Jio Platforms Q4 profit rises 13% as subscriber additions, data usage drive growth

MUMBAI: IPO-bound Jio Platforms on Friday reported steady growth in the January-March quarter (Q4FY26) driven by subscriber additions, higher data consumption and continued traction in the home broadband segment.

Jio Platforms, which houses Reliance Industries Ltd’s telecom and digital services business, reported 4% sequential and 13% year-on-year growth in net profit to ₹7,935 crore during the quarter.

Revenue from operations rose 2.7% quarter-on-quarter and 12.6% year-on-year to ₹38,259 crore, in-line with the street estimates. Jio said the revenue growth was driven by robust subscriber addition, average revenue per user (Arpu) growth year-on-year and continued growth in digital services.

In the December quarter, the company's revenue from operations had grown 2.5% sequentially and 12.7% year-on-year to ₹37,262 crore. It had clocked a net profit of ₹7,629 crore in the quarter, with a 3.4% sequential and 11.2% year-on-year growth.

“I am happy to note that we are advancing steadily towards the listing of Jio Platforms. This will mark a defining milestone in its journey as it continues to scale new heights and contribute to India’s digital future," Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries said in a statement.

“As we work to democratize access to AI tools and next-generation technology platforms, Jio is well placed to shape how India communicates, computes and consumes content in the years ahead,” he said.

For FY26, the company reported 14.7% increase in revenue from operations to ₹1.72 trillion . Its net profit for the full year was at ₹30,053 crore, a growth of 15%.

IPO lens

Jio’s steady performance is significant as it plans to list on the stock exchanges by mid-2026. A higher Arpu and improved profitability would make it more attractive to investors and support a higher valuation for the intial public offering (IPO).

At the same time, analysts are again estimating tariff hikes of about 15-20% in the sector post the listing of Jio.

The company had earlier ruled out any increase in tariffs and said the growth would be supported by organic growth in Arpu, driven by rising 5G usage.

Arpu watch

Arpu, a key industry metric that tracks average revenue earned per user, is seen inching up modestly as operators lean on premiumization rather than price hikes.

The company’s mainstay telecom vertical, housed under Reliance Jio Infocomm, saw its Arpu continue to rise during the quarter, driven by higher data consumption and a favourable subscriber mix as more users migrated from 2G to 4G/5G and upgraded to higher data tiers.

Monthly Arpu rose marginally sequentially and 3.8% YoY to ₹214 a month from ₹213.7 at the end of December. Promotional 5G offers and the absence of tariff hikes continue to restrict growth in the company’s Arpu.

In comparison, Bharti Airtel's Arpu was at ₹259 at the end of December, about 21% higher than Jio’s, while Vodafone Idea’s Arpu was at ₹172. Both the operators are yet to declare their earnings for the December quarter.

Reliance Jio net added 9.1 million subscribers during the December quarter, taking its subscriber base to 524.4 million. The company had added 8.9 million subscribers in the preceding quarter.