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AgenciesReliance Jio Reliance Jio’s home broadband subscriber base posted its strongest-ever quarterly growth in the July-September period even as mobile user additions lagged expectations, ahead of parent Jio Platforms’ planned initial public offer in the first half of 2026.“Jio's overall subscriber additions, though healthy at 8 million, missed our estimates due to lower-than-expected mobile subscriber additions of 5 million,” Jefferies said in a report. “Home broadband subscribers were up 3 million - the highest quarterly addition - driven by pickup in FWA (fixed wireless access).”The brokerage has pegged Reliance Jio’s enterprise valuation at $150 billion, projecting that “higher mobile tariffs and faster growth in home broadband business” will help improve its margins and average revenue per user (ARPU).Its ARPU, adjusted for an extra day in the September quarter, remained flat quarter-on-quarter at Rs 211.J P Morgan and Kotak Institutional Equities noted the management has indicated no immediate tariff hikes.Live EventsAnalysts expect tariff rises to be timed around the IPO.Jefferies cut its FY26-28 subscriber estimates for Jio by 1% to factor in slower additions of mobile subscribers, whose number could reach 506 million by March 2027, up from 483 million in the quarter ended September. Its home broadband subscribers may reach 41 million from 23 million during the same period.Jefferies said Jio’s ability to use unlicensed spectrum (UBR) should support further FWA subscriber adds with limited impact on its mobile network.“We lower our ARPU assumptions by 1% and expect Jio's ARPU to rise at 11% CAGR to Rs 272 over FY25-28, led by three tariff hikes of 10% each” in the third quarters of FY26, FY27, and FY28.“We expect Jio's margins to expand to 58% by FY28, led by operating leverage, driving a 21% CAGR in its Ebitda over FY25-28,” Jefferies said.Antique Stock Broking in a report said Jio’s ability to hold network costs steady amid subscriber growth reflects operational strength, with incremental Ebitda margins hovering near 60%.Jio Platforms reported stable network operating expenses of Rs 8,440 crore in the second quarter, despite adding 8.3 million subscribers and expanding its 5G user base to 234 million, according to J P Morgan and Kotak Institutional Equities.The company increased its Ebitda margin by 117 basis points on year to 54.2%, aided by cost rationalisation and operational leverage. Strategic shifts, including increasing renewable energy use and optimising passive infrastructure, are expected to further enhance margins, J P Morgan and Kotak said.Last week, Jio Platforms, which holds Reliance Industries’ telecom and digital businesses, posted a 12.8% year-on-year rise in its net profit for the quarter ended September, driven by strong subscriber additions and higher-paying data users.JPL’s consolidated net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 7,379 crore, up from Rs 6,539 crore a year earlier and Rs 7,110 crore in the June quarter. Its revenue from operations rose 14.6% on year.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onReliance Jiobroadband growthmobile user additionsIPOJefferiesARPUKotak Institutional EquitiesJ P MorganAntique Stock BrokingReliance Industries (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onReliance Jiobroadband growthmobile user additionsIPOJefferiesARPUKotak Institutional EquitiesJ P MorganAntique Stock BrokingReliance Industries(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless
