Vodafone Idea shares erase early gains as losses persist, subscribers decline in Q3

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd. opened higher on Wednesday, January 28, but soon gave up early gains after the debt-laden telecom operator reported a mixed set of earnings for the December quarter.

Brokerage firm UBS has a 'Neutral' rating on Vodafone Idea with a price target of ₹12.40. The brokerage said Q3FY26 results were largely in line with expectations, although customer losses persisted.

UBS said it will watch management commentary on ongoing capex and network deployment, progress on the launch of 5G services, updates on the planned debt raise, further developments on AGR dues, and the overall near- to medium-term outlook.

Vodafone Idea Q3 review

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Vodafone Idea's revenue edged up 1.1% to ₹11,323 crore from ₹11,194.7 crore in the September quarter.

The company reported a net loss of ₹5,286 crore compared with a loss of ₹5,524.2 crore in the previous quarter. Losses narrowed largely due to an exceptional profit of ₹1,078 crore during the quarter.

Adjusted loss, however, widened to ₹6,368 crore from ₹5,565 crore sequentially.

EBITDA rose to ₹4,816 crore from ₹4,685.1 crore, while EBITDA margins improved to 42.5% from 41.9%.

The telco's average revenue per user improved by 3% on a quarter-on-quarter basis to ₹172 from ₹167.

Capital expenditure increased to ₹2,250 crore during the quarter, compared with ₹1,750 crore in the previous quarter.

Subscriber trends remained a key concern, with the company losing 3.8 million subscribers sequentially, the highest decline seen in several quarters.

Vodafone Idea reported gross debt, including accrued interest, of ₹2.098 lakh crore. This includes deferred spectrum liabilities of ₹1,24,877 crore, AGR liabilities of ₹80,502 crore, subject to revision based on the Department of Telecommunications' assessment, and debt of ₹4,424 crore from banks and financial institutions.

Cash balance stood at ₹6,960 crore at the end of the quarter. Net debt rose by nearly ₹3,000 crore quarter-on-quarter to ₹2.028 lakh crore.

The company has obligations of ₹1,126 crore towards banks and ₹7,001 crore towards spectrum payments over the next 12 months. Vodafone Idea said it is confident of meeting these commitments.

No AGR relief has been captured in the books for the quarter, as the relief was received in January 2026.

Vodafone Idea shares ended 0.40% lower on Tuesday at ₹9.89. The stock is down 15% so far in 2026.