Nearly ten years after it shook up India’s telecom market with cheap data and nationwide disruption, Reliance Jio is preparing for its next big act, a public listing that could be the largest in the country’s history.
At Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting last Friday, chairman Mukesh Ambani confirmed that Jio is making arrangements to file for an IPO, with a listing targeted in the first half of 2026. Market experts believe the offering could value the company at up to $154 billion (₹13.5 lakh crore), eclipsing all previous Indian public offers. Even a modest 5% stake sale could bring in between ₹58,000 crore and ₹67,500 crore, comfortably more than double Hyundai Motor India’s record ₹27,870 crore issue last year.
Analysts Bullish on Valuations
Global brokerage Goldman Sachs pegged Jio’s enterprise value at $154 billion in a “bull case” scenario, while Jefferies sees it at $146 billion, and Macquarie and Emkay put the figure between $121 billion and $123 billion. Most estimates cluster in the $134–146 billion range, which would place Jio among India’s top five listed firms by market capitalisation and ahead of rival Bharti Airtel, worth ₹10.77 lakh crore as of Friday’s closing price.
Ambani too sounded optimistic over the value creation that Jio’s listing could reward investors with. “I am sure that it will be a very attractive opportunity for all investors. Jio has the potential to create value on par with its global counterparts,” he said.
A Giant in Numbers
Jio has grown into the world’s second-largest telecom operator after China Mobile, with a subscriber base exceeding 500 million. The business contributes roughly 85% of Jio Platforms’ revenue. In the first quarter of FY26, Jio Platforms posted a net profit of ₹7,110 crore, up nearly 25% year on year, on a revenue base of ₹41,054 crore. Operating margins expanded as both customer additions and average revenue per user improved.
Currently, Reliance Industries holds a 66.3% stake in Jio Platforms. The rest is owned by global investors including Meta (10%), Google (7.7%) and a kitty of private equity backers who pumped in more than $20 billion in 2020 when Jio was valued at just $58 billion. For these investors, the IPO offers an exit route, though some are said to be frustrated by Reliance’s plan to list only a small slice of the company, reports by Bloomberg suggested.
Too Big to Fit In
India’s listing norms require at least 25% public shareholding, but Reliance has reportedly begun informal discussions with Sebi to seek approval for a smaller float, the Bloomberg report stated. The conglomerate stated that the domestic market lacks the depth to absorb a multi-lakh-crore issue in one go. A reduced float, however, may disappoint early backers hoping to cash out more fully.
If the numbers hold, the Jio IPO would dwarf landmark listings such as LIC’s ₹21,000 crore issue in 2022, Paytm’s ₹18,300 crore in 2021, and Coal India’s ₹15,199 crore in 2010. It would also represent a massive value-unlocking for Reliance Industries, currently India’s most valuable company with a market capitalisation of ₹18.36 lakh crore.
