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Today's prices ask more of Bharti Airtel than of Tata Communications.
At current prices, buyers of Bharti Airtel are assuming about 9% growth against 16% in its own record; for Tata Communications it is 0% against 9%. That shows which share needs more to go right — not which is cheaper. How far each trades from its estimated fair value is in the full valuations.
- Valuation method: both on discounted cash flow.
- Size: Bharti Airtel is worth about 25.8 times Tata Communications on the stock market.
- Record: Bharti Airtel has grown revenue faster: Bharti Airtel compounded at about 15% a year (FY2019–FY2026) and Tata Communications at about 5% (FY2018–FY2026).
- What to watch: average revenue per user at Bharti Airtel; digital services at Tata Communications.
| Bharti Airtel | Tata Communications | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹2,106 | ₹1,773 |
| Market cap | ₹13.14L Cr | ₹0.51L Cr |
| P/E | 42.4 | 45.8 |
| P/B | 8.82 | 14.66 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Discounted cash flow | Discounted cash flow |
01Two businesses
What Airtel does — and why its profits jumped
Bharti Airtel is India's second-largest mobile operator. It also runs home broadband, a DTH television service, and Airtel Business, which sells connectivity and cloud services to companies. It consolidates Indus Towers, the tower company, and controls Airtel Africa, which operates in more than a dozen African countries and is listed in London.
From VSNL to a global network company
Tata Communications began as Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), India's state-owned international telecom carrier, which the Tata group took over in 2002.
02The records side by side
Bharti Airtel has grown revenue faster: Bharti Airtel compounded at about 15% a year (FY2019–FY2026) and Tata Communications at about 5% (FY2018–FY2026). By revenue, Bharti Airtel is about 8.5 times the size of Tata Communications. Bharti Airtel kept 16.0% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Tata Communications kept 4.0% of revenue as net profit in FY2026 — a sign of very different business models. Bharti Airtel reported a net loss in FY2020 and FY2021; Tata Communications reported a net loss in FY2018, FY2019 and FY2020.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Bharti Airtel · Tata Communications.
03What each price assumes
Work backwards from each share price and you can see what buyers are taking for granted — the rate each company must sustain to justify what it costs, against what its own record supports.
04What decides each one's value
- Average revenue per userARPU is the number the whole valuation turns on. Airtel has led the industry on it, and further tariff increases flow almost directly into cash flow.
- Capex after 5GWith 5G largely rolled out, capex as a share of revenue should fall. How fast it falls decides how much free cash flow shareholders actually see.
- Digital servicesFaster-growing cloud and security services.
- Core connectivitySteady but slow-growing network revenue.
05What could go wrong
- Government leviesThe AGR ruling showed how quickly regulatory dues can swing reported profit. Licence fees and spectrum charges remain a live risk.
- Renewed price competitionA price war would reverse the tariff gains the current valuation leans on.
- ExecutionNew digital businesses need scale.
- Price pressureVoice and data transport prices keep falling.
06Which is better value?
Sign in free to see which trades further below its worth
- ✓Both fair values per share — each on the method that fits the business
- ✓Every step of both workings — growth, margins and cost of capital, with sources
- ✓Bull, base and bear cases — for each company
- ✓Downloadable reports — the full write-up for each, yours to keep
08Questions people ask
Is Bharti Airtel or Tata Communications better value?
That turns on how far each share trades from its estimated fair value. Both figures, with every step of the working, are in the full valuations, free to view once you sign in. On the public numbers, Bharti Airtel trades at 42.4 times earnings and 8.82 times book value, and Tata Communications at 45.8 times earnings and 14.66 times book value — but multiples alone mislead when two businesses work differently, which is why each is valued on the method that fits it.
What is the difference between Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications?
Bharti Airtel is India's second-largest mobile operator. Tata Communications began as Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), India's state-owned international telecom carrier, which the Tata group took over in 2002.
Are Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications valued the same way?
Yes — both on discounted cash flow, so their workings compare like for like.
What does today's price assume for Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications?
Worked backwards from the share price, Bharti Airtel needs about 9% growth and Tata Communications about 0% growth, against 16% and 9% in their own records.