The Jio IPO entered its second day of bidding on October 22, 2026, after institutional investors drove overall first-day subscription to 3.16 times. Retail demand remained below its reserved allocation, while the unofficial grey market premium was around 22%.

Key Takeaways

  • Qualified institutional buyers subscribed 9.42 times their allocation on Day 1, while the retail portion reached 73%.
  • The Rs 30,213 crore offering closes on October 23, with shares scheduled to list on October 28.
  • Brokerages recommended subscribing but highlighted Jio’s continuing reliance on connectivity earnings and the unproven profitability of newer digital services.

Table of Contents

Jio IPO demand shows an institutional lead

The first-day subscription figures showed a marked difference between institutional and retail participation. Qualified institutional buyers booked 9.42 times the 4.90 crore shares reserved for them, while non-institutional investors subscribed 1.68 times their allocation of 3.64 crore shares.

Retail individual investors subscribed 73% of the 8.50 crore shares reserved for their category. Overall subscription stood at 3.16 times against 19.75 crore shares on offer.

Before public bidding, Jio Platforms raised Rs 8,110 crore through an anchor allocation on October 19. Investors in that allocation included LIC, BlackRock and Fidelity.

Fresh capital is earmarked mainly for subsidiary debt

The Rs 30,213 crore IPO consists of 27 crore fresh equity shares, with no offer-for-sale component. Jio plans to use up to Rs 27,500 crore of the net proceeds to repay or prepay borrowings of its subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm.

The price band is Rs 1,065–Rs 1,119 per share. At the upper end, the company is seeking a valuation of approximately Rs 10.3 lakh crore.

Bidding remains open until October 23. Retail applications start at 12 shares and can be made in multiples of 12, putting the minimum investment at Rs 13,428 at the upper price band. Allotment is expected to be finalised on October 26, with a BSE and NSE listing scheduled for October 28.

Grey market premium points to sentiment, not a guaranteed return

Jio shares carried an unofficial grey market premium of about Rs 246 on October 22. Added to the upper offer price of Rs 1,119, that implied an estimated listing price of Rs 1,365, or a potential gain of nearly 22%.

Those quotations are not an exchange price or a commitment on listing value. The grey market operates unofficially, and its premium can change substantially before trading begins.

Brokerages back the offer while identifying earnings risks

Motilal Oswal Wealth Management recommended subscribing for both listing gains and long-term investment. It cited Jio’s telecom leadership, improving earnings, large subscriber base and expanding broadband business. The brokerage also highlighted proprietary 5G technology, more than 7,200 patent applications and investment in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Its caution was that connectivity remains the principal earnings source, while newer digital businesses have yet to prove they can generate substantial profits at scale.

Swastika Investmart also assigned a Subscribe rating, pointing to home broadband adoption, higher average revenue per user and improving cash generation. It put Jio’s valuation at about 33 times FY26 earnings against roughly 41 times for Bharti Airtel, while noting Airtel’s higher average revenue per user and returns on capital.

Canara Bank Securities recommended subscribing for the long term, citing migration from 2G to 4G and 5G, broadband expansion and potential overseas monetisation of Jio’s technology, including its JioBrain AI platform.

Jio reports revenue and profit growth

Jio reported FY26 revenue from operations of Rs 1.46 lakh crore, up from Rs 1.28 lakh crore in FY25. Net profit increased to Rs 30,049 crore from Rs 26,109 crore, while EBITDA rose to Rs 76,255 crore from Rs 64,170 crore.

Average revenue per user increased from Rs 181.7 in FY24 to Rs 214 in FY26 and Rs 215.6 in the June quarter. Reliance Jio Infocomm served 533.3 million customers as of June 30, 2026.

The company is pursuing home broadband, enterprise services, cloud computing and AI as revenue sources beyond its capital-intensive 5G rollout. Management has said it intends to emphasise providing more services rather than relying primarily on tariff increases.

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