Vodafone Idea share price jumps 2% as Q3 net loss narrows. Should you buy the telecom stock?

Vodafone Idea share price gained over 2% on Wednesday after the telecom operator in India narrowed its loss in the third quarter of FY26, helped by provision adjustments. Vodafone Idea shares rose as much as 2.13% to ₹10.05 apiece on the BSE.

However, operational pressures, including subscriber churn and high spectrum debt obligations, persist for the company.

India’s third-largest telecom operator, Vodafone Idea reported a net loss of ₹5,286 crore in the quarter ended December 2025, down from a loss of ₹5,524 crore in the previous quarter.

The company’s revenue in Q3FY26 rose 1.1% to ₹11,323 crore from ₹11,195 crore, quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Vodafone Idea’s average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to ₹186 from ₹180 in the previous quarter.

At the operating level, EBITDA rose 2.8% to ₹4,817 crore from ₹4,685 crore, while EBITDA margin improved to 42.5% from 41.8%, QoQ.

During the quarter, Vodafone Idea lost 3.8 million subscribers, taking its subscriber base to 192.9 million as of the end of December.

As of 31 December, the company’s deferred payment obligation (including interest accrued but not due) towards spectrum was at ₹1.25 lakh crore. This is in addition to the AGR dues, currently frozen by the government.

The company said, “(its) instalments payable, as scheduled, by December 2026, are ₹7,001 crore.”

Vodafone Idea’s outstanding bank debt (including interest accrued but not due) was ₹4,424 crore, and the instalments payable, as scheduled, by December 2026, are ₹1,126 crore, including interest thereon.

In a note, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Group said that the recent resolution of the AGR issue marks a decisive turning point.

“With long-standing uncertainty removed through the clarity of the Honourable Supreme Court’s judgment and the government’s decisive intervention, the operating environment has fundamentally changed. For the first time in years, the fog has cleared, allowing the business to look beyond survival, and focus on sustainable growth,” Birla said.

Technical Outlook

Vodafone Idea share price has decisively broken below its major support zone of ₹10.47, confirming a clear structural breakdown on higher timeframes. The move has been accompanied by extreme weakness in daily EMAs and expanding sell-side volume, signaling active long liquidation rather than routine correction. Price acceptance below this level increases the probability of further downside continuation, said Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakshmishree Investments.

According to him, if Vodafone Idea stock price sustains below ₹10.47, it is likely to test the next major demand zone near ₹8.76, where some temporary stabilization may emerge.

“A failure to hold that level would expose deeper downside toward ₹7.5. While weekly moving averages may offer a brief cushion, they are unlikely to reverse the trend without strong volume-backed buying. Risk–reward remains skewed sharply to the downside, and any bounce should be treated as corrective unless the stock reclaims key broken levels decisively,” said Jain.

Vodafone Idea share price has fallen 16% in one month and has jumped over 40% in the past six months. The telecom stock has gained 11% in one year but has dropped 31% in two years.

At 10:50 AM, Vodafone Idea share price was trading 1.63% higher at ₹10.00 apiece on the BSE.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.