On January 16, 2026, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) reported its Q3 FY26 results, showing a consolidated net profit of ₹18,645 crore. While this represented a marginal 0.6% year-on-year (YoY) increase, it missed Street expectations and marked the lowest quarterly profit for the company in the last four quarters.
The performance highlights a “top-line heavy” quarter where a record revenue of ₹2.65 trillion was offset by significant margin pressures across key segments.
The “Margin Squeeze”: Key Drivers
The primary reason for the profit plateau, despite a 10% jump in revenue, was a sharp rise in operational and non-operating costs:
- Rising Raw Material Costs: Consolidated raw material expenses (including the purchase of finished goods) surged 12.2% YoY. This led to the lowest EBITDA margins in three quarters (17.3%), down 70 basis points from the previous year.
- Higher Depreciation & Finance Costs: As Reliance continues its massive capital expenditure cycle (spending ₹33,826 crore this quarter), depreciation increased by ₹1,441 crore and finance costs rose by ₹434 crore, eating into the operating gains.
- Tax Outgo: Corporate income tax, including a 41% jump in deferred tax, rose to ₹7,530 crore, further weighing on the bottom line.
Segment-Wise Performance Analysis
| Segment | Revenue Growth | EBITDA Growth | Performance Notes |
| Digital (Jio) | +12.7% | +16.4% | The “Growth Engine.” ARPU hit ₹214 with 250M+ 5G users. |
| O2C (Energy) | +8.4% | +14.6% | Driven by strong fuel cracks; offset by weak downstream chemical margins. |
| Retail | +8.1% | +1.3% | Laggard. Margins dropped to 8% due to high quick-commerce investment. |
| Oil & Gas | -8.4% | -12.7% | Dragged down by lower volumes and realizations at the KGD6 block. |
Strategic Outlook: The “Investment Phase”
Mukesh Ambani described the results as a reflection of “operational resilience” as the company enters a new phase of value creation. Investors are currently viewing this as a structural transition:
- Non-Energy Dominance: Nearly 60% of EBITDA is now coming from non-energy (Jio and Retail) businesses.
- Quick Commerce Burn: The suppressed retail margins are a direct result of aggressive spending to scale JioMart’s hyper-local service, which reached 1.6 million daily orders.
- New Energy Pivot: Much of the current capex is being funneled into the New Energy and AI domains, which are yet to contribute to the bottom line but are central to the company’s long-term valuation.
