BHARTIARTL vs IDEA
Side-by-side comparison of Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd.. Descriptive only — not investment advice.
Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Telecom
Quality Score: 51/100
Vodafone Idea Ltd.
Telecom
Quality Score: 41/100
At a glance
| Metric | BHARTIARTL | IDEA |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Score | 51/100 | 41/100 |
| P/E (trailing) | 43.0 | 4.3 |
| Forward P/E | 23.1 | -8.5 |
| ROE | +19.4% | — |
| Profit margin | +12.7% | +77.1% |
| Debt-to-equity | 99.72 | — |
| Dividend yield | +0.84% | — |
| 1Y price return | +3.9% | +101.0% |
| From 52w high | -12.1% | -3.1% |
| Analyst rating1 = Strong Buy, 5 = Strong Sell | 1.56 | 3.29 |
Highlighted value = better on the metric (lower for P/E, D/E, drawdown, analyst rating; higher elsewhere). Descriptive only.
Snapshots
Bharti Airtel (₹1,910.8) is the largest listed telecom operator in the peer set by quality score rank and trails only Indus Towers on that metric among covered names. The stock trades above its 50-DMA (₹1,844) but below its 200-DMA (₹1,952), with a 1-year price gain of +3.88% and a 52-week drawdown of -12.1%. Structurally, debt-to-equity of 99.7 is flat over 5 years, while revenue has compounded at 15.7% annually even as 5-year cumulative earnings growth is -34%.
Vodafone Idea (IDEA) is a distressed telecom operator trading at ₹13.99, up 101% over 12 months on capital-infusion news rather than earnings recovery; forward PE of -8.53 confirms losses are projected to continue. ROE and debt-to-equity are both null — consistent with negative book equity — and the company has zero years of ROE above 15% in its recorded history. The Aditya Birla Group has committed a $500M equity infusion and KM Birla has returned as chairman, repositioning the company for a potential turnaround, but fundamentals have not yet reflected operational improvement.
Pros
- ✓Revenue has compounded at 15.7% annually over 5 years, placing Airtel among the growth leaders in a capital-intensive sector where pricing power and spectrum scale drive top-line gains.
- ✓FCF was positive in 4 of 5 tracked years, demonstrating recurring ability to generate cash from operations despite high capital expenditure associated with 5G network expansion.
- ✓Current ROE of 19.36% exceeds the 15% threshold that historically distinguishes capital-efficient operators; profit margin of 12.65% has been sustained on a significantly expanded revenue base.
- ✓Analyst coverage is broad at 32 analysts with a mean rating of 1.5625 on a 1–5 scale (lower = more constructive), and the forward PE of 23.1 represents a notable compression from the trailing PE of 43.0.
- ✓Price has risen 101% over 12 months and 30.4% over 3 months, outperforming all five telecom peers on the 1-year return metric; the stock now trades above both its 50-DMA (₹10.70) and 200-DMA (₹9.91).
- ✓Trailing PE of 4.35 is the lowest among the six telecom stocks compared, versus a peer range of 15.9x (Indus Towers) to 53.1x (Tata Communications) — reflecting the steepest discount to sector multiples on an earnings basis.
- ✓Debt trend is classified as falling, and FCF was positive in 3 of the available years, indicating some capacity to generate cash at the operating level despite the overall loss position.
- ✓The $500M Aditya Birla Group equity commitment and KM Birla's assumption of the chairman role represent a concrete, named-sponsor capital backstop — reducing near-term liquidity risk relative to the prior period of capital uncertainty.
Cons
- ✗D/E of 99.7 is structurally elevated for a non-bank sector company and has shown no improvement over 5 years, leaving the balance sheet exposed to interest-rate and refinancing risk.
- ✗5-year earnings growth of -34% despite 15.7% revenue growth indicates that capex intensity and financing costs have systematically absorbed revenue gains before reaching net income; the earnings recovery implied by the trailing-to-forward PE gap remains undemonstrated in reported history.
- ✗The stock has traded below its 200-DMA (₹1,952.1) and a recovery above that level has not been sustained; the 1-year price appreciation of +3.88% is materially below the benchmark Nifty 50 return for the same period.
- ✗Quality score of 32 ranks 4th of 6 telecom peers, and ROE exceeded 15% in only 2 of available historical years, reflecting an uneven return-on-capital track record relative to sector peers such as Indus Towers (ROE 19.81%) and Bharti Hexacom (ROE 26.47%).
- ✗Forward PE of -8.53 reflects negative projected earnings; the 77.14% trailing profit margin is almost certainly a non-recurring item, and the company has not demonstrated sustained operating profitability.
- ✗ROE is null and debt-to-equity is null — both consistent with negative book equity — and the company has recorded zero years of ROE above 15%, placing it structurally below all five telecom peers on balance sheet health.
- ✗The company cannot self-fund at current scale: the $500M Aditya Birla infusion and reported Vodafone stake discussions are responses to ongoing capital shortfalls, not signs of operational cash generation.
- ✗RSI of 80.2 is overbought; the stock is 31% above the nearest identified support level (₹9.68), and 101% above its level 12 months ago, with no resistance levels identified in the technical data.
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