Reliance Industries is entering a new phase of growth, one that is increasingly defined by its consumer businesses rather than its traditional oil-to-chemicals operations. According to reports from ET Now, following the company's FY26 AGM announcements, Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOSL) has reiterated its 'Buy' rating with a target price of ₹1,655, highlighting a transformation anchored by telecom, retail and emerging verticals such as AI, FMCG and new energy. The brokerage flagged a shift in earnings drivers, noting that RIL is 'reinventing the O2C business to create secular growth revenue streams,' while simultaneously building out new engines that could power the next decade of expansion. Multiple brokerages including Jefferies and Nomura have maintained bullish ratings with target prices implying up to 28% upside, reinforcing the company's medium-term earnings roadmap rather than materially changing it.
One of the biggest near-term catalysts is the imminent listing of Jio Platforms (JPL), which MOSL believes could unlock substantial value. As reported by ET Now, JPL has filed its DRHP with the IPO comprising a fresh issue of up to 270 million equity shares, with proceeds earmarked largely for debt reduction at Reliance Jio. The telecom and digital services arm is already emerging as the backbone of RIL's earnings profile, with MOSL estimating a significant valuation for the business, stating 'we ascribe an enterprise value of ₹12 trillion (USD 128 billion) to JPL... implying an overall equity value of ₹10.7 trillion.' According to the latest DRHP, the IPO is reportedly targeting a fundraise of around ₹37,700 crore, implying a valuation of nearly ₹9.5 trillion, positioning it among India's largest potential listings. Nomura has pegged Jio's FY26-end net debt at around ₹276 billion and cited media reports suggesting a valuation band of roughly ₹11 trillion to ₹12 trillion for JPL, comparing it favorably with Bharti Airtel's equity valuation of around ₹11.6 trillion.
Jio Platforms demonstrated robust financial performance in FY26, with revenue from operations reaching ₹1.47 trillion and EBITDA of ₹76,255 crore, achieving an impressive EBITDA margin of 51.9%. As reported in the DRHP, revenue and EBITDA grew at a CAGR of 15.8% and 17.8% respectively between FY24 and FY26. In FY26, Jio reported revenue of ₹1,468.9 billion, up 14.6% year-on-year, EBITDA of ₹762.6 billion, up 18.8%, and adjusted profit after tax of ₹300.5 billion, up 15.1%. The company's growth trajectory is supported by multiple structural drivers, including the ongoing migration of over 263.5 million users from 2G to 4G/5G networks, a customer base of 524.4 million, rising broadband adoption and increasing enterprise digitisation. The company also highlighted an improving leverage profile, with net leverage declining to 0.36x in FY26 from 0.88x in FY24.
Parallel to telecom, Reliance Retail is strengthening its position as a dominant consumer platform from a base of over 20,000 stores. According to ET Now, the business is evolving into a fully integrated omnichannel ecosystem, combining physical retail with digital platforms like JioMart and AJio. The company is now moving deeper into manufacturing to gain greater control over its value chain, expanding 'from beverages and daily essentials to fresh produce, apparel, and consumer electronics,' thereby capturing a larger share of margins while reducing dependency on third-party sourcing. Nomura reported that Reliance Retail posted gross revenue of ₹3,700.3 billion in FY26, up 11.8% year-on-year, with EBITDA of ₹270.3 billion, up 7.9%, and profit after tax of ₹138.4 billion, up 12%. The business ended the year with 387 million registered customers, 20,160 stores and 78 million square feet of retail space.
Beyond consumer businesses, RIL's emerging focus areas, particularly new energy and artificial intelligence, are expected to add further depth to its growth profile. According to ET Now, the company is aiming to accelerate commissioning in its energy vertical and begin generating revenues earlier than anticipated. Jefferies expects about 14% EBITDA CAGR in retail over FY26-FY28 and about 9% EBITDA CAGR in O2C over the same period, with base-case target price of ₹1,675 implying 28% upside. Nomura identified the next catalysts after the Jio IPO as revenue contribution from New Energy starting FY27, growth of the AI business with 120 MW capacity by FY26-end, and a potential future listing of the retail business. These forward-looking investments are seen as critical to sustaining long-term earnings growth, with the brokerage noting that RIL is targeting 'to more than double RIL's consolidated EBITDA over the next five years.'
