Bharti Airtel Stock Rises 2% As Jio IPO Hits D-Street; Jio Vs Airtel, Which Is Better & Should You Buy?

Bharti Airtel share price traded unfazed despite the blockbuster bullish storm created by Jio Platforms IPO on Dalal Street. Jio is Airtel’s only biggest rival, which is going to list on BSE and NSE next week. As the Jio IPO opened today, Airtel share prices surged by at least 2% to cross Rs 1,900 mark before correcting. Airtel’s market valuation gained to Rs 11.78 lakh crore. What will be interesting is the listing of Jio and whether it can outrun Airtel in terms of market share.

Bharti Airtel Share Price

At the time of writing, Airtel stock traded at Rs 1888.85 apiece up by nearly 1% on BSE with market cap of Rs 11,78,737.04 crore. The stock rallied up to 2% to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,910 apiece in the early trade.

Airtel’s 52-week high and low is at Rs 2,174.70 apiece and Rs 1,726.05 apiece respectively. Its price-to-equity ratio is at 76.50x and return on equity is at 14.89%, as per BSE data.

Over the past year, while competing with Jio, Airtel is the stock among top the 10 club to record noteworthy gains. Airtel climbed to become the second largest company in India, just Rs 4.8 lakh crore away from Jio’s parent giant, Reliance Industries.

Jio Vs Airtel:

Jio is currently at a discount from Airtel. The IPO’s issue price is at Rs 1,119 apiece at the upper end, which is nearly 41% discount from Airtel’s current market price.

“At the upper price band of INR 1,119, Jio is valued at INR 10.3 lakh cr, or 33.3x FY26 EPS, an 18% discount to Bharti Airtel’s 40.7x. The discount is also visible on book value, with Jio trading at 3.0x versus Bharti’s 7.4x. This is despite Jio having a larger customer base, faster FY26 EBITDA growth (18.8% vs 16.4%) and a higher PAT margin (20.5% vs 16.0%). Jio trades at 13.5x FY26 EBITDA including net debt, or 14.9x after deferred spectrum dues,” said analysts at Deven Choksey in their IPO note.

The estimated valuation for Jio Platforms upon going public is expected to range between Rs 10 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore. At the upper price band, Jio’s pre-IPO valuation is around Rs 10.30 lakh crore.

However, Jio’s stardom will most likely not be enough for the company to take over its biggest rival Airtel. Opposite Jio’s Rs 10.30 lakh crore valuation, the Sunil Mittal-backed Bharti Airtel holds a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 11.6 lakh crore. To outrun Airtel, Jio will need to surpass Rs 11.80 lakh crore mark or wish for Airtel to fall to its own level.

Both the companies will be in focus for their upcoming Q2FY27 results. Analysts at Axis Securities said, telecom players, i.e., Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, continue to gain market share, supported by higher customer stickiness, improving financial performance and favourable market conditions. We believe this momentum is likely to continue, driven by the 5G rollout, tariff hikes, strategic alliances and robust cash flows. While competitive intensity has moderated due to market consolidation, challenges such as high debt levels for weaker players and regulatory obligations persist. Overall, the medium-term outlook remains positive.

For Q2FY27, they expect Bharti Airtel to report revenue growth of 2.6% QoQ and 15.0% YoY. EBIT margin is expected to remain flat at 32.7% for the quarter due to data center investments and network expansion.

Here are the peer comparison between the two:

Airtel vs Jio Share Price: Which To Buy?

While the Jio IPO will list next week on BSE and NSE, analysts have recommended Subscribe on the public offer for long term investment. Analysts at Chola Securities said, “At the IPO price, the stock is valued at approximately 32x FY27E earnings, representing a discount of around 12% to 15% to its nearest listed peer. We believe AI-led services opportunity can trigger bridging of this discount,” adding, “We have a ‘SUBSCRIBE’ rating for Jio Platforms Ltd IPO for listing gains.”

However, these analysts believe that tariff hikes may remain challenging in the near term amid inflationary pressures and falling technology costs. Jio’s large subscriber base and diversified digital ecosystem provide multiple avenues for its revenue growth.

Meanwhile, the consensus recommendation from 34 analysts for Bharti Airtel is STRONG BUY, as per Trendlyne data. The average 12-month target price on Airtel is of Rs 2317.62 apiece.

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