--- title: "Bharti Airtel pips HDFC Bank in market-cap intraday; stock up 11% in 4 days" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286735509.md" description: "Bharti Airtel shares rose nearly 3% to ₹1,953.95, marking an 11% increase over four days, surpassing HDFC Bank in market capitalization. Despite an 8% decline in 2026, Airtel outperformed HDFC Bank and the Sensex. Analysts remain positive, citing strong market positioning and growth potential, with target prices set at ₹2,530 and ₹2,450 by Axis Securities and JM Financial, respectively. Bharti Mittal plans to increase his stake in Airtel to 51% through Bharti Telecom." datetime: "2026-05-18T00:00:02.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286735509.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286735509.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286735509.md) --- # Bharti Airtel pips HDFC Bank in market-cap intraday; stock up 11% in 4 days ## Bharti Airtel share price today Shares of Bharti Airtel continued their upward movement, gaining nearly 3 per cent to ₹1,953.95 on the BSE in Monday's intraday trade, in an otherwise weak market. The stock price of the telecom services company is quoting higher for a fourth straight trading day, ralling 11 per cent during the period. At 12:49 PM, Bharti Airtel share price was trading 2.2 per cent higher at ₹1,946.30, as compared to 0.2 per cent decline in the BSE Sensex. It had hit a 52-week high of ₹2,174.70 on November 21, 2025. ## Bharti Airtel surpasses HDFC Bank in market capitalisation ranking Thus far in calendar year 2026, the stock price of Bharti Airtel has declined 8 per cent, as compared to a 22.5-per cent decline in the market price of HDFC Bank. The benchmark Sensex, meanwhile, has fallen 12 per cent during the same period. Furhter, Bharti Airtel has outperformed the market and HDFC Bank stock in the past one month by surging 5.5 per cent, as against 3.4 per cent decline in HDFC Bank and 4.5 per cent fall in the Sensex. A sharp outperformance in the stock price of Bharti Airtel has pushed the company's market capitalisation above HDFC Bank's in the intraday deal. At the time of writing this report, Bharti Airtel's market cap stood at ₹11.91 trillion (₹11,90,595 crore), while HDFC Bank's market cap was at ₹11.90 trillion (₹11,90,306 crore). ## What has been driving Bharti Airtel stock price in the past 4 days? From a long-term perspective, analysts at Axis Securities believe Bharti Airtel is well-positioned to continue gaining market share, backed by the highest penetration and minimal capex requirements. "Given its stronger digital portfolio supported by rising per-user data and growing business verticals, we remain positive about the company’s future growth," it said with a 'Buy' rating and an unchanged target price of ₹2,530 per share. Meanwhile, Bharti Mittal aims to raise a controlling stake in Bharti Airtel to 51 per cent through Bharti Telecom, from 40 per cent at present. The Board approved a share swap transaction between Bharti Airtel and ICIL to acquire an additional 16.3 per cent stake in Airtel Africa, bringing the holding to 78 per cent. "This is non-cash, value-accretive deal aimed at increasing ownership in a high-growth market," according to Axis Securities. Analysts at JM Financial Institutional Securities also reiterated their 'Buy' rating on Bharti Airtel with a target price of ₹2,450 (previous ₹2,455) as the brokerage firm believes the industry's wireless average rate per user (Arpu) is likely to grow at 12 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over FY26-28, driven by regular tariff hike and multiple premiumisation strategies. "There is also improved visibility of a tariff hike of 15 per cent in H2CY26 (given the last tariff hike was in July 2024), coupled with the government's intent to ensure a '3+1' player market and the industry's requirement to improve RoCE amidst inability to monetise the significant incurred 5G capex," the brokerage firm said. "During the concall, promoter Mr Mittal tried to alleviate concerns on promoter stake sale and capital allocation. He said the Mittal family intends to transfer its stake in Bharti to Bharti Telecom in the next few years; hence, only Singtel's 3.6 per cent stake is likely to be sold in the market, hopefully in the next 3-4 years," analysts said. _**\=====================================**_ _**Disclaimer: View and outlook shared on the stock belong to the respective brokerages and are not endorsed by Business Standard. 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