Market Milestone: Bharti Airtel Dethrones HDFC Bank to Become India’s 2nd Most Valued Company

In a major shift of stock market leadership on Dalal Street, telecom giant Bharti Airtel has overtaken HDFC Bank to claim the crown as India’s second most valuable company by market capitalization (m-cap).

The cumulative market valuation of the Sunil Mittal-led telecom major surged to ₹11.90 lakh crore during intraday trade on Monday, May 18, 2026. This pushed it past the financial behemoth HDFC Bank, whose m-cap rested at ₹11.80 lakh crore. Conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) continues to hold the undisputed top position in the country with an m-cap exceeding ₹18.11 lakh crore.

Stock Rally and the Chart Breakdown

Bharti Airtel shares surged nearly 3% during intraday trading on the BSE, hitting a session high of ₹1,953.95. The stock is currently riding a massive wave of short-term momentum, logging an 11% gain over just four consecutive trading sessions.

The vertical sprint comes directly after the stock hit its 52-week low of ₹1,745 on May 13, staging a rapid turnaround back toward its historical 52-week high of ₹2,174.70 recorded in November last year. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank’s stock has remained largely flat on a month-to-date basis, missing out on the mid-May industrial rally.

Dissecting the Q4 FY26 Financials

The change in valuation rankings follows Airtel’s Q4 FY26 earnings release on May 13:

• Net Profit: Airtel posted a 10.5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase, bringing its consolidated net profit to ₹7,325 crore.

• The Year-on-Year Dip: On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, net profit fell by 33.5%. However, accounting desks noted this drop was primarily due to a high base effect from the previous year, which was inflated by a massive ₹2,892 crore tax credit.

• One-Time Costs: Earnings for the quarter were also impacted by a statutory charge of ₹3,161 crore allocated for exceptional regulatory and government levies.

The Corporate Scorecard: India’s Top 3 Giants

Wall Street vs. Technical Analysts: Is it a Buy?

The market is sharply divided on whether retail investors should buy into Airtel at its current valuation.

The Bull Case: Motilal Oswal Targets ₹2,180

Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services has maintained its Buy call, setting an aggressive target price of ₹2,180. The institutional desk models a robust 15% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for Airtel’s consolidated revenue and EBITDA over the FY26–28 period.

They expect long-term growth to be driven by:

• The financial flow-through of a 15% tariff hike in India’s wireless sector starting in Q2 FY27.

• Rapidly accelerating customer additions in the premium home broadband segment.

• Double-digit growth in its African operations alongside steady monetization of enterprise digital packages.

The Technical Caution: A Correction Might Be Looming

In contrast to fundamental brokerages, technical chart experts are advising extreme caution, suggesting that the current rally could be a temporary bounce within a longer corrective phase.

“Bharti Airtel’s share price has been going through a congestion zone of ₹1,750 to ₹1,900 for the last 12 weeks. Last Friday, it breached this range on the upside,” noted Vipin Kumar, AVP of Equity Research at Globe Capital Market. He suggests staying invested only if the stock holds above ₹1,750 on a closing basis.

Aditya Thukral, Founder of AT Research and Risk Managers, warned that while Airtel has been in a structural bull market since 2018, its broader seven-month correction from its November peak is not yet complete.

Thukral points out that moving average crossovers remain negative, flashing warning signs for fresh buyers. He advises tactical investors to avoid chasing the current 11% run-up and instead wait for a better entry point, predicting the stock could drop to test major support levels between ₹1,500 and ₹1,600 in the coming months.