Bharti Airtel Remains Top Telecom Pick Despite Reliance Jio's Subscriber Gains

Global brokerage firm Jefferies has maintained Bharti Airtel as its top telecom pick in India, despite Reliance Jio's consistent lead in subscriber additions. Jefferies cited slower active subscriber growth and Airtel's concentrated gains in certain regions as key factors in its decision. The brokerage firm noted that while Jio dominated in subscriber additions, Airtel's data subscriber additions remained healthy, which is positive for Average Revenue Per User (ARPUs).

Key Takeaways:

Bharti Airtel remains Jefferies' top telecom pick in India, despite Reliance Jio's strong subscriber additions.
Active subscriber growth slowed down in July, with only 0.5 million additions, compared to 10 million in May and June.
Bharti Airtel's subscriber gains were concentrated in 11 out of 22 circles, primarily in Metros and A circles.
The industry added 3.6 million 4G and 5G users in July, with Reliance Jio and Airtel dominating, expanding their combined share to 83% of the data market.
Jio added more active subscribers than Bharti for the 5th straight month, which bodes well for the overall tariff outlook.
Vodafone Idea continues to bleed subscribers, losing 1.0 million active users overall in July, despite adding 0.2 million 4G customers.
Mobile number portability (MNP) requests hit a record 15 million in July, which usually drives up dealer commissions/SG&A expenses for telcos.

Statistics:

0.5 million: The number of active subscriber additions in July, a sharp moderation from the 10 million jump in May and June.
3.6 million: The number of 4G and 5G users added in July by the industry.
83%: The combined market share of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the data market, as of July.
150 basis points: The increase in Jio's active subscriber market share over the past year, to 43%.
30 basis points: The decline in Airtel's active subscriber market share over the past year, to 36%.
15 million: The record number of mobile number portability (MNP) requests in July.

Sources:

Jefferies report:

* "Bharti Airtel remains our top pick."

* "Active subscriber base rose by 0.5m to 1,083m" during the month.

* "Subscriber additions were concentrated in 11 out of 22 circles" with most gains coming from Metros and A circles.

* "The industry added 3.6 million 4G and 5G users in July."

* "Bharti and Jio added 10bps data subscriber market share taking their combined market share to 83%."