Shares of Bharti Airtel extended gains for the third straight session on Friday after founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal outlined a long-term succession roadmap and hinted at higher shareholder returns, including potential buybacks, over the coming years.

During the company’s Q4 earnings call on Thursday, Mittal said leadership responsibilities at Airtel could gradually transition to the next generation over the next decade. He also reiterated his ambition for promoter entity Bharti Telecom to raise its holding in Airtel to over 50% from the current 40.47%. Bharti Telecom is jointly owned by the Mittal family and Singtel.

“If you really ask me, my own wish is that in the next decade, as I gradually hand over the reins to the next generation, Bharti Telecom should get back to a controlling stake of 51% or slightly above 50%,” Mittal said.

He acknowledged that achieving the target would be challenging given Airtel’s scale and valuation. “There is still around 10% more to go, and for a company of this magnitude and size, that is not a small task,” he added.

The remarks came a day after Airtel approved Mittal’s reappointment as chairman for another five-year term ending September 30, 2031. His current tenure was due to expire on September 30, following which the board cleared his continuation based on the recommendation of the HR and Nomination Committee.

Shares jump 9% in three days

Tracking these positive developments, Airtel shares have extended gaining momentum post its Q4 results, rising nearly 9% in three sessions. The most valued telecom stock gained as much as 2.1% to 1,923.15 on the BSE today, taking its market capitalisation to 11.62 lakh crore.

On Thursday, the telecom heavyweight surged over 5%, after gaining nearly 2% in the previous session.

Despite the recent rebound, Airtel shares remain down around 10% so far in 2026, though the stock has gained nearly 3% over the last one month. The stock hit a 52-week high of ₹2,174.70 on November 21, 2025, and a 52-week low of ₹1,745 on May 13, 2026.

For the quarter ended March 2026, Airtel reported a 33.5% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to ₹7,325 crore, largely due to one-time provisions linked to statutory and tax liabilities. Revenue from operations, however, rose 15.6% year-on-year to ₹55,383.2 crore.

The telecom company’s average revenue per user (ARPU) improved to ₹257 from ₹245 a year ago, although it declined marginally from ₹259 reported in the December quarter.

Brokerages said the board-approved acquisition of an additional stake in Airtel Africa from the promoter group addressed key investor concerns around capital allocation.

Under the transaction, Airtel will issue nearly 147 million shares at around ₹1,923 apiece to Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), part of Bharti Enterprises, in exchange for its 16.3% stake in Airtel Africa valued at GBP 3.67 per share.

The transaction, valued at around ₹28,200 crore, helps Airtel avoid a significant cash outflow, though it would result in nearly 2.4% equity dilution. Analysts noted that the deal remains earnings-per-share accretive based on FY26 estimates.

“We view the AAF stake purchase from promoters as positive and expect the NBFC foray to be calibrated. We believe any further international acquisition (except AAF) could be the most concerning aspect of Bharti’s capital allocation policy,” brokerage Motilal Oswal said in a report.

According to analysts, the management intends to gradually raise Airtel’s stake in Airtel Africa to nearly 90% over the medium term through a combination of buybacks and purchases of investor blocks.

During the analyst interaction, Mittal also indicated that Airtel could progressively increase dividend payouts and consider share buybacks, supported by strong free cash flow generation, while continuing investments across 5G, home broadband, enterprise services, cloud and digital businesses.

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