- Bharti Airtel generates higher operating profit and ARPU than Jio despite a lower valuation multiple
- Jio Platforms holds Reliance’s digital assets and contributes over 90% of its operating profits
- Airtel’s market cap includes Africa, Indus Towers, and data centre units beyond its India business
Bharti Airtel generates more operating profit than Jio Platforms, earns more per subscriber, and its market cap includes an Africa business, a tower company, and a data centre arm. Yet it trades at a lower valuation multiple than Jio. Reliance Industries' 49th AGM on Friday may begin to explain why.
The biggest question at the AGM is when Jio Platforms will list. Mukesh Ambani had said at last year's AGM that Reliance Jio Infocomm would be listed by the first half of 2026. That timeline has slipped. But with a Financial Times report suggesting Reliance could file draft IPO papers with SEBI for an offering worth around $4 billion, which would be the largest IPO in Indian capital market history surpassing Hyundai Motor India's $3.3 billion listing, investors are expecting clarity on the schedule at Friday's meeting.
Call On Jio
A consensus of over 15 analysts tracking RIL has pegged Jio Platforms' equity value at Rs 11.9 lakh crore. To understand what that number represents, Jio Platforms is the holding company for all of Reliance's digital assets. It holds 100% of Reliance Jio Infocomm, which houses the telecom and broadband business and contributes over 90-95% of Jio Platforms' operating profits.
Beyond telecom, Jio Platforms also runs an enterprise business and holds stakes in over 15 companies, including JioSaavn, Embibe, Haptik, Radisys, and Sankhya Sutra Labs, among others.
Airtel Valuation Check
Bharti Airtel's current market capitalisation stands at Rs 11.3 lakh crore. But that number carries considerably more within it. Airtel's market cap encompasses its India mobile, broadband, and DTH businesses, an enterprise business that includes a 61% stake in data centre arm Nxtra, a 79% stake in Airtel Africa valued at Rs 1.33 lakh crore, and a 51.3% stake in Indus Towers worth Rs 55,459 crore. Nxtra alone is valued at Rs 17,847 crore.
Strip those out, and Airtel's core India business is trading at a steep discount to Jio on a like-for-like basis.
A quick look at the financials of Jio and Airtel
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The operating numbers make the case sharper. Airtel's revenue stood at Rs 1,44,965 crore against Jio Platforms' Rs 1,46,885 crore, broadly comparable. But Airtel generates higher EBITDA, Rs 82,312 crore against Jio's Rs 76,255 crore. It also earns more per user. Airtel's mobile ARPU stands at Rs 257 versus Jio's Rs 214, a gap of Rs 43 per subscriber per month, even though Airtel serves a smaller base of 37.3 crore mobile customers against Jio's 52.4 crore.
Despite all of this, Jio trades at 15.6 times EBITDA while Airtel trades at 13.7 times.
What Analysts Say
The argument among analysts is straightforward: a Jio listing would establish a public market price for India's largest telecom business, creating a direct benchmark. That benchmark could highlight how much of Airtel's value is currently being left on the table, particularly given how much additional business sits within its market cap that a straight comparison with Jio does not capture.
The analyst community is already in Airtel's corner. 91% of analysts tracking the stock have a buy rating, with a 12-month consensus target price of Rs 2,287, implying 23% upside from current levels. The most bullish target sits at Rs 2,750, representing 48% upside. Even the most cautious target, at Rs 1,800, implies only a marginal 3% downside.
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