Vodafone Idea Shares Surge Over 5% as India–US Trade Deal Fuels Small-Cap Rally; Stock Up 66% in 6 Months

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd (NSE: IDEA) surged 5.81% to ₹11.33 on Tuesday, rising from their previous close of ₹10.81, amid strong bullish sentiment in the broader market driven by optimism over the India–US trade deal. The stock tracked the sharp rally in the Nifty Smallcap 100 index, which climbed over 3%, as renewed risk appetite and aggressive buying in small-cap stocks lifted several counters across sectors. Broader markets witnessed a powerful surge, with the BSE Sensex skyrocketing over 2,250 points and the Nifty 50 crossing the 25,750 mark, supported by positive global cues and trade deal optimism.

Vodafone Idea shares recently came under buying interest after the company in an investors' presentation said that it plans to invest ₹45,000 crore over the next three years to return to a growth trajectory.During the company’s earnings call for the third quarter of the current fiscal year (Q3 FY26), Vodafone Idea (Vi) CEO Abhijit Kishore said the company will expand network coverage in 17 out of 22 telecom circles to bring it at par with competitors and try to convert 2G sites in the five circles in the next three years.

The company also announced  its Q3 earnings reporting a narrowing of its consolidated net loss to ₹5,286 crore for Q3 FY26, mainly due to customer service upgrades. The company's subscriber base declined by 3.4% year-on-year to 19.29 crore from 19.98 crore, although the telco saw an increase in postpaid and 4G/5G subscribers. The postpaid subscriber base increased by 14.2% to 2.88 crore from 2.52 crore a year ago. The 4G and 5G subscriber base increased to 12.85 crore from 12.6 crore on a YoY basis. VIL said its user revenue, or ARPU (average revenue per user), rose 7.3% year-on-year to ₹186 in the reported quarter from ₹173 in the quarter ended December 2024, mainly due to customer upgrades.Consolidated revenue from operations remained almost flat at ₹11,323 crore during the latest third quarter compared to ₹11,117 crore a year ago.