RIL shares at record high! Reliance Industries market cap crosses Rs 18 lakh crore

RIL share price: Shares of Reliance Industries, India’s largest company by market value, surged by over 2% on Thursday, reaching a new record high of over Rs 2,700 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. As a result, RIL’s market capitalisation crossed the Rs 18 lakh-crore mark.
After underperforming the Nifty by 9% in 2023, RIL shares have seen some buying momentum in the past few days, rising by approximately 4% in the last two trading sessions, states an ET report.
With the December quarter earnings season commencing today, RIL remains at the top of the buying list for major brokerages. Goldman Sachs recently raised its target price for RIL to Rs 2,885 from Rs 2,660, while Jefferies has set an even higher target price of Rs 3,125.
Jefferies stated, “We forecast 13% Ebitda growth in FY25E with Jio contributing ~2/3rd share on the back of a tariff hike. We expect capex to decline in Jio and Retail in FY25E, helping improve FCF and easing concerns regarding the rise in net debt. We have lowered FY24/25E Ebitda 2%/1% on lower O2C profits.”

Analysts are eagerly awaiting announcements regarding the listing of Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail. CLSA analysts believe that RIL presents an attractive risk-reward proposition, with potential triggers in the next 12-18 months such as an increase in wireless broadband, mobile tariff hike, operating leverage after recent retail expansion, and the potential IPO of Jio and/or retail units.
Nomura, which has set a target price of Rs 2,985 for RIL, expects the company to report strong EBITDA growth of 13% YoY in FY25, driven by robust growth in Jio and Retail’s consumer-facing businesses, as well as the upstream sector, while O2C earnings remain steady.

“Further, RIL to deliver robust FCF generation of INR243bn underpinned by strong EBITDA growth and moderating capex (while still remaining elevated at ~INR1.3tn) and a decline in net debt levels. We note our reverse valuation indicates the stock trades at inexpensive valuations, with the O2C segment trading at just 6x Sep-25F EBITDA,” noted Nomura.
On Wednesday, RIL Chairperson Mukesh Ambani announced that the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar is set to be commissioned in the second half of 2024. Spanning over 5,000 acres, the project aims to generate numerous green jobs and facilitate the production of eco-friendly products and materials, making Gujarat a leading exporter of such products.