Reliance shares nudge higher as record Q1 earnings draw analyst upgrades

Shares of Reliance Industries opened marginally lower on Monday before recovering, trading at ₹1,327.70 on the NSE as of 10.20 am, up just 0.04 per cent from Friday’s close of ₹1,327.20, as investors weighed the company’s record quarterly earnings reported after the last trading session.

The stock opened at ₹1,317.20, touched a morning high of ₹1,345.90, and a low of ₹1,314.90. Volume was healthy with over 55 lakh shares traded, valued at ₹740.85 crore, with sell orders dominating at nearly 70 per cent of the total order book. The stock remains well below its 52-week high of ₹1,611.80 hit in January 2026, and is down nearly 10 per cent over the past year and over 15 per cent year-to-date, underperforming the Nifty 50 on both counts.

The muted opening comes despite Reliance reporting its highest-ever quarterly EBITDA of ₹54,067 crore for Q1 FY27, up 10.1 per cent year-on-year, and a net profit of ₹23,196 crore, up 6.1 per cent. Revenue jumped 24.5 per cent to ₹3,40,257 crore, driven by strong double-digit growth across its Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C), Jio Platforms, and retail businesses.

Brokerages were largely positive. Goldman Sachs, with a buy rating and a target price of ₹1,870, noted O2C likely beat market expectations, rising 17 per cent quarter-on-quarter despite elevated crude premiums and fuel marketing under-recoveries, adding that the outlook into the second quarter looks more constructive. Nomura, with a buy and a ₹1,690 target, called it a “record first quarter” with O2C EBITDA at a four-year high of ₹17,010 crore. CLSA, with an outperform rating and a ₹1,800 target, noted the consolidated EBITDA beat estimates by 3 per cent, flagging strong momentum in FMCG and media. Macquarie flagged upside risk to consensus estimates for Jio and retail, with management targeting a doubling of retail EBITDA over three years.

The drag in the results came from Reliance Retail, where EBITDA fell 1.1 per cent year-on-year to ₹6,309 crore as the company ramped up investments in digital commerce and hyper-local delivery infrastructure. Management guided that this margin pressure is a deliberate near-term trade-off, with the three-year ambition to double operating EBITDA in the retail segment.

Jio Platforms posted revenue of ₹45,961 crore, up 12 per cent, with EBITDA growing 15.1 per cent to ₹20,865 crore and the EBITDA margin expanding 150 basis points to 53.3 per cent. The telecom arm now has over 533 million subscribers, with 285 million on 5G.

With the stock’s P/E at 20.43 and total market capitalisation at ₹17.97 lakh crore, analysts say a re-rating may hinge on Jio’s potential listing and clearer earnings visibility from new energy and retail.