Jio IPO enters final day after 5.57-times subscription

Jio Platforms’ ₹30,213 crore initial public offering entered its third and final bidding day on October 23, 2026, after recording overall subscription of 5.57 times by the end of Day 2, according to Economic Times Markets. The offer has a price band of ₹1,065–1,119 a share, implying a valuation of approximately ₹10.3 lakh crore at the upper end.

Qualified institutional buyers led demand, subscribing 13.29 times their reserved portion. Non-institutional investors subscribed 5.97 times, while the retail category recorded 1.54-times subscription. These figures reflect the reported Day 2 position, not final-day bidding or a live subscription feed.

Issue terms and planned use of funds

The offering comprises 27 crore fresh equity shares, with no offer-for-sale component. Jio plans to use up to ₹27,500 crore of the net proceeds to repay or prepay borrowings of its subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm. Debt reduction, rather than a sale of existing shareholders’ stakes, is therefore central to the transaction.

Retail applications start at 12 shares and must be made in multiples of that number. At the upper price band, the minimum application amounts to ₹13,428.

Ahead of public bidding, the company raised ₹8,110 crore through an anchor allocation on October 19. Participants included LIC, BlackRock and Fidelity. The basis of allotment is expected on October 26, with listing on the BSE and NSE scheduled for October 28.

Grey market premium is not a listing guarantee

The reported grey market premium was approximately ₹245 a share, or around 22% above the upper offer price. This points to favourable sentiment in unofficial trading, but does not establish the price at which the shares will debut on an exchange.

Grey market premiums can change substantially before listing. They should be distinguished from exchange-traded prices and from any assurance of investment returns.

Brokerages favour the offer, with qualifications

Motilal Oswal Wealth Management recommended subscribing for both potential listing gains and long-term investment. Its case rests on Jio’s telecom leadership, improving earnings, large customer base and expanding broadband business. The brokerage cited roughly 533 million subscribers as of June 2026 and a share of approximately 60% of India’s wireless data traffic.

It also highlighted proprietary 5G technology, more than 7,200 patent applications and investment in cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Its principal caution was that connectivity remains the main earnings engine: newer digital services have not yet demonstrated substantial profitability at scale.

Swastika Investmart also assigned a subscribe rating, expecting home broadband adoption, higher average revenue per user and stronger cash generation to support growth. It cited a valuation of about 33 times FY26 earnings, against roughly 41 times for Bharti Airtel, while acknowledging that Airtel has higher average revenue per user and returns on capital. Those differences limit a simple comparison of earnings multiples.

Canara Bank Securities recommended subscribing with a long-term horizon. It pointed to migration from 2G to 4G and 5G, home broadband growth and potential overseas monetisation of Jio’s technology. Its assessment identified the company’s 5G network, broadband solutions and JioBrain AI platform as possible future revenue sources.

Earnings rise; digital expansion remains a growth proposition

The reported financial figures show revenue from operations increasing to ₹1.46 lakh crore in FY26 from ₹1.28 lakh crore in FY25. Net profit rose to ₹30,049 crore from ₹26,109 crore, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased to ₹76,255 crore from ₹64,170 crore.

Average revenue per user increased from ₹181.7 in FY24 to ₹214 in FY26 and ₹215.6 in the June quarter. Management’s stated emphasis is on providing more services rather than relying primarily on tariff increases.

Beyond mobile connectivity, Jio is pursuing home broadband, enterprise services, cloud computing and AI. The brokerage assessments treat these businesses as growth opportunities, not as established replacements for telecom earnings. The recommendations are those of the named brokerages, not an investment recommendation from BharatVox.