IPO Reviews / Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms Limited

Jio Platforms: reading EBITDA less cash capex, a KPI the company chose to report.

If capital spending shapes your story, pick a KPI that shows cash after investment, define it, and report it every period.

Platform
BSE and NSE
Status
Listed 28 October 2026
fresh issue, no offer for sale
Rs 30,187.60 crore

The business in brief

Jio Platforms Limited is the holding company for the Reliance group's digital businesses. Its red herring prospectus describes consumer offerings (mobile 4G and 5G, JioFiber and JioAirFiber home broadband, entertainment, cloud, smart home and AI products) and business offerings (enterprise connectivity, IoT, cloud and security, managed services and enterprise AI). The company reports as a single operating segment (one business line for accounting), and digital connectivity makes up substantially all of its revenue. Its material subsidiary (a subsidiary large enough to matter to the group), Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), served 53.33 crore customers as of 30 June 2026, of whom 28.49 crore were on 5G, and had 2.86 crore home broadband customers.

In FY26 the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,46,885 crore and profit after tax of Rs 30,049 crore, with an EBITDA margin (operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, as a share of revenue) of 51.91%. RJIL contributed 87.74% of FY26 revenue, 94.88% of EBITDA and 93.76% of profit after tax. Before the issue, Reliance Industries Limited, the promoter, held 66.43% of the equity. Jaadhu Holdings, LLC (an affiliate of Meta Platforms) held 9.98% and Google International LLC held 7.73%.

The IPO was a fresh issue only, with no offer for sale (no existing shareholder sold shares). The aggregate issue amount stated on the cover of the Prospectus dated 24 October 2026 was Rs 30,187.60 crore, subject to finalisation of the basis of allotment, including a reservation of Rs 500 crore for eligible employees and Rs 2,500 crore for eligible shareholders of Reliance Industries. The net proceeds (money left after issue expenses) were to be used to prepay, in full or in part, certain borrowings of RJIL, and for general corporate purposes (money not tied to a named use). The issue was open from 21 to 23 October 2026, and the shares were listed on BSE and NSE on 28 October 2026, with NSE as the designated stock exchange (the exchange that oversees the allotment process).

Three years and a recent quarter in numbers

Rs crore unless statedFY24FY25FY26Apr-Jun 2026
Revenue from operations (Rs crore)1,09,5581,28,2181,46,88539,173
EBITDA margin50.16%50.05%51.91%53.26%
Profit after tax (Rs crore)21,42326,10930,0497,764
Net cash from operating activities (Rs crore)57,66268,15677,55623,446
Operating cash flow as % of EBITDA104.9%106.2%101.7%112.4%
EBITDA less cash capex (Rs crore)1,44919,90242,07116,681
Total borrowings at period end (Rs crore)54,34973,06070,78161,372
Share of revenue through RRL, the sole prepaid distributor79.35%78.57%77.08%76.37%

Restated consolidated figures and key performance indicators as stated in the abridged prospectus accompanying the Red Herring Prospectus dated 14 October 2026, converted from Rs million to Rs crore. Operating cash flow as % of EBITDA is our arithmetic. EBITDA less cash capex is the company's own KPI (EBITDA minus cash spent on property, plant and equipment, spectrum and other intangibles, less disposal proceeds). Apr-Jun 2026 is a stub period of three months and is not annualised.

The deeper read

What most readers miss.

  1. 01

    A chosen KPI: EBITDA less cash capex

    The document chose "EBITDA less cash capex" as a KPI, and it moved from Rs 1,449 crore in FY24 to Rs 19,902 crore in FY25 and Rs 42,071 crore in FY26. Working back (EBITDA minus this KPI, on our arithmetic), cash capex (cash spent on equipment, spectrum and other long-term assets) was about Rs 53,510 crore, Rs 44,268 crore and Rs 34,184 crore, which is 48.8%, 34.5% and 23.3% of revenue.

    How an investor reads it. An investor reads the capex share of revenue over several years to separate build-out spending from maintenance spending, and asks how much is needed just to maintain the network.

    In your company: if you have just finished a plant or capacity expansion, report EBITDA less capex for each year with a written definition, so the reader can see how much of each year's spending was for growth.

  2. 02

    Operating cash flow above EBITDA every period

    On our arithmetic, net cash from operating activities was 104.9%, 106.2% and 101.7% of EBITDA in FY24, FY25 and FY26, and 112.4% in April to June 2026 (for example Rs 77,556 crore against EBITDA of Rs 76,255 crore in FY26). Financing cash flow was a small inflow in FY24 and FY25 (Rs 379 crore and Rs 1,093 crore) and turned to an outflow of Rs 25,419 crore in FY26.

    How an investor reads it. An investor reads operating cash flow against EBITDA to see whether profit is being held up in receivables or inventory, and reads financing cash flow to see when debt began to be repaid.

    In your company: divide operating cash flow by EBITDA for each of the last three years, and if it is well below 100%, trace the gap to receivables, inventory or advances and write the explanation before the merchant banker asks for it.

  3. 03

    One related distributor carries most revenue

    A risk factor states that Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), a Reliance group entity, is the sole distributor of the prepaid connectivity services, and that this arrangement accounted for 79.35% of consolidated revenue from operations in FY24, 78.57% in FY25, 77.08% in FY26 and 76.37% in April to June 2026. So while customers number 53.33 crore, most revenue reaches the company through one related distribution channel.

    How an investor reads it. An investor treats customer count and channel concentration as two separate questions, and looks in the document for how the distribution arrangement is priced and how long it runs.

    In your company: if a group company sells for you or supplies you, state its share of your revenue or purchases for every year, and keep a signed agreement with arm's length (market rate) pricing ready for the related party section.

  4. 04

    Issue sized against debt already falling

    Total borrowings were Rs 54,349 crore in FY24, Rs 73,060 crore in FY25, Rs 70,781 crore in FY26 and Rs 61,372 crore at 30 June 2026, while net leverage (net debt divided by EBITDA, as defined in the document) fell from 0.88 times to 0.71 times and 0.36 times over FY24 to FY26. On our arithmetic, the aggregate issue amount on the Prospectus cover, Rs 30,187.60 crore, is about 49% of the borrowings at 30 June 2026, and the net proceeds were for prepaying borrowings of RJIL plus general corporate purposes.

    How an investor reads it. When the object is repaying debt, an investor compares the issue with the debt and checks the debt trend; here borrowings were Rs 11,688 crore below the FY25 level by 30 June 2026.

    In your company: if IPO money will repay loans, prepare a lender-wise schedule with the amount outstanding, interest rate, repayment date and the yearly interest saving, so the object can be checked line by line against the loan statements.

Use it in your company

Three things to do before your own filing.

  1. Explain what is not a contingent liabilityThe document discloses disputed tax demands on RJIL of Rs 6,795.50 crore that were not recognised as a contingent liability, and says why (judicial precedents and its view of the merits); that is about 2.0% of net worth at 30 June 2026. Keep a list of every tax demand with amount, forum and the basis for your treatment, and get your auditor's view on it before filing.
  2. Show which entity earns the profitRJIL contributed 87.34% of revenue, 93.89% of EBITDA and 92.31% of profit after tax in April to June 2026. If one subsidiary, plant or sister concern earns most of your profit, give that split in percentages for every period.
  3. Add the latest quarter beside last year'sThe document added the three months to 30 June 2026 next to the same quarter of 2025. If your audited year-end is some months old, show a recent part-year with the matching period of the previous year, on the same basis.

How the document presented it

  • Latest quarter beside last year'sThe three months to 30 June 2026 were shown next to the same three months of 2025, so the recent trend could be read on a like-for-like basis.
  • Each measure tied to its entityCustomers, ARPU and churn were labelled as RJIL's figures, with the period each one covers stated.
  • Concentration stated in percentagesRJIL's share of group revenue, EBITDA and profit after tax was given for FY26 and for the latest quarter.

The offer document presented consumer and enterprise offerings built on one connectivity platform, and highlighted RJIL's scale, including 28.49 crore 5G customers and 2.86 crore JioFiber or JioAirFiber customers as of 30 June 2026. It tied the use of the money to prepaying borrowings of a named subsidiary, and reported its own measures of cash left after investment and of leverage.

Sources: Abridged prospectus accompanying the Red Herring Prospectus dated 14 October 2026, as hosted by Morgan Stanley India (a book running lead manager), cross-checked for FY24 to FY26 against the draft abridged prospectus accompanying the Draft Red Herring Prospectus dated 19 June 2026 (same host); abridged prospectus posted on the SEBI website on 15 October 2026; the full Red Herring Prospectus and the Prospectus dated 24 October 2026, as hosted on the company's website (cover and opening pages only). Listing date from the basis of allotment announcement dated 26 October 2026 (copy found on ipopremium.in), confirmed by listing-day press reports. Press reports used only to locate documents and facts: TaxGuru (October 2026), Tech Times (15 October 2026), Multibagg and Outlook Money (October 2026, on the objects and debt, figures not used), and listing-day reports on Groww and Chittorgarh.com (28 October 2026). BSE and NSE pages could not be opened directly for this review.

This review is general commentary for promoters on how a company's offer document presented its business. It is not a research report, not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Mansukhbhai Management Services Pvt. Ltd. is not registered with SEBI as a research analyst or investment adviser. Company names are used only to identify the issuer; no connection with, or endorsement by, the company is implied.

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