Jio IPO valuation expected to outpace Airtel despite lower profits and ARPU

Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom arm, Jio Platforms, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that analysts estimate could value the company between Rs 12-13 lakh crore. If realised, this would place Jio ahead of rival Bharti Airtel, whose market capitalisation stands at around Rs 11.6 lakh crore.

The higher valuation comes despite Jio trailing Airtel in key financial metrics. For the financial year 2025-26, Jio reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 30,053 crore on revenue of Rs 1.47 lakh crore. In comparison, Airtel posted a PAT of Rs 33,823 crore and revenue of Rs 2.11 lakh crore. Additionally, Airtel's average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 257.4 per month was the highest in the industry, while Jio's ARPU stood at Rs 214.

Two primary factors explain Jio's expected premium valuation: a larger domestic subscriber base and a technological edge in 5G infrastructure.

Larger Indian subscriber base

As of March 31, 2026, Jio had 52.4 crore subscribers in India, accounting for nearly 40% of the country's mobile users. Airtel, though operating in 15 countries with a total customer base of 66.6 crore, had only 48.2 crore subscribers in India. Since Airtel derives approximately 75% of its revenue from India, Jio's larger Indian presence provides a competitive advantage. Piyush Pandey, Senior Vice President at Centrum Broking, noted that the product of ARPU and subscriber count favours Jio in the domestic market.

However, some analysts caution that Jio's focus solely on India could limit long-term growth. Mobile subscriber penetration in India reached 90.28% as of April 2026, and industry-wide subscriber growth was only 0.5% year-on-year, indicating a saturated market. In contrast, Airtel's Africa operations are expanding rapidly, offering diversification and future growth opportunities.

5G infrastructure advantage

When transitioning from 4G to 5G, the two companies adopted different strategies. Airtel chose the non-standalone (NSA) route, upgrading existing 4G towers with 5G antennas for a faster rollout but with limited speeds and use cases. Jio opted for the standalone (SA) route, requiring significant capital expenditure of around Rs 2 lakh crore and a longer implementation period. This investment gives Jio superior internet speeds and the ability to serve enterprise clients effectively.

Elara Capital, in a pre-IPO report, highlighted Jio's integrated technology stack as a structural advantage, including its cloud-native 5G SA network, proprietary technologies, and AI-led JioBrain platform, which improve network efficiency and monetisation over its 524 million users.

Investor sentiment

A Balasubramanian, Managing Director at Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company, cited the Reliance Group's reputation for pricing IPOs attractively and Jio's large customer base as reasons for investor interest.

The IPO is expected to be one of the largest in India, and its valuation will depend on how the market weighs these factors against Airtel's stronger financial metrics and global presence.