Jio Platforms shares rally 27% on IPO debut; investors’ wealth swells by ₹2.75 lakh crore as m-cap tops ₹13 lakh crore
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Jio Platforms shares surged 26.81% on their stock market debut on Wednesday, adding around ₹2.75 lakh crore to the company’s market value as its market capitalisation crossed ₹13 lakh crore. The strong listing-day performance lifted the telecom and digital services major into the ranks of India’s most valuable listed companies, ahead of Bharti Airtel.
The Jio Platforms shares closed first day of trading at ₹1,419, up ₹300, or 26.81%, from its initial public offering (IPO) issue price of ₹1,119. It had listed at ₹1,358 on both the BSE and NSE, a premium of 21.36% over the issue price, before extending its gains during the session.
At Wednesday’s closing price, Jio Platforms had a market capitalisation of ₹13.05 lakh crore, compared with ₹10.30 lakh crore at the IPO issue price.
The debut puts Jio Platforms ahead of Bharti Airtel, whose market capitalisation stood at ₹12.16 lakh crore. Bharti Airtel shares settled 1.42% lower on Wednesday. Its parent, Reliance Industries (RIL), remained ahead with a market capitalisation of around ₹15.67 lakh crore. RIL shares ended the session 3.46% lower.
Motilal Oswal initiates coverage with Buy
Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage on Jio Platforms with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹1,350. The brokerage values the company at 11.5 times its estimated FY29 EBITDA, using a discounted cash flow (DCF)-backed valuation.
The brokerage expects Jio Platforms to sustain its leadership in wireless and home broadband, while scaling up digital platforms spanning cloud, enterprise communications, Internet of Things (IoT) and managed services. It projects a compound annual growth rate of 14% in consolidated revenue, 15% in reported EBITDA and 20% in profit after tax between FY26 and FY29.
“We believe JPL could trade at a premium to Bharti’s India business over the near term, driven by its market leadership, greater influence over industry tariffs, and low liquidity (free float of less than 3%),” the brokerage said.
The ₹30,213-crore Jio Platforms IPO surpassed Hyundai Motor India’s ₹27,870-crore offering in 2024 to become India’s largest public issue by size. It also set a new benchmark for investor participation, attracting approximately 1.37 crore applications and becoming the first Indian IPO to cross the one-crore mark. The issue was subscribed 22.19 times by the close of bidding on October 23, with investors bidding for 438.26 crore shares against 19.75 crore shares on offer.