Bharti Airtel, a leading telco in India, said its net profit for Q2 FY26 was Rs 6,792 crore. Jio, on the other hand, reported a higher net profit comparatively of Rs 7,379 crore. Interestingly, the average revenue per user (ARPU) of Jio was Rs 211.4 during this quarter, much lower than Airtel's Rs 256 figure. This is a proof that even with a lower ARPU, companies can make a dent in the market with higher revenues. This could be seen as a good sign for Vodafone Idea (Vi) and BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited). However, with Vi and BSNL, the issue is that there's no matching scale with Jio.
Read More - Airtel CEO on Q2 FY26 Results
Reliance Jio has more than 500 million mobile customers in India. This is by far the largest subscriber base for any telco in the country. The telco's user base is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and quarters. Airtel's ARPU has always been the industry leading over the last few years. Jio is enjoying the benefit of scale that its customers are getting.
Reliance Jio's gross revenue for the quarter was Rs 42,652 crore, up 14.9% YoY during the quarter. Comparatively, Airtel's gross revenue for the quarter was Rs 38,690 crore for the India business. What was a positive for Airtel during the quarter was the overall mobile data subscriber base going up.
Read More - What is Jio Starter Pack
Airtel's strategy has always been to go after the high-paying customers. As for Jio, it has always been to go after the scale of users, regardless of how much they are paying. Jio is currently the largest telecom operator in India in terms of both customer market share and revenues. Jio's ARPU has been growing constantly, and while it has always stayed below Airtel's ARPU, it still doesn't affect the company when it comes to making profits.
