Jio IPO closes today: 21% grey-market signal meets valuation risks

Jio Platforms’ ₹30,213 crore initial public offering enters its final bidding day on October 23, 2026, with a reported grey-market premium of ₹240 signalling expectations of approximately 21% listing gains. Economic Times Markets describes the Reliance Industries digital subsidiary’s offering as India’s largest public issue and reports that it reached full subscription within 100 minutes of opening on Wednesday.

That premium is an unofficial market indication, not an exchange-traded price or a guarantee of returns. Brokerage recommendations cited in the report lean towards medium- and long-term ownership, with premium valuation, capital expenditure and execution among the risks investors must weigh.

Fresh capital, primarily for debt repayment

The offering comprises 27 crore newly issued shares, with no offer-for-sale component. Existing shareholders are therefore not selling shares through this issue. Jio plans to direct ₹27,500 crore towards repaying or prepaying borrowings, with the remainder allocated to general corporate purposes.

At the upper price-band limit of ₹1,119 a share, the reported valuation is approximately ₹10.3 lakh crore. The issue exceeds Hyundai Motor India’s ₹27,870 crore offering in 2024.

The anchor allocation went to 212 investor accounts and schemes at ₹1,119 per share. Participants included LIC, BlackRock, Fidelity, Singapore’s GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BNP Paribas, Allianz, JPMorgan and Indian mutual funds.

Brokerages favour growth, but valuation matters

Motilal Oswal recommended subscription for both potential listing gains and long-term ownership, identifying broadband, enterprise technology and artificial intelligence as opportunities. It highlighted average revenue per user, tariff increases and the ability to earn revenue from digital services as important measures to track.

Shriram Research’s positive assessment rests on market leadership, earnings growth, falling leverage and home broadband expansion. Geojit also favoured subscription for medium- to long-term investors, but warned that the premium valuation could constrain immediate upside.

Brokerage estimates put Jio at about 33.3 times FY26 earnings, against a reported price-to-earnings multiple of 40.7 times for Bharti Airtel. However, Jio also has lower return on capital employed and average revenue per user, complicating a simple comparison of the two multiples. Systematix identified competition, regulation, capital spending and execution as material risks.

Tariffs and home broadband underpin the investment case

Antique Stock Broking estimated that a 15% tariff increase could add approximately ₹190 per share in value, equivalent to roughly 17% upside. This is a brokerage scenario—not an announced tariff decision or a promised share-price outcome.

Research figures cited in the report put Jio’s average revenue per user at ₹215.6 for the June 2026 quarter and its customer base at 533.3 million. The company reportedly carried approximately 60% of India’s wireless data traffic in FY26.

Jio also had 28.6 million fixed-broadband customers, including JioAirFiber users. Antique estimated that a home connection generates about 2.5 times the average revenue of a mobile user, supporting its view that household connectivity could become a higher-value growth business.

Beyond mobile connectivity

The longer-term brokerage case extends to cloud services, enterprise solutions, entertainment and AI-enabled products. Jio reportedly filed 7,220 patent applications spanning mobile-network technologies, cloud-native networks and AI-driven automation; applications should not be confused with granted patents.

Religare recommended subscription for long-term investors, citing subscriber growth, improving revenue per user, expanding margins and a stronger balance sheet. Antique said technology exports were outside its valuation assumptions and that a first overseas contract for Jio’s proprietary technology could prompt investors to reassess its value.

Reported revenue increased from ₹1,09,558 crore in FY24 to ₹1,46,885 crore in FY26. FY26 EBITDA—earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation—stood at ₹76,255 crore, with a margin of approximately 52% and net leverage of 0.36 times EBITDA.

The brokerage recommendations and valuation scenarios are attributed assessments, not BharatVox investment advice. Neither strong subscription nor an unofficial premium establishes what investors will earn after listing.