1. At a Glance – Desert Monopoly Meets North-East Goldmine
Bharti Hexacom Ltd is what happens when telecom economics finally stop crying and start flexing. Market cap of ₹84,880 crore, stock price around ₹1,698, and a valuation that screams “Yes, I am expensive, but look at my margins.”
This is not pan-India chaos like other telecom players. This is Rajasthan + North-East, a carefully fenced telecom garden where Bharti Hexacom enjoys 37.6% subscriber market share, extremely sticky users, and pricing power that most telecom CEOs can only dream of while staring at their ARPU slides.
Latest Q3 FY26 numbers?
- Revenue: ₹2,360 crore
- EBITDA: ₹1,282 crore
- Operating Margin: ~53% (yes, fifty-three)
- PAT: ₹474 crore
- QoQ PAT growth: ~49%
With 28 million subscribers, ARPU ~₹204, and Airtel-style discipline baked in, Bharti Hexacom looks less like a telecom company and more like a regional cash-harvesting machine.
Question is: is this a telecom gem… or an overcooked IPO child riding Airtel’s surname?
2. Introduction – When Telecom Finally Learns How to Make Money
Telecom in India is usually a horror movie. High debt. Spectrum payments. AGR litigation. Free data wars. Shareholders crying quietly in a corner.
Bharti Hexacom, however, skipped the horror and jumped straight to the redemption arc.
Incorporated in 1995, the company operates in Rajasthan and the North-East circles under a Unified License from DoT. These are not “glamour metros,” but they are loyal, under-penetrated, and price-disciplined markets. Translation: fewer freebies, more billing discipline.
The company came to the markets in April 2024, when Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) sold its 15% stake. Bharti Airtel continues to hold 70%, exercising tight operational, financial, and strategic control.
So yes, this is effectively Airtel Lite™, but with:
- Better margins
- Lower competitive intensity
- Predictable subscriber behaviour
And the numbers are now speaking louder than the brand.
Is Bharti Hexacom boring? Absolutely.
Is boring profitable? Ask the cash flow statement.
3. Business Model – WTF
Do They Even Do?
Let’s keep it simple.
Bharti Hexacom does exactly what Bharti Airtel does, but only in Rajasthan and the North-East.
Revenue Mix (FY24)
- Mobile services: ~97%
- Home & Office broadband: ~3%
Usage Mix
- Data + Voice: ~98%
- Others: ~2%
This is a pure telecom pipe, no distractions, no fintech adventures, no OTT daydreaming.
Key assets:
- ~25,700 network towers
- ~79,800 mobile broadband base stations
- ~2,010 MHz spectrum holding
The business runs on Airtel’s playbook:
- Gradual ARPU expansion
- Focus on premiumisation, not volume dumping
- Tight opex control
- Capital allocation discipline
Think of it like this:
If Bharti Airtel is a pan-India airline, Bharti Hexacom is the most profitable regional route with guaranteed seat occupancy.
Now tell me — would you rather fly everywhere at break-even… or dominate two routes and print margins?
4. Financials Overview – Telecom Numbers That Don’t Make You Cry
Quarterly Performance Table (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Q3 FY26) | YoY Qtr (Q3 FY25) | Prev Qtr (Q2 FY26) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,360 | 2,252 | 2,317 | 4.8% | 1.9% |
| EBITDA | 1,282 | 1,152 | 1,208 | 11.3% | 6.1% |
| PAT | 474 | 261 | 421 | 81.6% | 12.6% |
| EPS (₹) | 9.47 | 5.22 | 8.42 | 81.4% | 12.5% |
Annualised EPS (Q3 rule):
Average of Q1, Q2, Q3 EPS × 4
≈ ₹35.1
Margins north of 50% in Indian telecom is not normal. This is what happens when:
- Competition is rational
- Pricing is disciplined
- ARPU keeps inching up
- Capex is not drunk
So ask yourself: how many telecom companies do
