Reliance Industries Limited announced its fourth quarter and full-year results on Friday evening, April 24. The headline number from the full year is unmistakably large: ₹11,75,919 crore in consolidated revenue for FY26 — a record for the company and an increase of 9.8% over the previous year.
The annual profit after tax came in at ₹95,610 crore, up 18.3% year-on-year. That's roughly $11.5 billion — a figure that places RIL in the same conversation as the world's largest and most profitable corporations.
But the quarterly picture is more complicated. In Q4 FY26 (January–March 2026), RIL's net profit dropped. The numbers vary slightly by metric and source, but the central fact is consistent: quarterly profit was down somewhere between 8% and 12.5% year-on-year, dragged primarily by weakness in its energy business.
This is India's biggest company by market capitalisation. When RIL reports, the whole country watches.
Where the Growth Came From
For FY26 as a whole, RIL delivered across most segments.
- Consolidated Revenue: ₹11,75,919 crore — up 9.8% year-on-year.
- Consolidated PAT: ₹95,610 crore — up 18.3% year-on-year.
- Consolidated EBITDA: ₹2,07,911 crore — up 13.4% year-on-year.
The growth was driven primarily by two engines: Jio Platforms (digital services and telecom) and Reliance Retail. These two consumer-facing businesses carried the weight for the year, even as the energy and chemicals segments wrestled with a difficult global environment.
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Q4 FY26: The Detailed Breakdown
For the quarter ended March 31, 2026:
- Gross Revenue: ₹3,25,290 crore — up 12.9% year-on-year and 10.7% quarter-on-quarter.
- Net Profit (PAT): Multiple sources cite figures between ₹16,971 crore and ₹20,616 crore — the variation reflects different reporting frameworks (standalone vs consolidated, minority interest treatment). The directional fact is the same: profit declined 8-12.5% YoY.
- EBITDA: ₹48,588 crore, marginally lower than ₹48,737 crore in Q4 FY25.
- EBITDA Margin: 14.9% for Q4 FY26, down from 16.9% a year ago. Margin compression was primarily in the Oil-to-Chemicals business.
Jio: The Engine That Doesn't Stop
Jio Platforms continues to be RIL's most consistent growth driver. While RIL did not release final Jio Q4 standalone numbers in public-facing releases, the company's statements confirm strong growth in digital services revenue.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio, said Jio's digital infrastructure positions it as a "key gateway for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, which is expected to drive long-term growth."
JioHotstar, the merged streaming platform, averaged 500 million monthly active users in the quarter — an extraordinary number. The T20 Men's Cricket World Cup Final achieved 72.5 million peak concurrent viewers — described by the company as a global record. Jio's entertainment viewership share on TV stood at 34.2%.
The tariff hikes that Jio and other telecom players implemented in mid-2025 have flowed through to revenue — a key reason why the digital services segment maintained its growth trajectory even as subscriber growth moderated.
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Reliance Retail: Steady Expansion
Reliance Retail posted net profit of ₹3,551 crore for Q3 FY26 (its most recently published standalone quarter), up 2.7% from the same period a year ago. Revenue stood at ₹97,605 crore, up 8.1% year-on-year.
The company expanded its store network with 431 new openings in that quarter alone, taking the total store count to 19,979 stores with 78.1 million square feet of operational area.
EBITDA margin contracted slightly to 8% from 8.6% a year ago — reflecting the cost of rapid expansion. But Mukesh Ambani expressed confidence that the retail business, backed by omni-channel presence and hyperlocal commerce, will sustain long-term growth.
The Oil-to-Chemicals (O2C) Business: Where the Pressure Showed
RIL's energy and chemicals business — its oldest and still-large segment — had a difficult quarter. The EBITDA margin contracted significantly at 200 basis points year-on-year to 14.9%.
The reasons: global supply chain disruptions, including the impact of conflict in West Asia on crude oil trade flows. Volatile energy prices through the January-March period. Shifting global trade patterns, partly driven by tariff disputes.
Mukesh Ambani's statement acknowledged this directly: "Through fiscal FY2025-26, we faced geopolitical disruptions, volatile energy prices and shifting global trade patterns. These headwinds weighed on businesses across the world."
The Oil and Gas (Exploration and Production) segment posted quarterly revenue of ₹5,867 crore — down 8.9% year-on-year — on lower KG D6 gas volumes.
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New Energy: The Future Play
Ambani emphasised that RIL is making "rapid progress in operationalising its New Energy giga-factories." These are the company's ambitious green energy investments — solar panels, batteries, hydrogen — announced in 2021 with a commitment of ₹75,000 crore over three years.
The giga-factories are still in ramp-up mode, but the company sees them as a key growth engine that will also contribute to India's energy transition.
The Dividend
RIL announced a dividend of ₹6 per share for FY26. This is the first dividend announcement by RIL in 2026. The record date, ex-date, and payment date will be confirmed once the AGM date is announced.
At the current RIL share price of roughly ₹1,331, a ₹6 dividend translates to a yield of about 0.45% — modest, but consistent with how RIL has historically rewarded shareholders. The bigger return expectation has always been in share price appreciation.
The Market's Reaction
RIL shares had already dipped about 1% ahead of the results on Friday, settling at ₹1,327.65 on NSE. This kind of pre-results caution is standard when analysts expect a mixed quarter.
The full-year performance — record revenue, near-20% profit growth — is a strong foundation. The Q4 profit dip, driven by energy headwinds, was largely anticipated. Whether the market treats Friday's numbers as a disappointment or a buying opportunity will become clear when trading resumes.
The stock sits between its 52-week high of ₹1,611.80 (hit on January 5, 2026) and its 52-week low of ₹1,267 (April 21, 2025).
What Mukesh Ambani Said
"The breadth of our portfolio and strong domestic orientation helped navigate volatility in the external environment," Ambani said in his statement. That's the formal version. The translation: Jio and Retail saved us from a worse Q4. Energy was a problem, but we're a diversified company now.
He also flagged the IPO of Jio Platforms as a future possibility — a development that has been discussed and deferred several times. No specific timeline was given, but the language suggests it remains on the company's agenda.
Looking Ahead to FY27
Analysts will be watching three things: the pace of New Energy giga-factory commissioning, the impact of any further tariff hikes by Jio, and whether O2C margins recover as global energy markets stabilise.
The potential Jio IPO — if it materialises — would be the largest listing in Indian market history and would restructure the entire narrative around RIL's valuation.
For now, the company enters FY27 with record annual revenues, a growing retail empire, a dominant digital services business, and an energy segment that needs the global environment to cooperate.