Jio shares rise 21.4% in first trading after record $3.2 billion IPO
Key Facts
Jio Platforms shares rose 21.4% on their first day of trading on October 28, after an offering that raised $3.2 billion and drew bids worth $77 billion, according to data reported by Reuters and cited by CNBC. It was India’s largest offering by subscription size, while the stock’s actual market gains exceeded the earlier signal from the grey market. Before the listing, that unregulated market indicated a premium of about 22% to the share price. The first-day rise gives investors an initial indication of market acceptance of the pricing after heavy demand for the offering. But the prospectus warned that the issue price does not determine the share price after listing and does not guarantee active or continuous trading.
Demand was heavily concentrated among institutions: bids from institutional investors exceeded the portion allocated to them by 71 times, and foreign institutional investors accounted for 28% of total bids, according to a Reuters Breakingviews analysis. Jio allocated $854 million worth of shares to anchor investors on October 20, before the public offering opened, Reuters reported. These figures show that interest came from large investors as well as the overall demand of $77 billion. The offering, however, did not include a sale of existing shares; the company offered up to 270 million new shares. This means the shares on offer were issued by the company, while the prospectus warned against treating the issue price as an indication of the subsequent trading price.
Jio’s business base is primarily telecoms: Reliance Jio Infocomm contributed 87.74% of Jio’s consolidated revenue in fiscal 2026 and 87.34% in the three months ended June 30 of the same year, according to the offering prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The company had 533.3 million customers on June 30, 2026, compared with 498.1 million on the same date a year earlier. Average monthly revenue per user also rose to 215.6 rupees in the June 2026 quarter, from 208.8 rupees a year earlier. These indicators show growth in both the customer base and average returns per user during the period. They also highlight that telecoms remains the group’s dominant source of revenue.
In terms of network usage, monthly data consumption per customer rose to 43.7 gigabytes in the June 2026 quarter, from 37.0 gigabytes a year earlier, according to the prospectus. Over the same period, the monthly customer churn rate fell to 1.61% from 1.84%. The figures put rising data usage alongside improved customer retention, as average revenue per user also grew. Jio’s revenue from operations was 1,468,853 million rupees in fiscal 2026, compared with 1,282,184 million in fiscal 2025. Profit after tax rose to 300,491 million rupees from 261,090 million, according to the prospectus.
Revenue from operations grew at a compound annual rate of 15.79% between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2026, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew at a compound annual rate of 17.79%, according to the prospectus. This coincided with net leverage falling to 0.36 times in fiscal 2026, from 0.71 times in 2025 and 0.88 times in 2024. This series presents a picture of revenue and profit growth alongside declining leverage over the period. The telecoms unit’s large weight, however, makes its results central to assessing Jio’s performance, even as the company is presented as part of a broader digital expansion story. Reuters identified risks including competition, capital spending and changes to Indian telecom rules on spectrum, licenses and fees.
The risk of future competition remains part of the company’s assessment: a Reuters Breakingviews analysis said Starlink had been waiting since 2022 for permission to begin commercial services in India and could compete with Jio if it gained market access. The analysis also raised the possibility that financial investors, including investors led by KKR and Silver Lake, could exit after a six-month lock-up period ends. This is a future possibility involving a potential increase in shares available for trading, not an announcement of planned sales. After the stock gained 21.4% on its first day, subsequent trading performance remains tied to the market’s assessment of Jio’s business and sector risks. The offering prospectus had warned that the issue price does not guarantee any particular price or active trading after listing.