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To compare Airtel Africa and MTN before investing, first align their reporting periods, currencies and accounting definitions. Airtel Africa’s latest figures here cover the year ended 31 March 2026 and are reported mainly in US dollars; MTN’s latest figures cover the half-year ended 30 June 2026, with its latest full-year results covering the year ended 31 December 2025 and reported in South African rand. Those results can help you assess growth, investment and financial risk, but they do not establish which share is cheaper today.
What do the latest reported results show?
The table separates MTN’s full-year and interim results rather than treating them as one directly comparable period. Growth rates marked “constant currency” are company-reported measures intended to reduce the effect of exchange-rate translation; they do not remove currency risk for an investor whose returns are measured in another currency.
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| Measure | Airtel Africa | MTN Group |
|---|---|---|
| Period and reporting currency | FY2026, year ended 31 March 2026; US dollars | FY2025, year ended 31 December 2025, and H1 2026, six months ended 30 June 2026; South African rand |
| Revenue measure and growth | FY2026 revenue: $6,415 million; growth of 29.5% reported and 24.0% constant currency | FY2025 service revenue: R218.5 billion; growth of 22.9% reported and 22.7% constant currency. H1 2026 service revenue: R115.3 billion; growth of 9.7% reported and 17.5% constant currency |
| EBITDA measure and margin | FY2026 underlying EBITDA: $3,162 million, up 37.2% reported and 30.4% constant currency; underlying EBITDA margin: 49.3%, up 280 basis points | FY2025 EBITDA before once-off items: R98.53 billion, up 64.0% reported and 36.8% constant currency; group margin: 43.5%, versus 32.0% in FY2024. H1 2026 constant-currency EBITDA growth: 24.4%; constant-currency margin: 47.6% |
| Profit or earnings measure | FY2026 profit after tax: $813 million, compared with $328 million in the prior year | H1 2026 adjusted HEPS: 793 cents, up 21.3%; reported HEPS: 615 cents, down 5.8% |
| Data and financial-services activity | FY2026 data revenue grew 35.2% in constant currency. Airtel Money revenue grew 28.4% in constant currency | H1 2026 data revenue grew 29.2% and fintech revenue 13.3% in constant currency |
| Investment and leverage | FY2026 capex: $884 million; net debt: $5,590 million; net debt to underlying EBITDA: 1.8x, or 0.5x on a lease-adjusted basis | FY2025 capex excluding leases: R38.471 billion, with 17.0% capex intensity; year-end net debt to EBITDA: 0.3x. H1 2026 capex excluding leases: R19.7 billion; net debt to EBITDA: 0.3x |
| Dividend announced | Recommended total FY2026 dividend: 7.1 US cents per share, up 9.2% year on year | FY2025 ordinary dividend: 500 South African cents per share, up 45%. No interim dividend was declared for H1 2026 |
The companies define some measures differently, and Airtel’s full-year figures do not line up in time with MTN’s latest half-year figures. The table is a starting point for questions, not a league table: margins, debt ratios and dividend amounts should not be ranked without checking their definitions, periods and currencies.
How should you compare their growth?
Separate reported growth from constant-currency growth
Airtel Africa said its FY2026 reported revenue growth was higher than constant-currency growth because currencies appreciated in most of its markets. It also reported $127 million of derivative and foreign-exchange gains within FY2026 finance costs, largely due to naira appreciation, after $179 million of derivative and foreign-exchange losses in the prior period. When reviewing earnings growth, distinguish underlying trading from currency translation and gains or losses; a headline profit change can reflect all three.
MTN’s FY2025 service-revenue growth was 22.9% reported and 22.7% constant currency, while H1 2026 growth was 9.7% reported and 17.5% constant currency. Differences between these measures are a reminder to check the reporting basis and period before interpreting a slowdown or acceleration. Constant-currency figures aid operating comparisons, but exchange rates still affect the value of revenue, earnings and dividends to an investor converting proceeds into another currency.
Look at country exposure, not just the regional label
Country performance within a group can diverge sharply. MTN reported FY2025 service-revenue growth of 50.5% in Nigeria and 62.4% in Ghana, compared with 2.0% in South Africa. These are reported growth rates, not a guarantee that those markets will continue to contribute at the same pace. Consider each company’s country mix alongside local currency movements, inflation, regulation and operating conditions rather than treating “Africa” as one market.
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Airtel Africa’s FY2026 reporting also describes mobile-money transaction levies introduced or changed during 2025/26 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and Zambia. This illustrates jurisdiction-specific regulatory exposure; it should not be read as a rule applying to every Airtel market or to MTN.
What do data and mobile money add to the comparison?
Assess data growth alongside network capacity
Airtel Africa reported that mobile-services revenue grew 22.6% in constant currency in FY2026 and that mobile-services customers increased 10.5% to 183.5 million. Data traffic grew 48.5%; 4G coverage reached 75.6% of the population, and 5G was operational in six markets. The combination gives investors more context than data-revenue growth alone: traffic and customer growth can help explain demand, while network coverage and investment indicate the capacity being built to serve it.
MTN reported H1 2026 constant-currency data-revenue growth of 29.2%. Compare the trend over multiple reporting periods and check how each company describes its customer base, traffic and coverage; the figures available here do not establish a like-for-like network-quality comparison.
Do not equate mobile-money and fintech metrics
In FY2026, Airtel Money generated $1,355 million in reported revenue, up 28.4% in constant currency. Airtel reported 54.1 million customers and $195.9 billion in total processed value for the year; Q4 annualized processed value exceeded $215 billion. Its mobile-money underlying EBITDA margin was 50.8%, down 196 basis points in reported currency. Airtel said revised intra-group agreements affected segment presentation but not consolidated group revenue, EBITDA or growth outlook.
For H1 2026, MTN reported 70.8 million MoMo monthly active users, up 12.1%, and fintech transaction value of US$330.5 billion, up 33.8%. It reported fintech revenue growth of 13.3% in constant currency. Airtel’s reported customer count and annual processed value are not directly equivalent to MTN’s monthly active users and half-year transaction value: the definitions and measurement periods differ. Before comparing monetization or engagement, read each company’s definitions and notes, and compare like with like where the disclosures allow.
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Set investment against the cash it may need
Airtel Africa invested $884 million in capex in FY2026 and guided to approximately $1.1 billion for FY2026/27. The guidance is a company expectation, not a guaranteed outturn. The company reported net cash generated from operations of $3,195 million and said it added more than 3,250 sites and around 3,200 km of fibre in FY2026. Investors can assess whether planned spending appears supportable by cash generation while also considering the need to maintain and expand networks.
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MTN’s capex excluding leases was R38.471 billion in FY2025, equal to 17.0% capex intensity; its H1 2026 capex excluding leases was R19.7 billion. These figures use rand and different time periods from Airtel’s dollar figures, so a direct ranking would require aligned periods and a consistent treatment of leases.
Check leverage definitions before comparing ratios
Airtel Africa reported FY2026 net debt of $5,590 million and leverage of 1.8x net debt to underlying EBITDA; on a lease-adjusted basis, leverage was 0.5x. MTN reported net debt-to-EBITDA of 0.3x at FY2025 year-end and again for H1 2026. The ratios should not be treated as directly comparable without checking the companies’ debt and EBITDA definitions, lease treatment and measurement dates. Also consider the cash required for capex, interest and shareholder distributions, not just a single leverage ratio.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you assess dividends?
Airtel Africa describes a progressive dividend policy and recommended 7.1 US cents per share for FY2026, a 9.2% year-on-year increase. MTN declared an ordinary dividend of 500 South African cents per share for FY2025, up 45%, and declared no interim dividend for H1 2026. The figures relate to different periods and currencies, so comparing the per-share amounts directly would be misleading.
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For an investment decision, check the current share price and the applicable exchange rate to calculate yield, then assess payout capacity against sustainable cash flow, capital spending, debt and the company’s stated policy. Dividend growth on its own does not establish either a higher yield or a safer future payout.
What should you check before deciding which stock is better value?
- Align the dates. Compare the same number of months where possible, or clearly separate full-year results from half-year results. Avoid projecting a single interim period into a full-year forecast without a reasoned estimate.
- Read the definitions. Check what each issuer includes in service revenue, underlying EBITDA, EBITDA before once-off items, net debt and customer or transaction measures. Treat adjusted HEPS and reported HEPS as distinct earnings measures.
- Build a current, same-date valuation comparison. Gather each listing’s share price and share count, then calculate market capitalization. To compare enterprise value, incorporate net debt using consistent definitions. Compare relevant valuation measures such as price-to-earnings, enterprise value to EBITDA, and free-cash-flow yield only after aligning the earnings or cash-flow period and accounting basis.
- Reconcile currency and listing details. Confirm which share class and exchange listing you are evaluating, the currency in which it trades, and the currency of the financial figures. Account for conversion when comparing market value, dividends or returns in your own currency.
- Test cash-flow and dividend capacity. Compare operating cash generation with capex, lease obligations, interest and distributions. Establish whether a dividend is covered by cash generation over time rather than relying on its most recent increase.
No synchronized share prices, market capitalizations, enterprise values or valuation multiples are established by the reported operating results above. They therefore do not support a conclusion that Airtel Africa or MTN is cheaper today. A valuation judgment requires current market data and a consistent set of financial measures.
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