Sunil Bharti Mittal criticizes IT firms' ₹130,000cr shareholder payouts
Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal isn't impressed with how Indian IT companies are handling their profits.
After Airtel's latest earnings, he pointed out that many IT firms have been busy rewarding shareholders through big dividends and buybacks, ₹1.3 lakh crore in fiscal 2026, actually, even more than their total profits.
Mittal feels they've missed out on key opportunities to grow by not investing in new, innovative businesses, unlike Airtel's approach of balancing returns with global expansion.
Airtel raises Africa stake to 78%
Alongside his comments, Airtel just made a ₹28,220 crore share-swap deal to boost its stake in Airtel Africa from 58% to 78%, all without a major cash spend.
Mittal called it "A $3 billion transaction means you're making an acquisition, and you're making an acquisition of a business that you know deeply well," he said.
With profits, Airtel plans to keep expanding in Africa while still rewarding investors.