Reliance Jio vs Vodafone: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Reliance Jio reported ~$17B of revenue in FY2026 and ~$3.5B of net income. Vodafone reported ~$45.7B of revenue in FY2026 and a net loss of ~$448.6M.
Latest financial snapshot
Reliance Jio
- Latest revenue
- ~$17B (FY2026)
- Net income
- ~$3.5B
- Net margin
- 20.5%
- Revenue growth
- +15.8% a year, FY2024–FY2026
Vodafone
- Latest revenue
- ~$45.7B (FY2026)
- Net income
- ~-$448.6M
- Net margin
- -1.0%
- Revenue growth
- -2.1% a year, FY2016–FY2026
Financial summary
Reliance Jio
Reliance funded Jio's network for years before launch, and Jio Platforms raised about $17.6 billion (₹1.52 lakh crore) in 2020 from investors including Meta and Google. Revenue has since compounded: Jio Platforms' revenue from operations rose from ~$12.7 billion (₹1,09,558 crore) in FY24 to ~$14.9 billion (₹1,28,218 crore) in FY25 and ~$17 billion (₹1,46,885 crore) in FY26. FY26 EBITDA was ~$8.85 billion (₹76,255 crore) and profit after tax ~$3.49 billion (₹30,053 crore). Q4 FY26 EBITDA margin reached 52.4%, and Q1 FY27 EBITDA rose to a record ~$2.42 billion (₹20,865 crore).
Vodafone
When Margherita Della Valle became CEO in 2023, Vodafone had high debt and a long run of weak returns. She sold Vodafone Spain and Vodafone Italy, used part of the proceeds for share buybacks and debt reduction, and merged the UK business with Three. In FY26 (year to 31 March 2026) total revenue rose 8.0% to ~$45.8 billion (€40.5 billion) from ~$42.3 billion (€37.4 billion), helped by consolidating VodafoneThree from 1 June 2025. Adjusted EBITDAaL was ~$12.9 billion (€11.4 billion) (4.5% organic growth) and adjusted free cash flow was about $2.94 billion (€2.6 billion). Operating profit was ~$3.16 billion (€2.8 billion), compared with a ~$452 million (€0.4 billion) operating loss in FY25, which had included large impairment charges.
Revenue and profit by year
Reliance Jio
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | ~$17B | ~$3.5B | 20.5% | +14.6% | Source |
| FY2025 | ~$14.9B | ~$3.5B | 23.4% | +17.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$12.7B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
Vodafone
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | ~$45.7B | ~-$448.6M | -1.0% | +8.0% | Source |
| FY2025 | ~$42.3B | ~-$4.7B | -11.1% | +2.0% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$41.5B | ~$1.3B | 3.1% | -2.5% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$42.6B | ~$13.4B | 31.4% | +1.8% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$41.8B | ~$2.5B | 6.0% | -15.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | ~$49.5B | ~$66.7M | 0.1% | -2.6% | Source |
| FY2020 | ~$50.8B | ~-$1B | -2.0% | +3.0% | Source |
| FY2019 | ~$49.3B | ~-$9.1B | -18.4% | -6.2% | Source |
| FY2018 | ~$52.6B | ~$2.8B | 5.2% | -2.2% | Source |
| FY2017 | ~$53.8B | ~-$7.1B | -13.2% | -4.4% | Source |
| FY2016 | ~$56.3B | ~-$6.1B | -10.9% | — | Source |
Business model and strategy
Reliance Jio
How it makes money
Jio makes most of its money from recurring prepaid and postpaid mobile plans, where revenue is driven by subscriber count and average revenue per user (ARPU, ₹215.6 a month in Q1 FY27). The second engine is home broadband: JioFiber and the 5G fixed-wireless JioAirFiber service, which together reached 28.6 million connections by June 2026.
Growth strategy
Jio's growth plan has four parts: add home broadband connections through JioAirFiber (8.6 million broadband additions in the year to June 2026), lift ARPU through a better subscriber mix and tariff changes, sell connectivity, cloud and AI services to enterprises, and use the IPO to reduce debt and fund 5G and broadband expansion.
Competitive advantage
Jio's edge comes from scale and network design. It built an all-IP 4G network without legacy 2G or 3G layers, then rolled out standalone 5G using 700 MHz low-band and 3.5 GHz spectrum won in the 2022 auction. With more than 533 million customers, it spreads network and spectrum costs over the largest base in India, and Reliance's retail reach and media assets (JioHotstar) give it bundling options rivals lack.
Vodafone
How it makes money
Vodafone Group operates a capital-intensive recurring-subscription telecommunications and digital infrastructure business model. Its revenue foundation is built on monthly mobile contracts and prepaid bundles across European consumer markets and African territories.
Growth strategy
Vodafone's plan under Della Valle is built around customers, simplicity and growth. On customers, it is spending to improve service quality and cut churn in Germany and the UK. On simplicity, it has cut layers of management, announced around 11,000 job reductions in 2023, and reduced the number of countries it operates in.
Competitive advantage
Vodafone Group's sustainable competitive moat rests on four key pillars: First, pan-European gigabit network scale: owning extensive hybrid fiber-coaxial cable and fiber infrastructure in Germany and Western Europe gives Vodafone high-speed fixed broadband reach without relying wholly on incumbent wholesale access.
Questions about Reliance Jio vs Vodafone
Which company has higher revenue — Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited or Vodafone Group Plc?
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited reported ~$17B (FY2026), while Vodafone Group Plc reported ~$45.7B (FY2026). By last reported revenue, Vodafone Group Plc is the larger business, with Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited vs Vodafone Group Plc?
Vodafone Group Plc has a market capitalisation of $23.0B. A public market cap figure for Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited was not available (it may be privately held).
Which is more financially efficient — Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited or Vodafone Group Plc?
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited generates $605k / employee in revenue per employee, while Vodafone Group Plc generates $538k / employee. Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Vodafone Group Plc make money?
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Vodafone Group Plc generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited: Jio makes most of its money from recurring prepaid and postpaid mobile plans, where revenue is driven by subscriber count and average revenue per user (ARPU, ₹215. Vodafone Group Plc: Vodafone Group operates a capital-intensive recurring-subscription telecommunications and digital infrastructure business model.
Is Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited bigger than Vodafone Group Plc?
By last reported revenue, Vodafone Group Plc (~$45.7B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (~$17B (FY2026)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Reliance Jio vs Vodafone overview