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Jio had 533.3 million customers as of June 2026, with a 50% share of wireless broadband and 42.6% of fixed broadband, and it has the largest 5G customer base outside China, according to Emkay Global Financial Services. The company carries about 60% of India’s wireless data traffic. Consolidated revenue grew at a compound annual rate of 15.8% between FY24 and FY26, against 13.3% for Bharti Airtel and 2.6% for Vodafone Idea.
Emkay values Jio at 15.6 times FY26 enterprise value to Ebitda and recommends subscribing to the IPO. Centrum values Jio's equity at ₹11.5 trillion, using an enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiple of 12 times estimated FY28 Ebitda. In comparison, Bharti Airtel, which has a business in Africa and counts Indus Towers as a unit, trades at 8.6 times its estimated FY28 Ebitda, according to Bloomberg data.
The IPO comes as Jio seeks to build on its dominance across mobile connectivity, home broadband and digital services, including enterprise and cloud offerings in the world's most-populated nation. The entirely fresh issue, priced at ₹1,065–1,119 a share, opens on Wednesday and closes on Friday. At the upper end of the price band, Jio would command a market capitalization of about ₹10.3 trillion. Of the proceeds, ₹27,500 crore will be used to repay or prepay borrowings at subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm, helping reduce financing costs.
Jio Platforms’ shares commanded a grey market premium of ₹252, or about 22.5% above the upper issue price of ₹1,119, according to InvestorGain, signalling expectations of listing gains.
Jio earns revenue from mobile connectivity, home broadband and digital services, including enterprise and cloud offerings. Telecom remains its financial backbone: Reliance Jio Infocomm contributed about 88% of consolidated revenue and 95% of Ebitda in FY26.
Jio and Airtel's dominant positions give them significant pricing power, while selling additional services to existing users offers further growth opportunities, according to Centrum Broking.
Jio's consolidated revenue grew at a CAGR of 15.8%, from ₹1.10 trillion in FY24 to ₹1.47 trillion in FY26. Its net profit rose at an annual rate of 18.4% over the same period, from ₹21,423 crore to ₹30,049 crore. Ebitda grew at a CAGR of 17.8% to ₹76,255 crore in FY26.
To be sure, customer monetization remains below Airtel's. Jio's monthly average revenue per user (Arpu) was ₹214 in the March 2026 quarter, compared with ₹257.2 for Airtel's India mobile business. A tariff increase could help narrow the gap.
Saikat Kumar, a board member at Red Lions Capital and managing director of brokerage firm DIP Market, sees considerable scope to increase customer spending. At an unchanged base of over 500million customers, a ₹10 increase in monthly ARPU would translate into about ₹6,360 crore in additional annual revenue, before accounting for churn and changes in customer mix, he estimates.
“Jio can narrow the gap, but matching Airtel is a moving target,” Kumar said.
Jio's return on average capital employed fell from 12.83% in FY24 to 10.76% in FY26, while Airtel's reported measure rose from 14.8% to 19%.
Kumar attributed the gap to Jio's large invested-capital base and lower customer monetization. He expects a meaningful improvement around FY28–FY29 if monetization strengthens.
Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers also said the company can increase the ARPU by moving 2G users to 4G and 5G networks and increasing data usage. Expansion in home broadband, enterprise technology and AI-based services can support future growth, especially as fixed broadband penetration is expected to rise from around 21% in FY26 to 46% by FY31,” said Narendra Solanki, Head - Fundamental Research - Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
Tariff increases and broadband expansion could help close these gaps. Pandey expects a tariff increase of about 12% over the next three to four months.
Jio has built the largest 5G customer base outside China within three years of starting its rollout, Akash Ambani said at the press meet on Thursday. The company sees growth opportunities in mobile services, home broadband, enterprise offerings and international services. About 340 million industry-wide 4G and 5G additions are expected during FY26–FY31.
Debt repayment will absorb about 91% of gross IPO proceeds. Meanwhile, cash capital expenditure fell from ₹53,510 crore in FY24 to ₹34,184 crore in FY26, while operating cash flow increased from ₹57,662 crore to ₹77,556 crore,.Including spectrum and lease obligations, net debt stood at about ₹1.46 trillion in FY26, with net debt-to-Ebitda at 1.99 times, down from 3.2 times in FY24. Further deleveraging could improve financial flexibility, according to Emkay.
Kumar, citing Nomura's reported FY28 estimates, values Jio at 10.5–10.9 times EV/Ebitda, against 9.2 times for Airtel's India business—a premium of 14–18%. This comparison covers India telecom, unlike the consolidated capital-return comparison.
“At these multiples, Jio looks fairly priced for growth rather than clearly inexpensive,” Kumar said.
Mayur Bhalerao is a markets reporter at Mint with around 12 years of experience across finance and media. His coverage focuses on Indian equities, IPOs and broader market trends, tracking developments across large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap stocks as well as shifts in investor behaviour among retail investors, mutual funds and foreign portfolio investors.<br><br>Mayur’s reporting emphasises data-driven analysis of market movements, valuations and sectoral trends. He uses shareholding disclosures, financial filings and market data to explain developments on Dalal Street and examine how global events and domestic policy changes—including geopolitical tensions, crude oil prices and regulatory decisions—shape Indian equities and investor sentiment.<br><br>He regularly uses financial databases such as the Bloomberg terminal and Capitaline to produce data-intensive stories, analysing company disclosures, ownership patterns and sectoral trends across both Indian and global markets. He also supports colleagues in the newsroom by providing database-driven insights and market data analysis that help strengthen broader market coverage.<br><br>Before joining Mint, Mayur worked at Informist Media Pvt Ltd., a leading financial newswire, where he developed his expertise in financial journalism in a specialised markets newsroom.
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