Jio Platforms Soar After India's Largest-Ever IPO

By Kimberley Kao

Shares of Jio Platforms jumped in their trading debut after India's largest telecom operator raised over $3 billion in the country's biggest initial public offering.

Shares of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's firm rose 21% to 1,357 rupees in early trading Wednesday, reflecting strong investor appetite. The benchmark Sensex index was down 1.2%

Jio's outperformance defied the volatility in global market sentiment that has led several high-profile companies to delay IPOs and dampened the debuts of others.

Listings momentum in India has remained relatively strong this year, but the post-IPO performances of several blockbuster names have been lackluster.

But none of that seems to have dented Jio's path to market.

The company's "entry into the Indian telecom industry was a seminal event, which changed the rules of the game from [phone call] minutes to [internet access] megabytes, forcing the sector to consolidate," research analysts at Motilal Oswal said in a note.

They initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating, citing cited Jio's market leadership in India's wireless and home broadband markets, rising profitability and a positive outlook for free cash flow generation.

Scaling up its digital platforms, including cloud and international partnerships for its 5G technology, "will offer the next leg of growth beyond the connectivity business," the Motilal Oswal analysts added.

The company's offering was more than 22 times oversubscribed, National Stock Exchange data showed. Institutional investors' bids eclipsed the shares allocated to them by 70 times.

It raised 302.13 billion rupees, equivalent to $3.18 billion, after pricing its shares at the top end of guidance and securing cornerstone investors including the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The IPO valued Jio at around $108 billion.

Jio's offering is the largest ever in India, topping that of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor's India unit in 2024.

Nomura Research also began coverage of Jio with a buy rating. The 5G investment cycle is largely over for Jio, freeing up significant cash flow and improving the balance sheet rapidly, Nomura's analysts said in a note.

Global technology licensing for its proprietary 5G stack is a long-term growth driver, with Jio targeting partnerships across the U.S., South America, East Asia and Africa, they added.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2026 01:37 ET (05:37 GMT)