Jio Platforms IPO Review: Capex Down 36%, EBITDA Up 39% In Two Years – IPO Central

Between FY24 and FY26, Jio’s money capex fell 36.12%, from INR 53,509.60 crore to INR 34,184.30 crore. Over the identical interval, income grew 34.07% and EBITDA grew 38.75%. Spending has eased sharply after the heavy 5G build-out years, and much additional cash is left after capex.

The stress sits one stage under. Profit is rising slower than working revenue: in Q1 FY27, EBITDA rose 15.05%, however web revenue rose solely 9.20%. One subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL), produces about 94% of EBITDA. INR 1.05 lakh crore of spectrum dues sit outdoors the corporate’s personal leverage determine. This Jio Platforms IPO assessment goes by way of the RHP numbers in plain language.

Jio Platforms IPO Details

This is a recent situation solely, so no present shareholder is promoting. The 27 crore new shares are about 3.02% of the prevailing 893.90 crore shares. RIL’s stake of 66.43% would fall to about 64.48% if the difficulty is absolutely subscribed.

Jio Platforms IPO Review: Business Overview

Reliance Jio launched digital connectivity companies in 2016. In ten years it has grown into an organization with 533.30 million prospects, and it now describes itself as a expertise platform with connectivity as the bottom layer. Jio Platforms is a 66.43% subsidiary of Reliance Industries, and nearly all of its operations sit beneath one subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL).

Jio at a Glance (as of 30 June 2026)

How Jio Platforms Earns Money

The enterprise has three layers, and they’re very totally different in measurement.

• Connectivity (the engine): Mobile and residential broadband, run by RJIL. RJIL contributed 87.34% of group income and 93.89% of EBITDA in Q1 FY27. Prepaid plans alone had been 77.08% of FY26 income, and each pay as you go plan is bought by way of Reliance Retail.
• Digital companies (the add-on): Entertainment content material, cloud gaming, cloud computing, IoT and cloud PC, together with enterprise managed companies. The RHP reveals this income on the mum or dad stage rising from INR 7,570.60 crore in FY24 to INR 16,166.70 crore in FY26, which is 11.01% of group income. Most of it reaches prospects bundled inside connectivity plans (333.60 million OTT and music presents a month in Q1 FY27), which helps preserve prospects longer. Jio additionally shares in subscription and promoting income on third-party companies, and has added Google AI Pro and JioHotstar to its plans.
• Business prospects (the smaller guess): Leased strains, MPLS, VPN, managed Wi-Fi, cloud and messaging instruments, bought on contracts. Jio is concentrating on India’s 79 million micro, small and medium enterprises, the place the business report estimates adoption of enterprise digital companies is under 3%.

What “Technology Company” Means Here

Jio constructed its personal 5G core, gadget designs and software program quite than shopping for them. 8,156 of its 12,477 expertise employees work on digital merchandise and the remainder on community engineering. Its 7,220 patent functions embrace 2,655 in India and 4,565 overseas. The JioBharat telephone, priced at INR 799, is geared toward changing 2G customers. JioMind, its AI engine, runs community capability and fault prediction, and 84% of customer support requests in Q1 FY27 had been dealt with by way of self-service or AI-assisted workflows. The firm says proudly owning the stack lowers prices and reliance on distributors.

Scale and Reach

According to the identical report, about 60% of India’s wi-fi information site visitors ran on Jio’s community in FY26. Jio has about 1.40 occasions the 4G and 5G subscribers of the second-largest operator. Its wi-fi community covers over 99% of the inhabitants, and its dwelling broadband reaches about 98% of pin codes. The RHP additionally states that Jio is the one operator in India with low-band, mid-band and millimetre-wave 5G spectrum (700 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz).

Where Growth Is Meant to Come From

• Moving 2G customers up: 261 million Indians are nonetheless on 2G, as of 30 June 2026.
• Home broadband: Fixed broadband reaches solely about 21% of Indian households. The report expects about 46% by FY31, or 150.40 million prospects. Jio’s fastened broadband prospects grew 55.19% between FY25 and FY26, and it took 61.73% of web additions in Q1 FY27.
• Higher income per buyer: The RHP factors to periodic tariff rationalisation and bundled plans with digital companies.
• Overseas: Jio plans to promote its 5G, fastened wi-fi and AI community instruments to different operators by way of partnerships and managed companies. The RHP states that monetisation in worldwide markets has not began.

Right now, connectivity pays nearly all of the payments, and digital companies and abroad gross sales are the half that has to show itself.

Jio Platforms Financial Analysis

Restated consolidated. Q1 EPS shouldn’t be annualised.

Key Takeaway

• Growth: Revenue grew at 15.79% a 12 months (FY24 to FY26) and EBITDA at 17.79%. Q1 FY27 income rose 11.82% 12 months on 12 months.
• Margins: EBITDA margin gained about 1.75 share factors in two years. PAT margin has stayed close to 20%.
• Returns: Return on web value is 9.42% in FY26 as a result of fairness could be very massive (INR 3,44,891.90 crore, together with INR 1,96,515.20 crore of share premium). Return on common capital employed slipped from 12.83% to 10.76% as new spectrum and networks had been added.

Why Profit Grows Slower Than EBITDA

Operating revenue is bettering, however curiosity and different finance prices are consuming into it. EBIT margin rose 3.37 share factors between FY24 and FY26 (29.99% to 33.36%), whereas pre-tax margin rose just one.18 share factors (26.29% to 27.47%). Finance prices greater than doubled in two years, and in Q1 FY27 they had been up about 42% from INR 2,104.80 crore a 12 months earlier.

One extra merchandise flatters FY26. From 1 April 2025, Jio prolonged the assumed lifetime of sure community property from 16 to 18 years. This lowered depreciation and added INR 1,840.50 crore to FY26 pre-tax revenue. Reported pre-tax revenue progress was 14.88%, and it will be about 9.64% with out this modification. It is an accounting estimate, not additional money. Jio and RJIL are on the 22% concessional tax regime, with an efficient charge of about 25.17%.

Jio Platforms IPO Analysis: Capex Cycle–Spending Down, Cash Up

In FY24, nearly each rupee of EBITDA went again into the community. By FY26, INR 42,071.10 crore was left after capex, and working money movement was INR 77,556.30 crore. Quarterly capex will be uneven, since Q1 FY26 was INR 12,048.10 crore, so the Q1 FY27 determine shouldn’t be learn as a brand new run charge.

The firm’s web debt to EBITDA fell from 0.88x in FY24 to 0.71x in FY25 and 0.36x in FY26. On 30 June 2026, web debt was INR 9,539.10 crore (borrowings of INR 61,372.20 crore much less money and marketable securities of INR 51,833.10 crore). The RHP reveals 0.46x for Q1 FY27, however that makes use of non-annualised quarterly EBITDA, so it shouldn’t be in contrast with the annual figures.

Read the leverage quantity with care. The firm’s calculation excludes deferred spectrum funds of INR 1,04,513.70 crore owed to the Department of Telecommunications, payable in annual instalments at 7.20% to eight.65%. Of this, INR 4,962 crore is the present portion. Airtel stories 1.36x by itself definition, and peer definitions usually are not equivalent.

Jio Platforms IPO Growth Drivers: ARPU, Data Use, Churn

• Tariff hike, then restoration: ARPU rose 13.48% in FY25, however web additions dropped to six.40 million from 42.50 million and churn rose to 1.81%. By FY26, additions had been again at 36.20 million and churn eased to 1.67%.
• Heavier utilization: Data per buyer is up 47.39% in two years, and whole site visitors is up 62.56%.
• Room in opposition to Airtel: In Q1 FY27, Airtel’s India cellular ARPU was INR 263.90 in opposition to Jio’s INR 215.60, and its India cellular information use was 34.40 GB in opposition to Jio’s 43.70 GB. Jio’s ARPU covers all RJIL income, together with broadband, so deal with these as indicators, not like-for-like.
• Lower churn: Jio’s churn is 1.61% in opposition to 2.59% for Airtel India cellular, every by itself definition.

Use of IPO Proceeds

About INR 27,500 crore will prepay RJIL’s foreign-currency loans (USD and JPY) beneath three facility agreements, taken primarily to fund 5G capex and spectrum. This is about 92% of the INR 29,917.10 crore excellent on 30 June 2026. The loans carry curiosity of 1.40% to five.13%, mature in 2028, and will be pay as you go with out premium, break price or penalty.

Jio shouldn’t be wanting money. It held INR 51,833.10 crore of money and marketable securities in opposition to INR 61,372.20 crore of borrowings on 30 June 2026. So the difficulty primarily cuts foreign-currency publicity and brings a listed share forex. The remainder of the proceeds go to common company functions, capped at 25% of gross proceeds.

Jio Platforms IPO Peer Comparison

• Airtel’s EBITDA margin is larger, however at EBIT stage Jio is barely forward (33.36% in opposition to 32.28%). Airtel’s figures embrace its Africa enterprise.
• Airtel earns extra on its capital (19% in opposition to 10.76%). That hole is partly Jio’s very massive, newly constructed asset base.
• Vodafone Idea’s FY26 revenue contains distinctive objects of INR 58,607 crore, so its 3.99x P/E shouldn’t be a helpful comparability.

Jio Platforms IPO Review: Risks and Red Flags

• One subsidiary carries the group: RJIL produces 93.89% of EBITDA, and the KPIs primarily describe connectivity.
• Reliance Retail as sole distributor: All pay as you go plans are bought by way of this group firm, and pay as you go made up 77.08% of FY26 income. In FY26 alone, Jio acquired INR 1,12,935.10 crore from Reliance Retail as income acquired prematurely for recharge vouchers bought to it. Moving this channel elsewhere can be an enormous activity.
• Spectrum dues outdoors leverage: INR 1,04,513.70 crore, with INR 99,551.70 crore due after one 12 months.
• Tariff dependence: FY25 confirmed that value rises elevate ARPU however gradual buyer additions. Future hikes could face shopper resistance and regulatory consideration.
• Accounting estimate: The depreciation-life change added INR 1,840.50 crore to FY26 pre-tax revenue.
• Spectrum cost dispute: DoT’s INR 1,389.10 crore demand for a further 0.50% cost on shared spectrum (2016 to 2020) was quashed by TDSAT on 30 May 2025. DoT appealed, and on 16 January 2026 the Supreme Court issued discover with no keep. The additional cost was withdrawn from 1 October 2021, so the publicity pertains to the ancient times.
• Rented spine: 1,74,451 of three,60,537 towers (48.39%) are owned by SDIL, and about 98% of fibre comes from JDFPL, beneath long-term agreements that RJIL has no proper to terminate.
• Group dependence: The Promoter and Reliance Retail collectively had been 3.59% of FY26 income. Reliance Retail’s promoting and distribution prices had been INR 4,355.10 crore (3.98% of whole bills), and the Promoter equipped 11.42% of FY26 money capex and 46.46% (INR 1,944 crore) in Q1 FY27.
• Satellite broadband: Satellite connectivity is flagged within the RHP as a aggressive expertise danger, particularly in areas the place fastened broadband is skinny.

Final Words

Jio Platforms involves market after a number of years of heavy spending. Capex has fallen from 48.84% of income to 23.27%, EBITDA left after capex is INR 42,071.10 crore, and the IPO cash will retire about 92% of RJIL’s foreign-currency loans. The enterprise has absorbed a tariff hike, recovered buyer progress and saved churn at 1.61%.

The open questions are about high quality, not scale. Profit is rising slower than working revenue as a result of finance prices have doubled. The depreciation change helped FY26. Most earnings come from one subsidiary, whose pay as you go plans (77.08% of income) are all bought by way of one group distributor, and the spectrum dues sit outdoors the headline leverage determine. Whether the platform layer turns into a enterprise past Jio’s personal prospects continues to be to be proven.

Disclaimer: Jio Platforms IPO assessment is for informational functions solely, not funding recommendation. Investors ought to seek the advice of a registered adviser earlier than taking an funding resolution.

Rajat Bhati is an engineer by coaching (B.E.) with seven years within the inventory market. He covers fairness analysis, technical evaluation, IPO valuations and danger administration at IPO Central, and maintains the year-wise IPO tables and the ASBA and bidding-rule explainers. His goal is to offer buyers clearer, data-backed choices quite than ideas.