Jio Platforms listed at Rs 1,358 a share on the NSE and the BSE on Wednesday, a premium of 21.36 percent to its issue price of Rs 1,119. At that price the telecom arm of Reliance Industries is worth Rs 12.5 lakh crore, or about $131.5 billion, making it India’s second most valuable listed company.
Only parent Reliance Industries ranks higher, at Rs 16.15 trillion, with Bharti Airtel slipping to third at Rs 12.18 trillion, per BSE data. A business that began commercial services in September 2016 under the Jio brand with no customers and no revenue is now the country’s most valuable telecom operator.
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Jio IPO Subscribed 22.19 Times Ahead Of Listing
The Largest Share Sale India Has Ever Seen
The issue raised Rs 30,213 crore at the top of its Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119 band, ahead of Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,858.75 crore sale in 2024 and about 47 percent larger than LIC’s Rs 20,557 crore offering. Unlike both, it was a fresh issue of up to 27 crore shares, so the proceeds reach the company rather than selling shareholders.
Bids came in at 22.19 times the shares on offer, with total demand across the public issue and the anchor placement above Rs 7.4 lakh crore from about 1.39 crore applications. Managing director Akash Ambani said the book was fully covered within 95 minutes, and the anchor leg drew Rs 8,110 crore from 212 investors.
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Where The Rs 30,213 Crore Will Go
Part of the fresh issue will repay borrowings at Reliance Jio Infocomm, with the rest earmarked for general corporate purposes. The deleveraging is already under way: net leverage fell from 0.88 times in FY24 to 0.36 times in FY26, and cash left after capital expenditure rose from Rs 1,449 crore to Rs 42,071 crore.
The Numbers Behind The Valuation
Revenue from operations climbed from Rs 1.10 lakh crore in FY24 to Rs 1.47 lakh crore in FY26, and profit after tax from Rs 21,423 crore to Rs 30,049 crore. Average revenue per user rose from Rs 181.7 to Rs 214 and monthly data use from 28.7 GB to 42.3 GB, so growth now comes from monetising a base that is already built.
In the June 2026 quarter, revenue was Rs 39,173 crore, up 11.8 percent, with EBIT of Rs 13,407 crore and a 34.2 percent margin. Bharti Airtel’s India business reported Rs 37,389 crore of revenue and a 31.8 percent margin. Jio ended June with 533.3 million subscribers against Airtel India’s 491.9 million, while a fixed broadband base of 27.1 million gives it 42.6 percent of that market.
Why This Debut Broke The Pattern
India’s biggest share sales have a poor record on debut. The four this decade that raised at least $2 billion fell a weighted average 9.9 percent on day one, and all five of the largest previous IPOs now trade below their offer price. Jio broke that run on a weak day: the Sensex fell up to 995 points intraday and Reliance Industries itself slipped about 2 percent.
The Analyst Math And The Risk
Two fresh buy calls frame the debate. Nomura began coverage with a Rs 1,340 target and Motilal Oswal with Rs 1,350, both measured from the Rs 1,119 issue price. At Rs 1,358 the stock has already passed both. The editorial read is that listing day consumed close to a year of the upside brokers were underwriting at the offer.
What remains depends on tariffs. Nomura puts Jio at 10.9 times one year forward EV/EBITDA against 9.2 times for Airtel’s India business, and argues that with easy subscriber gains ending, tariff repair becomes the main growth driver. Motilal Oswal has assumed a 15 percent hike in December 2026. An ARPU of Rs 214 leaves room, though every increase cedes some share to rivals.
What To Watch Next
Home broadband is the second engine the street counts on, and network technology sold to overseas operators is the third. Jio had filed 6,817 patent applications with 1,009 granted globally by March 2026. Commercial proof of either would justify a multiple that a pure telecom operator would not command.
Nearer term, traders will watch whether the premium holds through the week, since listing gains in large Indian issues tend to fade once the float is absorbed. Longer-horizon investors should read the September quarter, due with Reliance Industries’ results, for evidence that deleveraging and broadband growth are moving together.
