Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital services arm of Reliance Industries (RIL), opens its IPO on October 21. The issue closes on October 23, and the price band is ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 per share. It is a fresh issue of up to 270 million shares, worth up to ₹30,213 crore at the top of the band. Nothing is being sold by existing shareholders. It is also a business that depends heavily on its parent.
Jio is a technology platform with connectivity as its base layer. Almost all revenue still comes from one subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL). In FY26 RJIL contributed 87.74% of consolidated revenue, 94.88% of EBITDA and 93.76% of profit.
In Q1FY27, Jio had 533.3 million customers, of whom 284.9 million were on 5G. It had 28.6 million fixed broadband customers, including 14.0 million on its wireless-based JioAirFiber. The company holds 26,800.8 MHz of spectrum and 360,537 towers. It reports 7,220 patent applications and a technology workforce of 12,477, about 45% of staff.
Market share figures come from a report by Analysys Mason that Jio commissioned and paid for.
| Segment (June 30, 2026) | Jio's share |
|---|---|
| Wireless broadband | 49.78% (Airtel 35.47%, Vodafone Idea 12.51%) |
| Overall fixed broadband | 43.32% |
| 5G/UBR fixed wireless | 78.62% |
| Share of fixed broadband net additions, Q1FY27 | 61.73% |
The report also credits Jio with about 60% of India's wireless data traffic in FY26 and about 1.4 times the 4G and 5G subscribers of the second-largest player. India's fixed broadband penetration is about 21% and is expected to reach about 46% by FY31. That is the main growth pitch.
| Particulars (₹ crore) | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 1,09,558 | 1,28,218 | 1,46,885 |
| EBITDA | 54,959 | 64,170 | 76,255 |
| Profit after tax | 21,423 | 26,109 | 30,049 |
| EBITDA margin | 50.16% | 50.05% | 51.91% |
| EBITDA less cash capex | 1,449 | 19,902 | 42,071 |
| ARPU, exit quarter (₹/month) | 181.7 | 206.2 | 214.0 |
Revenue and EBITDA grew at annual rates of 15.79% and 17.79% between FY24 and FY26. The sharpest change is in EBITDA less cash capex, which rose from ₹1,449 crore to ₹42,071 crore as the 5G build-out spending tapered. In the June 2026 quarter, revenue rose 11.82% to ₹39,173 crore and profit rose to ₹7,764 crore.
ARPU, the average revenue per user, has risen on higher data use, more 5G and broadband customers, and an industry-wide tariff increase. It rose only ₹1.6 in the latest quarter, from ₹214 to ₹215.6, with no tariff change in that period to lift it.
The RHP's own peer set is just Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Both are shown on FY26 numbers.
| Jio (at floor / cap) | Airtel | Vodafone Idea | |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 31.7x / 33.3x | 40.71x | 3.99x |
| Return on average net worth | 9.42% | 20.32% | not meaningful |
| NAV per share (₹) | 373.66 | 244.60 | (3.30) |
| EBITDA margin | 51.91% | 57.48% | 42.35% |
At the band, Jio's market value after the issue works out to roughly ₹9.8 to ₹10.3 lakh crore, and it trades at about 2.9 to 3.0 times book value. The RHP's "industry average" P/E of 22.35x is dragged down by Vodafone Idea, whose FY26 profit includes ₹58,607 crore of exceptional items. The RHP itself notes that excluding those, the average would equal Airtel's 40.71x.
Jio looks cheaper than Airtel on earnings and book value. It also earns a lower return on equity (9.42% against 20.32%) and a lower return on capital employed (10.76% against Airtel's 19.0%). So part of the discount reflects weaker returns. The RHP warns that peer KPIs are defined differently and shouldn't be treated as directly comparable.
Most of the net proceeds, up to ₹27,500 crore, will prepay borrowings of RJIL. These are external commercial borrowings with interest rates of 1.40% to 5.13% a year. That leaves very little for general corporate purposes, which is capped at 25% of gross proceeds. Investors should note that the loans' lenders include HDFC Bank, one of the 19 lead managers, plus affiliates of BofA, BNP Paribas and SBI Capital Markets.
Jio says net leverage fell from 0.88x in FY24 to 0.36x in FY26. The RHP states that this measure excludes deferred payment liabilities (mainly for spectrum) of ₹1,04,514 crore and lease liabilities of ₹12,168 crore as of June 30, 2026. Airtel and Vodafone Idea's ratios include deferred payments, so the figures aren't comparable.
Reliance dependence. Reliance Retail is the sole distributor of Jio's prepaid plans, which made up 77.08% of FY26 revenue. Revenue received in advance from Reliance Retail was ₹1,12,935 crore in FY26. RIL also provides project execution, data centres and business support under long-term agreements. The "Jio" trademark is owned by RIL and can be withdrawn if RIL loses management control.
Earnings quality. Jio paid only ₹118 crore in current tax in FY26 against ₹10,182 crore of deferred tax, because it is setting off earlier losses and depreciation. The company also lengthened the useful life of certain network assets from 16 to 18 years from April 2025. Without that change, FY26 pre-tax profit would have been ₹1,841 crore lower. Finance costs rose 76.42% in FY26, and lease expense more than doubled as it rolled out fixed wireless broadband.
Regulatory and legal. Jio pays a licence fee of 8% of adjusted gross revenue, and its unified licence runs to October 2033. A ₹1,389 crore demand over shared-spectrum charges was quashed by the telecom tribunal, but the Supreme Court has issued notice on the government's appeal without a stay. No material litigation is pending against Jio Platforms itself, though cases are open against subsidiaries, RIL and some directors. Contingent liabilities are ₹1,469 crore, or 0.43% of net worth as of June 30, 2026.
Disclosure. The RHP gives average remaining spectrum life as 15.8 years in one section and 16.0 years in another.
RIL holds 66.43% before the issue, and Jaadhu Holdings LLC- an affiliate of Meta Platforms, Inc. at (9.98%) and Google International LLC (7.73%) are the next largest holders. The remaining holders each own between 0.93% and 2.31%. Assuming the issue is fully subscribed and no employee options are exercised, RIL would hold about 64.5% afterwards. Meta and Google's 2020 entry price of ₹488.34 per share compares with a floor price of ₹1,065. RJIL however, has never paid a dividend.
Investors are being asked to pay about 33 times earnings for the market leader in Indian telecom. The company is expanding margins, cutting capex and growing fast in home broadband. But its returns on capital trail Airtel's, its profits are heavily tax-shielded, and its distribution and many key services run through the promoter. How much weight to put on each of those is for investors to decide.
Disclaimer: This AI-generated analysis, based on RHP/DRHP information, is for informational purposes only. Investors should conduct due diligence and consult financial advisors before making investment decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investments carry inherent risks including potential loss of principal.
