Valued at a massive $112 billion by Jefferies earlier this year, Jio is India’s undisputed telecoms king.
For context, Verizon’s market cap stands at $177 billion, while rival AT&T’s market cap stands at $162 billion. Jio’s valuation places it firmly in the range of these US giants.
Why is this important? Because if AT&T or Verizon were to go public today, it would be a seismic event in the US. That’s the scale we are talking about. India’s mobile revolution is still roaring – smartphone users shot up 30x from 2010 to 2023 and could reach 1.5 billion by 2040!
Mukesh Ambani’s Jio has already upended India’s telecom landscape with its disruptive pricing, forcing the market to adapt, and bringing down several of its rivals. It is now sitting pretty as India’s telecom leader by market share with favorable regulations and deep pockets.
It’s a retail investor’s dream: a market leader in a massive, growing sector with no signs of slowing. This IPO could make Hyundai’s $3.3 billion listing look like pocket change.
The numbers
- As of March 2024, Reliance Jio commanded a 40.3% market share, with Bharti Airtel at 33.1% and Vodafone-Idea trailing at 18.86%.
- In the second quarter, Jio’s profits soared by 23% for the year, while average revenue per user climbed by 7%.
- It is India’s clear telecoms leader with 479 million subscribers (For context, Verizon has a total of 114 million wireless retail connections).
What’s next?
Reliance has not confirmed the IPO, but rumors have been around in the market since 2019 and it does not look like the timeline has changed for what could be an absolute beast of a public listing.
But hold up, there’s a wildcard: Elon Musk’s Starlink has its sights set on India, eyeing satellite broadband to upend the cart. Criticism by Elon Musk nudged the government to recently rethink its spectrum auction strategy.
So, while Jio’s IPO is a high-stakes opportunity, it might be wise to keep an eye on Musk vs. Mukesh. This battle might just be getting started.
