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: 48/100
Vodafone Idea Ltd.
Telecom
Quality Score: 38/100
At a glance
| Metric | BHARTIARTL | IDEA |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Score | 48/100 | 38/100 |
| P/E (trailing) | 36.2 | — |
| Forward P/E | 27.7 | -5.2 |
| ROE | +23.1% | — |
| Profit margin | +14.9% | -55.3% |
| Debt-to-equity | 117.09 | — |
| Dividend yield | +0.87% | — |
| 1Y price return | -2.7% | +63.4% |
| From 52w high | -15.6% | -12.2% |
| Analyst rating1 = Strong Buy, 5 = Strong Sell | 1.65 | 3.29 |
Highlighted value = better on the metric (lower for P/E, D/E, drawdown, analyst rating; higher elsewhere). Descriptive only.
Snapshots
Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL) trades at ₹1,834.50, below both its 50-DMA (₹1,847.78) and 200-DMA (₹1,961.66), with a 52-week drawdown of 15.64% and a flat 1-year return of -2.69%. The company carries a debt-to-equity ratio of 117.1 on a rising trend, offset by 19.6% 5-year revenue growth and FCF positive in 4 of the tracked years. Trailing PE of 36.2 compresses to a forward PE of 27.7, embedding an expectation of earnings recovery not yet visible in the 5-year earnings trend of -55.3%.
Vodafone Idea (IDEA) is a large-cap Indian telecom operator trading at ₹11.24, up 63.37% over 12 months, but reporting a profit margin of -55.32% with no trailing PE, no measurable ROE, and a quality score of 40 out of 100 — ranking 3rd of 6 sector peers. The balance sheet remains under structural stress, with debt-to-equity unavailable due to the capital structure, and ongoing regulatory obligations including ₹64,046 crore in restructured AGR dues.
Pros
- ✓Revenue growth of 19.6% over 5 years reflects strong top-line compounding in a capital-intensive sector where pricing power and subscriber scale matter.
- ✓Free cash flow was positive in 4 of the tracked historical years, indicating the core operations generate cash despite heavy capex demands of telecom infrastructure.
- ✓Forward PE of 27.7 represents a 23.5% compression versus the trailing PE of 36.2, suggesting the market is pricing in a material step-up in near-term earnings.
- ✓Analyst coverage is active with 31 analysts and a mean rating of 1.65 on a 1–5 scale (lower = more constructive), reflecting broad institutional attention to the name.
- ✓FCF was positive in 3 of the last available years, suggesting the company has at times generated operating cash flow despite deep net losses — a divergence worth examining in the context of non-cash charges.
- ✓Revenue has grown 1.9% over 5 years, indicating the subscriber base and ARPU trajectory has not collapsed entirely, even as profitability has remained deeply negative.
- ✓The stock is currently trading above both its 50-DMA (₹9.73) and 200-DMA (₹9.44) at ₹11.24, reflecting positive price momentum relative to medium- and long-term moving average levels.
- ✓DoT has revised AGR dues down to ₹64,046 crore and allowed staggered payments — a reduction in the near-term cash liability cadence compared with the original demand schedule.
Cons
- ✗Debt-to-equity of 117.1 is structurally elevated with a rising trend; in a sector requiring perpetual capex for spectrum and network, this limits financial flexibility and amplifies rate-cycle sensitivity.
- ✗5-year earnings growth of -55.3% shows that revenue gains have not translated to bottom-line improvement, pointing to cost structure, depreciation, and interest burden absorbing the top-line gains.
- ✗ROE exceeded 15% in only 1 of the tracked years, and the quality score of 30 places BHARTIARTL at the bottom of its 6-member Telecom peer group on this composite metric.
- ✗Price has declined 9.44% over the past 3 months and remains below both key moving averages, with the 200-DMA standing 7% above current price — the gap reflects the duration of the underperformance.
- ✗Profit margin of -55.32% with null ROE and null trailing PE reflects deep structural losses; the company has zero years of ROE above 15% in the available history and a consistency score of 20 out of 100.
- ✗Debt-to-equity is null, most likely because book equity is negative or near-zero — a capital structure that constrains the company's ability to raise equity or debt on conventional terms.
- ✗Mean analyst rating of 3.29 across 21 analysts (1–5 scale, lower = more constructive) places coverage near the midpoint of the scale, with no clear convergence toward the constructive end.
- ✗RSI of 75.63 indicates an overbought technical condition at current levels, with the nearest resistance cluster at ₹11.90–₹12.80, while 3-month price change is nearly flat at -0.97%, suggesting momentum has stalled despite the 1-year gain.
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