EarningsQ2 2027 Earnings Report
MX:AAFN Q2 2027 EPS Results
Actual EPS$1.18
Consensus EPS$1.32
Beat/MissMissed by -$0.13
One Year Ago EPS$0.92
MX:AAFN Q2 2027 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue$36.89B
Expected Revenue$36.55B
Beat/MissBeat by +$338.74M
YoY Revenue Growth+26.15%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ2 2027
Date10/30/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallFriday, October 30, 2026
MX:AAFN Upcoming Earnings
Airtel Africa Plc's next earnings date is estimated for January 29, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q2 2027 Earnings Call Audio
No earnings call audio is available for this earnings event.
Q2 2027 Earnings Slide Deck
No slide deck is available for this earnings event.
Q2 2027 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was strongly positive. Airtel Africa reported more than 20% constant-currency revenue and EBITDA growth, expanding margins, robust customer and mobile money growth, strong balance-sheet flexibility, shareholder returns, and continued progress in strategic investments. The main challenges were elevated fuel costs, lower free cash flow following accelerated investment, Nigeria's sequential growth moderation and airtime-credit disruption, and the expected fading of currency tailwinds. Management nevertheless described demand, execution, and the long-term growth outlook as strong.Company Guidance
Strong Revenue and EBITDA Growth
First-half constant-currency revenue growth was almost 21%, with reported revenue increasing 28.2% to $3.8 billion. Reported EBITDA grew almost 33% to $1.92 billion, while constant-currency EBITDA increased 23.5%.
Margin Expansion Despite Fuel Inflation
EBITDA margin expanded 172 basis points to 50.3% for the half, while reported margin expansion was 144 basis points year over year. Second-quarter EBITDA margin reached a record 50.4%, despite elevated fuel costs.
Customer and Smartphone Base Growth
The customer base grew 11.6% to 194 million, while the network had more than 100 million smartphones. Data customers increased 15%, smartphone penetration rose to 51.6%, and smartphone usage exceeded 13 GB per month.
Mobile Services Momentum
Mobile services revenue increased 18.9% in constant currency. Data revenue grew 28%, voice revenue increased 7.1%, and ARPU increased 10.7%, supported by customer growth, higher smartphone adoption, greater data consumption, network investment, and a more-for-more pricing approach.
Mobile Money Growth and Scale
Mobile money customers grew 22.4% to more than 60 million, while mobile money revenue increased 25.8%. Transaction processing volume grew 37%, reaching annualized quarter-two TPV of $275 billion.
Successful Airtel Money IPO
The successful Airtel Money IPO created a new platform for growth in digital financial services and provided an external valuation reference. Airtel Africa retained approximately 78% ownership, specifically 77.85%, preserving its economic participation in Airtel Money's future earnings, cash flow, and value creation.
Strong Nigeria Performance
Nigeria customer growth accelerated to 15.1%, ARPU increased 12.7%, and constant-currency revenue rose 27%. Year-over-year data growth remained approximately 30%, Nigeria smartphone penetration reached about 56% to 57% of the base, and management said demand remained very strong.
Regional Growth Across East Africa and Francophone Markets
East Africa delivered constant-currency revenue growth of more than 18%, accelerating to 18.6% in the last quarter, with EBITDA margins rising to 53.6% for the first six months. The Francophone region delivered more than 19% constant-currency revenue growth, exceeding 20% in quarter two, while Mobile Money grew more than 40% in constant currency.
Healthy Balance Sheet and Cash Generation
The company sustained healthy free cash flow and maintained lease-adjusted leverage of approximately 0.5x. More than 95% of debt was in local currency, and the company said its balance sheet provided significant flexibility to invest in growth and return cash to shareholders.
Improved Earnings and Shareholder Returns
Pre-exceptional EPS increased more than 41% to $0.117 from $0.083. Underlying EPS increased from $0.069 to $0.118 after excluding foreign-exchange gains. The company returned almost $110 million through share buybacks and declared an interim dividend of $0.031 per share, up 9.2% year over year.
Accelerated Investment in Network and Growth Areas
CapEx investment increased to $657 million from $318 million in the prior period. Investment focused on coverage, capacity, fiber deployment, and 5G, while also supporting home broadband and data centers. Approximately 2,200 sites were added during the period.
Lower Cost of Debt
The company's cost of debt declined by approximately 230 basis points year over year, supported by active debt portfolio management and lower interest rates in several markets.
Data Center Expansion
Construction began on a data center in Lagos with approximately 38 MW of capacity, and groundbreaking took place in Kenya for a 44 MW facility. Airtel Africa also acquired land for a 9 MW data center in the DRC and said it was receiving positive feedback from hyperscalers.
Starlink Partnership Expansion
The Starlink agreement covers backhaul, enterprise connectivity, and direct-to-device services. Direct-to-device services have launched in the DRC and Uganda, while Airtel manages the customer relationship, customer experience, and end-to-end service under the Airtel brand.
Long-Term Structural Growth Opportunity
Airtel Africa operates across 14 markets with a combined population of 679 million, network coverage of more than 82% of that population, and more than 2.5 million mobile money agents. Management cited expected population growth of approximately 87 million by 2030, a 4.6% GDP-per-capita CAGR, expected smartphone penetration growth from around 60% to 82%, and data traffic growth of approximately 2.6x.
Demonstrated Long-Term Growth Track Record
Over five years, mobile services revenue delivered an 18.4% CAGR, mobile money revenue delivered a 28.8% CAGR, group revenue delivered a 20.1% CAGR, and EBITDA delivered a 22.3% CAGR.
Cost Efficiency Programs
The company has operated a cost-efficiency program for more than two years, including converting sites from off-grid to grid power, deploying solar and batteries, using artificial intelligence to optimize network energy consumption, and modernizing technology with more energy-efficient solutions.
Buyback Progress
The company completed approximately 67% of its previously announced 1% buyback. The remaining 33% was temporarily constrained by the Airtel Money IPO and close periods, and management said it would shortly resume the remaining buyback.
MX:AAFN Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed