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Today's prices ask more of Vodafone Idea than of Bharti Airtel.
At current prices, buyers of Bharti Airtel are assuming about 9% growth against 16% in its own record; for Vodafone Idea it is 31% against 2%. 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: Bharti Airtel on discounted cash flow; Vodafone Idea on estimate withheld.
- Size: Bharti Airtel is worth about 9.7 times Vodafone Idea on the stock market.
- Record: Bharti Airtel has grown revenue faster: Bharti Airtel compounded at about 15% a year (FY2019–FY2026) and Vodafone Idea at about 3% (FY2019–FY2025).
- What to watch: average revenue per user at Bharti Airtel; funding at Vodafone Idea.
| Bharti Airtel | Vodafone Idea | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹2,106 | ₹13 |
| Market cap | ₹13.14L Cr | ₹1.36L Cr |
| P/E | 42.4 | 3.7 |
| P/B | 8.82 | — |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Discounted cash flow | Estimate withheld |
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.
The third operator
Vodafone Idea was formed in 2018 by merging Vodafone's and Idea Cellular's Indian businesses. It is India's third-largest mobile operator, behind Jio and Airtel, and has been losing subscribers for years.
02The records side by side
Bharti Airtel has grown revenue faster: Bharti Airtel compounded at about 15% a year (FY2019–FY2026) and Vodafone Idea at about 3% (FY2019–FY2025). By revenue, Bharti Airtel is about 4.8 times the size of Vodafone Idea. Bharti Airtel kept 16.0% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Vodafone Idea lost the equivalent of 62.8% of revenue in FY2025 — a sign of very different business models. Bharti Airtel reported a net loss in FY2020 and FY2021; Vodafone Idea reported a net loss in FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, FY2024 and FY2025.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Bharti Airtel · Vodafone Idea.
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.
- FundingNew capital is needed to expand 4G and 5G.
- Government duesHow remaining dues are settled shapes survival.
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.
- Insolvency riskHeavy debt and dues threaten viability.
- DilutionFurther share issuance reduces existing holders' stakes.
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 Vodafone Idea 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 Vodafone Idea at 3.7 times earnings — 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 Vodafone Idea?
Bharti Airtel is India's second-largest mobile operator. Vodafone Idea was formed in 2018 by merging Vodafone's and Idea Cellular's Indian businesses.
Are Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea valued the same way?
No. Bharti Airtel is valued on discounted cash flow and Vodafone Idea on estimate withheld, because forcing one model onto both would misstate at least one of them.
What does today's price assume for Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea?
Worked backwards from the share price, Bharti Airtel needs about 9% growth and Vodafone Idea about 31% growth, against 16% and 2% in their own records.