Based on DRHP filing data, Jio Platforms’ IPO has been priced at a premium compared to other listed companies. The biggest reason for this is the company’s market leadership and large-scale operations in telecom and digital services. Additionally, despite being small in terms of annual revenue and profits, Jio’s valuation premium is much higher than its global peers. The reason for this is its different types of offers, which are completely based on 4G and 5G networks and its own digital platform. At the same time, global giants are old utility providers with old 2G and 3G infrastructure.
The math of valuation is like this
Jio Platforms plans to issue 270 million new equity shares, taking the total paid-up equity to 9.21 billion shares. With an estimated market capitalization of over Rs 12-14 lakh crore, the company is expected to raise Rs 42,000 crore or more than Rs 4 billion from the primary market. This means the price-earnings (P/E) multiple will be between 40 and 46, while its enterprise value (EV) will be 16-19 times its operating profits before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). In comparison, Bharti Airtel’s P/E is 43.6 and EV/Ebitda is 10.8.
Mathematics of top global telecom companies
Top global telecom giants by market capitalization, such as T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, trade at P/E multiples between 10 and 17, while their EV/EBITDA ranges between 7 and 11. In terms of revenue, these companies are six-nine times bigger than Jio Platforms. Between FY 2024 and FY 2026, Jio Platforms’ revenue from operations is expected to grow 16 per cent annually to Rs 1.5 lakh crore, while net profit is expected to grow 18.4 per cent to Rs 30,049 crore.
Company’s net profit
During this period, EBITDA margin remained in the limited range of 50-52 percent. For Bharti Airtel, revenue grew 19 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.1 lakh crore, while net profit jumped four times to Rs 33,823 crore. Bharti’s operating margin increased from 52 percent in FY 2024 to 57 percent in FY 2026. Bharti’s net debt to EBITDA was 1.4 times, while return on capital used was 19 percent. In comparison, these figures for Jio Platforms were 0.4 times and 10.8 percent respectively.
How many users are there in Jio?
On the operating front, the scope of Jio Platforms was large. At the end of FY 2026, its customer base was 524.4 million, while the number of customers of Bharti’s Indian business was 482.4 million. Additionally, Jio handled 241.4 billion gigabytes (GB) of data traffic, more than double Bharti’s 101.3 billion GB. However, Bharti’s average revenue per user (ARPU) was Rs 257, which was higher than Jio Platforms’ Rs 214.
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