Vodafone Idea shares fall 3% after Q2 loss widens to Rs 5,975 crore on exceptional charges, ARPU rises to Rs 198

Shares of Vodafone Idea dropped more than 3% on Friday after the telecom major reported a net loss of Rs 5,975 crore for the July-September quarter of the ongoing FY27, higher than the Rs 5,584 crore reported in the same period last year, partly due to the adverse impact of mark-to-market adjustments on treasury assets.
Vodafone Idea’s revenue from operations increased more than 6% year-on-year to Rs 11,884 crore in Q2 FY27 from Rs 11,195 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company’s total expenses rose a little over 5% YoY to Rs 17,759 crore from Rs 16,862 crore in Q2 FY26. The shares of the company however fell to Rs 12.52 apiece on the NSE.

The telco’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key earnings metric for companies in the sector, increased nearly 10% YoY to Rs 198 in the September quarter from Rs 180 in the corresponding quarter last year, primarily supported by customer upgrades. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel’s ARPU during the quarter stood at Rs 271 while that for the recently-listed Jio Platforms stood at Rs 218.8.

Also Read | Exceptional items widen Vodafone Idea loss

Vodafone Idea’s cash EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 2,498 crore, recording more than 11% YoY growth. EBITDA was reported at Rs 4,981 crore, up 6% from the year-ago period. The loss adjusted for exceptional items stood at Rs 5,513 crore, compared with Rs 5,562 crore in Q2 FY26. The reported loss was higher at Rs 5,975 crore due to the adverse impact of mark-to-market adjustments on treasury assets.

The company’s customer base increased to 194.4 million during the second quarter of the ongoing FY27, from 193.1 million in the preceding quarter. Its postpaid subscriber base rose to 33.9 million from 31.9 million in Q1 FY27, marking the highest sequential increase in postpaid subscribers in the last nine quarters. Data usage increased over 27% YoY to 93.6 petabytes per day from 73.6 petabytes per day in the year-ago quarter.

Vodafone Idea’s capital expenditure stood at Rs 3,946 crore during the quarter, more than doubling sequentially with a growth of 104.5%. The company said it had placed capex orders worth more than Rs 13,200 crore towards its three-year capital expenditure guidance, of which nearly Rs 6,000 crore had been executed.

As of September 30, 2026, Vodafone Idea’s bank debt stood at Rs 943 crore, while cash and bank balances were at Rs 5,470 crore. The company said it had secured total funding of more than Rs 10,500 crore till the first half of FY27, including warrants and fund-based and non-fund-based facilities. Of this, more than Rs 4,000 crore in incremental bank funding was arranged during Q2 FY27.

Also Read | Vodafone Idea Q2 Results: Loss widens to Rs 5,975 crore, revenue rises 6% YoY; ARPU jumps to Rs 198

Vodafone Idea share price

Vodafone Idea shares have gained around 2% in a week and 1% in a month, with the stock overall being up 12% in 2026 so far. The shares of the company have gained around 24% in one year.

In the longer term, Vodafone Idea shares delivered negative returns of more than 7% in three years but gained 26% in five years. The company has a market capitalisation of more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘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.