Bharti Airtel reclaims No. 2 spot among India’s most valuable companies, overtakes Jio Platforms

Bharti Airtel has reclaimed its position as India’s second-largest listed company by market capitalisation, overtaking Jio Platforms, which had secured the second spot following its stock market debut on October 28 after a Rs 30,213-crore IPO. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries continues to retain the top position, with a market capitalization of Rs 17,86,295 crore.

Shares of Bharti Airtel rose nearly 2.5% to settle at Rs 2,107 apiece on November 6, taking the company’s market capitalisation to Rs 13,14,998 crore on the NSE. In comparison, Jio Platforms had a market capitalization of Rs 12,95,158 crore. The latest ranking places HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, at the fourth position with a market capitalization of Rs 12,16,460 crore. ICICI Bank followed in fifth place with a market capitalization of Rs 11,28,302 crore.

Airtel’s return to the second position comes a day after the telecom operator announced its September-quarter results, reporting a 31% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated net profit. The company’s net profit rose to Rs 8,887.5 crore in Q2FY27 from Rs 6,791.6 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

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Its India mobile revenue grew 10.1% YoY, while average revenue per user (ARPU) improved to Rs 271 in the September quarter from Rs 256 a year earlier, indicating stronger customer realisations. Operating performance also remained firm, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rising 17.8% YoY to Rs 35,240 crore in Q2FY27, compared with Rs 29,919 crore in the year-ago period.

Broader market rally supports gains

The development came amid a strong rally in domestic equities, with benchmark indices extending their winning streak to seven consecutive sessions on November 6.

The Nifty 50 advanced 494 points, or 2.01%, to close at 25,030, while the BSE Sensex surged 1,718 points, or 2.17%, to settle at 81,028.

Domestic markets showed resilience despite a sharp sell-off in global technology stocks, largely shrugging off concerns surrounding the unwinding of AI-related trades that weighed on Wall Street and other Asian markets.

However, the rally was not broad-based. The Nifty Smallcap 250 declined 0.85%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 ended marginally lower. Market breadth on the NSE remained negative, with 2,141 stocks declining, against 1,439 advances, while 126 stocks remained unchanged.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Private Bank index led the gains, rising more than 3%. The Nifty Financial Services index advanced over 2.5%, while the Nifty Consumer Durables index gained around 2%.

Meanwhile, India VIX, the market’s volatility gauge, climbed more than 13% to trade near the 18 mark.

Disclosure:This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a Sebi-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Gaurav and their ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective Sebi-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here