Vodafone Idea shares surged up to 8.5% to ₹6.68 on Monday, August 18, as investors cheered the telco’s June-quarter results showing sequential improvement in losses. The broader market’s positive tone also lent support.

By 10:30 am, the stock was at ₹6.61, up 7.48% on the NSE. Despite the rally, the stock remains under pressure—down 21% in 2025 and nearly 60% over the past year.

The company reported a net loss of ₹6,608 crore for Q1FY26, wider than ₹6,432 crore a year ago but narrower than ₹7,166 crore in the March quarter. Revenue rose 5% year-on-year to ₹11,022 crore, though flat sequentially. Crucially, average revenue per user (ARPU) climbed to ₹177, topping expectations of ₹167, aided by subscriber upgrades and a stronger customer mix.

Brokerages highlighted the improvement. Motilal Oswal Financial Services said the loss was narrower than its ₹7,500 crore estimate, helped by lower interest costs, while revenue was in line. It also noted that subscriber erosion slowed, with the user base down just 0.5 million to 197.7 million, compared to a 1.6 million decline in Q4FY25 and better than its 1.2 million forecast.

Global brokerage UBS maintained a Neutral rating with a target price of ₹8.5, calling the results broadly in line. It pointed to a 0.6% quarter-on-quarter ARPU gain to ₹165, stable revenues, and a 1% dip in EBITDA, with margins slipping 47 basis points to 41.8%. UBS flagged the larger-than-expected loss, driven by higher interest costs, while noting that capex moderated to ₹2,440 crore, down from ₹4,230 crore in Q4 and ₹3,210 crore in Q3.