Airtel rose to ₹11.90 lakh crore in intraday trade on Monday, 18 May, compared to the ₹11.80 lakh crore m-cap of HDFC Bank. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries’ total m-cap stands at over ₹18.11 lakh crore.
shares jumped nearly 3% in intraday trade on the BSE today, looking set to extend gains to the fourth consecutive session. The Sunil Mittal-led company’s stock opened at ₹1,909.35 against its previous close of ₹1,904.60 and rose 2.6% to an intraday high of ₹1,953.95.
In just four consecutive sessions, the stock has jumped more than 11%, while on a monthly scale, it is up nearly 4% so far in May after a 6% rise in April.
Bharti Artel shares hit a 52-week low of ₹ 1,745 on 13 May after hitting a 52-week high of ₹2,174.70 on 21 November last year.
On May 13, Bharti Airtel reported a 10.5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase but 33.5% year-on-year (YoY) decline in its Q4FY26 consolidated to ₹7,325 crore.
The YoY fall in profit was largely due to a high base in the year-ago period, when the company received a tax credit of ₹2,892 crore. It also recognised a charge of ₹3,161 crore for regulatory and government levies during the quarter.
After the Q4 results, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services maintained a buy call on the stock with a target price of ₹2,180.
Motilal tweaked its estimates for FY26 actuals and built in nearly 2.4% equity dilution to account for nearly 16.3% AAF stake purchase.
The brokerage firm models a CAGR of nearly 15% in Bharti’s consolidated revenue and EBITDA over FY26-28E, driven by “flow-through of the nearly 15% tariff hike in India wireless from Q2FY27, continued acceleration in home broadband net adds, strong double-digit CC growth in Africa, and steady growth in Enterprise offerings.”
Bharti Airtel shares technical outlook
Technical experts note that the stock is correcting at this juncture. They believe one can stay invested if the stock remains above the ₹1,750-odd levels.
Vipin Kumar, AVP- Equity Research and PMS at Globe Capital Market, pointed out that Bharti Airtel’s share price has been going through a congestion zone of ₹1,750 to ₹1,900 for the last 12 weeks. Last Friday, it breached this congestion range on a closing basis to the higher side.
Moving forward, Kumar expects Bharti Airtel to move north and test the ₹2,100 level in the near term. “We suggest adding long positions in this stock as long as it remains above ₹1,750 on a closing basis,” said Kumar.
Aditya Thukral, Founder and Analyst of AT Research and Risk Managers, highlighted that Bharti Airtel has been in a structural bull market since October 2018. However, the stock is experiencing a correction from the high of ₹2,174 made in November 2025.
“Despite the rally over the past few days, the stock still seems to be in a corrective phase, and another leg of correction may be seen over the next few months. Though the stock is now trading above all the major exponential moving averages, the crossovers between moving averages are still negative, and there’s no clear bullish evidence as of now,” said Thukral.
Thukral underscored that the stock prices have formed a higher high with the break of ₹1,906, the high made on 30 April 2026. But the combination to call for an immediate uptrend or downtrend in the stock is incomplete, and we don’t suggest any fresh entry in the stock.
“We don’t believe that the stock has completed its corrective phase in the last 7 months against the rally of 7 years, and the correction is still ongoing, which could end somewhere near ₹1,500 to ₹1,600 levels in the months to come,” said Thukral.
“Investors looking for outperformance or positive returns in the coming few months should avoid buying in the stock; however, they could look for fresh buying opportunities on evidence of completion of the correction near ₹1,500 to ₹1,600 levels,” said Thukral.
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Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.