Bharti Hexacom Limited

Communication Services — Telecom Services · NSE

₹1,615.90−₹34.60 (−2.10%)

DalalBaazaar Score

74 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by moderate debt load, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Short-term liquidity is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Bharti Hexacom Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Bharti Hexacom Limited provides mobile services, fixed-line telephone, and broadband services to end consumers under the Airtel brand in India and internationally. It operates through Mobile Services; and Homes, Office and Other Services segments.

IndustryTelecom Services

SectorCommunication Services

Employees546

Annual revenue₹9,354 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹9,354 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹19 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹53 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 546 employees supports ₹17.13 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹17.13 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 21.1% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE20.2%

What is the outlook?

12 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 14.7% and earnings to grow about 35.3% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+14.7%

Est. earnings growth+35.3%

Analysts12

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +42% while net margin moved +122% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+42%

Margin effect+122%

DalalBaazaar Score

74/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 44.3x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✓ P/E is 44% below its own historical median of 78.9x — cheap by its own standards
✗ P/B of 11.28x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

83/ 100

Excellent

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

52/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

44.3x

3Y Median

78.9x

32 monthly readings · mean 94.9x · range 41.1x–193.5x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 44% below its 3y median of 78.9x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 104% above the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

78.9x median over 32 months · -44%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

21.7x median of 2 peers · +104%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

17.4x

PEG

0.95

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 43.5% to 53.3% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 36% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 13.0% to 24.2%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 10.8% to 21.1%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 21.1% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 watch

🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.38 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 21.1% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 43.5% to 53.3%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 36% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 44% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 104% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 9% a year✓ 12.4% CAGR
Latest reported year was 10.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 51%✓ 53.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹2,981 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 18%✓ 21.1%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

9 / 12 checks passed

✓ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✗ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✗ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

6 good · 3 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹80,795 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

44.3x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

11.28x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹36.47

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

24.2%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

21.1%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.86x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

10.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

23.2%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.11%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

₹2,981 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

25.6x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

31.9%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

19.0%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.38

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.11

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

43%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1497.2 / 1527.6

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

65.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹6,579 Cr	₹7,089 Cr	₹8,548 Cr	₹9,354 Cr	+12.4%
EBITDA	₹2,863 Cr	₹3,481 Cr	₹4,179 Cr	₹4,990 Cr	+20.3%
EBITDA Margin	43.5%	49.1%	48.9%	53.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹549 Cr	₹504 Cr	₹1,494 Cr	₹1,733 Cr	+46.7%
EPS	₹10.98	₹10.09	₹29.87	₹34.66	+46.7%
ROE	13.0%	11.4%	25.2%	24.2%	—
ROCE	10.8%	13.5%	19.4%	21.1%	—
Total Debt	₹9,164 Cr	₹8,063 Cr	₹7,100 Cr	₹5,859 Cr	-13.9%
Free Cash Flow	₹4,164 Cr	₹1,488 Cr	₹2,066 Cr	₹2,981 Cr	-10.5%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 12.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 20.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 43.5% to 53.3% over 3 years (+9.8 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 46.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 46.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 13.0% to 24.2% over 3 years (+11.1 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 10.8% to 21.1% over 3 years (+10.3 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 13.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 10.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹19,051 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹11,885 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹33 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹4,464 Cr

Capex

-₹1,483 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

11.2%

Insider Holding

86.5%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹18

Ex-Dividend Date

31 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

11 Buy · 2 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,852.6

+14.6% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,450 – ₹2,140

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

1 positive4 mixed1 negative

Bharti Hexacom (BHARTIHEXA) Share Price Rises 3.84% Today After Nomura Initiates Buy

Univest, 15 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Bharti Hexacom share price target Oct 9 - Stocks to lead market recovery

Alice Blue, 09 OctAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

BHARTIHEXA Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 26 JunAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Government Targets Full Exit From Bharti Hexacom Via Proposed 15% Stake Sale

Sahi, 14 JulOwnership

🔴Potentially negativePromoter selling or pledging is a signal worth understanding, though the reason is often personal rather than about the business.

Bharti Hexacom Q1 results: Profit jumps 23% YoY to ₹482 crore, revenue rises 11%; check key numbers

Upstox, 04 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Bharti Hexacom Shares Fall Over 2% in Early Trade Amidst Bullish Sentiment

Moneycontrol.com, 05 AugPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability

MiddlingRisk

WeakValuation

Points for each in the Score ↑

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑