Jio Platforms is set for the biggest ever IPO in India’s primary market history. The company has officially filed its DRHP minutes after the 49th Annual General Meeting. According to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), the company plans to issue up to 27 crore equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each.
Addressing shareholders in the AGM, Mukesh Ambani said the board of Jio Platforms has approved the DRHP and described the moment as “deeply emotional,” coming as the company marks ten years since its 2016 launch.
Jio Platform Vs Bharti Airtel
The IPO filing puts fresh scrutiny on how Jio is performing against its closest rival, Bharti Airtel. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have just closed out FY26, and the numbers reveal two very different stories underneath similar headline growth.
Jio is still the bigger of the two by revenue and subscribers, but Airtel is making faster gains on the metric that matters most to investors, average revenue per user.
Here is how the two stack up:
Jio Platform Vs Bharti Airtel: Revenue and subscriber base
Reliance Jio’s standalone revenue rose about 13% year-on-year to roughly Rs 1,29,000 crore in FY26, according to the company’s annual report. The growth was driven evenly by subscriber additions and tariff-led ARPU gains, Jio added close to 36 million net subscribers during the year, taking its wireless market share up by about 77 basis points to 41.4%.
Company Face-off · FY26
Jio vs Airtel: Who Has the Edge Ahead of Jio’s IPO?
Reliance Jio has filed its DRHP for India’s biggest-ever IPO. Here is how it stacks up against Bharti Airtel on revenue, ARPU, profitability and cash flow.
Metric
Reliance Jio
Bharti Airtel
Revenue & Subscriber Base
Revenue
₹1,29,000 Cr
+13% YoY
FY26
₹28,800 Cr
+8% YoY
Q4 FY26
Net subscriber adds
~36 million
FY26 (full year)
~4.7 million
Q4 FY26 only
Market share / base
41.4% share
+~77 bps YoY
Wireless market, FY26
~373 million
Total subscribers, Mar 2026
FY26 ARPU
Blended / India mobile ARPU
₹212
+8% YoY
FY26 blended
₹257
+5% YoY
Q4 FY26, India mobile
Higher ARPU
Q4 ARPU growth trend
~4% YoY
Slowed in Q4 FY26
Profitability & Margins
EBITDA
₹69,800 Cr
+16% YoY
Standalone, FY26
₹31,500 Cr
+17% YoY
Consolidated, Q4 FY26
Margin
54.2%
+135 bps YoY
EBITDA margin, FY26
83%
Incremental margin, India mobile, Q4
Earnings & Cash Flow
Net profit
₹26,700 Cr
FY26 full year
₹7,240 Cr
+39% YoY
Normalised, Q4 FY26
Free Cash Flow
₹21,400 Cr
FY26, up from ₹4,000 Cr
Sharpest jump
₹49,900 Cr
+25% YoY
FY26
Note: Bharti Airtel figures are largely Q4 FY26 (quarterly) data except net profit, EPS and free cash flow, which are FY26 full-year. Reliance Jio figures are FY26 full-year except the Q4 ARPU growth trend. *EPS of ₹53.1 is at the Reliance Industries group level, not Jio standalone.
Sources: Reliance Jio FY26 Annual Report · Bharti Airtel Q4 FY26 & FY26 results · Company DRHP filing · Data as of March 2026
Airtel’s India mobile business grew slower in percentage terms but from a smaller base. Its India mobile revenue rose 8% year-on-year to roughly Rs 28,800 crore in the March quarter, with the company adding 4.7 million net subscribers in the quarter. Airtel’s total mobile subscriber base stood at about 373 million as of March 2026.
Jio Platform Vs Bharti Airtel: FY26 ARPU
This is where the gap between the two companies is most visible: Jio’s blended ARPU rose about 8% year-on-year to Rs 212 in FY26, helped by the partial flow-through of the July 2024 tariff hike and a richer subscriber mix from home broadband.
Blended ARPU growth slowed sharply to around 4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, however, as the tariff hike effect faded from the base and unlimited data plans weighed on monetisation.
Airtel’s India mobile ARPU came in at Rs 257 for the March quarter, up 5% year-on-year. That is roughly 20% higher than Jio’s full-year blended figure.
Jio Platform Vs Bharti Airtel: Profitability and margins
On profitability, the two telcos diverged further. Jio’s reported standalone EBITDA grew about 16% year-on-year to Rs 69,800 crore in FY26, with margins expanding 135 basis points to 54.2%.
Airtel’s consolidated EBITDA for the March quarter came in at Rs 31,500 crore, up 17% year-on-year. Within India mobile specifically, incremental margins stood at 83% for the quarter.
Jio Platform Vs Bharti Airtel: Earnings and Cash Flow
Reliance Industries’ overall earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 53.1, with the company’s digital services segment, that houses Jio, set to remain the dominant driver of RIL’s incremental EBITDA over the next two years.
Jio’s own free cash flow generation improved sharply, jumping to Rs 21,400 crore in FY26 from just Rs 4,000 crore a year earlier.
On the other hand, Airtel’s normalised profit for the March quarter was Rs 7,240 crore, up 39% year-on-year. For the full year, Bharti Airtel’s net profit came in at approximately Rs 26,700 crore, with earnings per share of Rs 44.20. Free cash flow for the company was also strong, growing 25% Y-o-Y to about 49,900 crore. The company also noted a 24% increase in cash flow from operations.
Conclusion
As Jio prepares for its stock market debut, here is a quick look at how two of India’s biggest telecom providers reveal clear areas of advantage for each operator. All eyes are now on the next step, the IPO pricing of Jio and how the valuation stacks up.
