Jio IPO: 5 strengths that put the Reliance-backed digital giant in spotlight

Reliance Jio Platforms has filed its red herring prospectus (RHP), bringing its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) a step closer. The company has fixed the price band at Rs 1,065-1,119 per share, valuing the IPO size at around Rs 30,213 crore at the upper end of the price band.

With the issue set to open for subscription on October 21, attention is turning to the strengths underpinning the Reliance-backed digital giant's business, from its scale and profitability to its extensive network infrastructure, proprietary technology, broadband growth opportunities and expanding digital ecosystem.

Here are 5 key strengths highlighted in the company's prospectus

1. Strong revenue growth and profitability

Jio Platforms has reported revenue growth and profitability within a decade of the launch of Reliance Jio Infocomm's digital connectivity services in 2016.

The company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,46,885.3 crore in fiscal 2026, while EBITDA stood at Rs 76,255.4 crore. Its EBITDA margin was 51.91% for the year.

For the three months ended June 30, 2026, revenue from operations stood at Rs 39,172.9 crore, while EBITDA was Rs 20,864.5 crore, translating into an EBITDA margin of 53.26%.

Profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 30,049.1 crore in fiscal 2026, with a PAT margin of 20.46%. For the June quarter, PAT was Rs 7,764.1 crore, with a margin of 19.82%.

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The RHP shows that revenue from operations and EBITDA grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.79% and 17.79%, respectively, between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2026. Between the June quarters of 2025 and 2026, revenue from operations rose 11.82%, while EBITDA increased 15.05%.

Jio Platforms also reported an improvement in its leverage position, with net leverage declining from 0.88 times in fiscal 2024 to 0.36 times in fiscal 2026.

The company attributes its growth to factors including the migration of users from 2G to 4G and 5G networks, cross-selling digital services to its existing customer base, rising broadband adoption and the increasing use of digital platforms by Indian enterprises.

2. A large customer base and extensive network infrastructure

Jio's nationwide network and customer reach form another key strength outlined in the RHP.

As of June 30, 2026, the company had 533.3 million customers, according to its prospectus. It said it added approximately 27 million net active mobility customers, excluding machine-to-machine connections, in fiscal 2026 — around three times the additions recorded by the second-largest player, according to the Analysys Mason report cited in the RHP.

Jio's wireless broadband network covered more than 99% of India's population as of June 30, 2026. Its fixed broadband coverage extended to approximately 98% of the country's pin codes.

The company had access to 360,537 network towers as of June 30, 2026, the majority of which were fibreised. It also had approximately 5.7 million operational radio frequency carrier sectors across its network.

Its fibre network spans more than one million route kilometres, equivalent to over 30 million fibre-pair kilometres, with more than 60% of the network located within cities.

According to the Analysys Mason report cited in the prospectus, around 60% of India's wireless data traffic was carried on Jio's network in fiscal 2026. As of June 30, 2026, Jio also had approximately 1.4 times the number of 4G and 5G subscribers as the second-largest player in India.

The scale of its network and customer base provides the foundation for its mobility business as well as its expansion into fixed broadband and other digital services.

3. In-house technology and a growing intellectual property portfolio

Jio Platforms describes itself as a technology company with vertically integrated, proprietary capabilities spanning network infrastructure, device engineering, software, operating systems and applications.

As of June 30, 2026, the company had 12,477 full-time employees in its digital products and technology development team, accounting for approximately 45% of its overall workforce.

Its technology investments focus on research and development, including 6G research, AI-driven network automation through its proprietary JioBrain platform, cloud-native platform development and new digital services.

The company and its subsidiaries had applied for 7,220 patents in India and overseas as of June 30, 2026. This included 2,655 patent applications in India and 4,565 in foreign jurisdictions, covering areas such as 4G, 5G and 6G technologies, cloud-native core network architectures and AI-driven network automation.

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The RHP also states that Jio was the only Indian company among the world's top 20 companies in the World Intellectual Property Organization's Patent Cooperation Treaty rankings in 2025.

According to the company, developing its technology in-house helps improve operational cost efficiencies and creates opportunities to offer differentiated services to customers. It also sees potential to monetise technology platforms such as cloud-native radio access networks, 5G core systems, operations and business support systems, and fixed wireless access solutions in overseas markets.

4. Broadband expansion offers another growth avenue

Beyond mobile connectivity, Jio Platforms is looking to expand its presence in India's fixed broadband market through JioFiber and JioAirFiber.

As of June 30, 2026, the company had 28.6 million fixed broadband customers across these services, making it India's largest fixed broadband service provider, according to the Analysys Mason report cited in the RHP.

Its fixed broadband customer base increased 55.19% between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026. Between the June quarters of 2025 and 2026, the customer base grew 43%.

Jio captured 61.73% of the market share in net fixed broadband customer additions in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, according to the report. It also held a 78.62% share of the 5G or UBR-based fixed wireless access market during the quarter.

The company sees further room for expansion in a market where fixed broadband penetration remains relatively low. The Analysys Mason report estimates India's fixed broadband penetration at approximately 21% in fiscal 2026 and projects it could rise to around 46% by fiscal 2031, with 150.4 million fixed broadband customers.

JioAirFiber, launched in fiscal 2024, is designed to accelerate adoption in areas where physical fibre infrastructure is limited. Its proprietary ultra-broadband radio technology allows the company to connect households without deploying physical fibre for the last mile, reducing the time and cost involved in connecting new customers.

The company is also integrating entertainment and digital services with broadband offerings. In the three months ended June 30, 2026, it provided 333.6 million monthly OTT and music-streaming subscription offers to customers, integrated with its digital connectivity plans. Its digital TV offering included more than 1,000 channels and 15 OTT services as of June 30, 2026.

5. Digital ecosystem, AI and overseas monetisation opportunities

Jio Platforms' another strength lies in its plans to use its large customer base, proprietary technology and digital services ecosystem to expand monetisation opportunities.

The company provides access to its own and third-party digital services through its nationwide connectivity network and customer-facing platforms. Its strategy includes integrating digital services with connectivity plans, encouraging customers to opt for higher-value plans and generating revenue through subscription and advertising partnerships.

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Jio is also seeking to expand its AI capabilities beyond its own network. Its proprietary JioBrain platform is used for network capacity allocation, fault prediction and resolution, and real-time network optimisation. The company plans to extend these capabilities, along with AI-powered customer services and autonomous network technology, to other telecom operators and enterprise sectors.

The RHP says Jio intends to take its proprietary technology stack into select international markets through partnerships with local operators, managed-services arrangements and, where appropriate, greenfield deployments. Its areas of focus include network upgrades, 5G rollouts and fixed wireless access-led broadband expansion.

The company believes its experience in building and operating large-scale networks in India can support this expansion. However, these overseas and AI-led opportunities remain part of its stated growth strategy.

Disclosure: This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a Sebi-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Gaurav and their ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective Sebi-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here