Jio Platforms' next growth drivers: Broadband, enterprise services and AI take centre stage

He cited broadband, enterprise services and AI as the company's growth drivers. His comments follow Reliance Industries' Q2 FY27 results, which showed continued expansion in digital services, supported by subscriber additions, higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and growth in other digital offerings. A much-awaited round of telecom tariff hikes has been widely anticipated, with Motilal Oswal projecting a 15 percent increase in smartphone tariffs in March 2027.

However, Jio's management said that tariff hikes would not be its sole growth driver, emphasising higher customer spending, improved subscriber mix and expanding digital services. Jio Platforms Ltd -- unit of Reliance Industries -- reported revenue of Rs 47,485 crore for Q2 FY27, an increase of 11.3 percent year-on-year. EBITDA rose 16.6 percent to Rs 21,879 crore, while the EBITDA margin expanded 250 basis points to 54.1 percent.

Jio also maintained its lead in India's telecom subscriber additions during September. The company added 1.9 million mobile subscribers, excluding machine-to-machine connections, accounting for the bulk of the industry's net additions of 2.2 million during the month. The latest numbers come after Jio Platforms made its stock market debut on October 28, following an initial public offering that raised Rs 30,188 crore.

The IPO, the largest in India's history, was subscribed more than 22 times. Following its listing, Jio Platforms became India's second-most valuable listed company, behind parent Reliance Industries. Brokerages have also highlighted the digital business's steady earnings performance. Nomura, which maintained a Buy rating on Reliance Industries with a target price of Rs 1,560 per share, said telecom continued to deliver steady growth during the September quarter.

Goldman Sachs also retained its Buy rating on Reliance Industries, with a target price of Rs 1,840 per share, following the company's record quarterly performance. Ahead of the results, analysts had expected Jio's subscriber additions and higher ARPU to support earnings growth. YES Securities had projected ARPU of Rs 216.5, while Prabhudas Lilladher had estimated Rs 218. Going further, Jio's expansion beyond its core mobile telecom business remains an important aspect of its earnings outlook.