Reliance Industries slumped to as low as Rs 1.406.30 per share on Monday morning trade at the NSE after investors reacted to a mixed set of December quarter numbers that fell short of market expectations despite headline profit growth.
The stock dropped as much as 3.2 per cent in early deals, making it one of the top losers on both the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 indices.
Profit miss despite revenue growth
Reliance reported consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders of Rs 18,645 crore for Q3 FY2026, almost flat compared with Rs 18,540 crore a year earlier. This was lower than the roughly Rs 19,644 crore profit that many analysts had pencilled in, triggering disappointment and profit-taking in the stock.
On the top line, gross revenue grew 10 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.94 lakh crore, while revenue from operations rose to Rs 2.69 lakh crore from Rs 2.44 lakh crore in the same quarter last year.
Q3 operating performance was stronger, with consolidated EBITDA up 6.1 per cent to Rs 50,932 crore, but that was not enough to meaningfully lift the bottom line once higher depreciation, interest and taxes were factored in.
Retail slowdown worries street
Much of the market’s concern centres on the retail business, which has been a key driver of Reliance’s recent growth trajectory. Reliance Retail Ventures’ EBITDA in Q3 grew just 1.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6,915 crore, with margins easing to 8 per cent from 8.6 per cent a year earlier as festive discounting, GST rate rationalisation, and the one-month impact of the consumer products demerger weighed on profitability.
Core earnings growth in retail also slowed sharply. EBITDA from operations rose about 2.1 per cent year-on-year versus much stronger double-digit growth in the same period last year. While store additions remained healthy at 431 new outlets in the quarter, investors appear worried that higher costs and competitive intensity are capping near-term margin expansion.
Mixed picture across other businesses
The oil-to-chemicals segment delivered a solid quarter, with revenue up 8.4 per cent and EBITDA jumping 14.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 16,507 crore, helped by stronger fuel margins and higher volumes.
Jio Platforms continued to perform well too, with EBITDA rising 16.4 per cent to Rs 19,303 crore and net profit climbing 11.2 per cent to Rs 7,629 crore on the back of higher ARPU and a subscriber base that crossed 515 million.
However, the oil and gas business saw revenue decline 8.4 per cent and EBITDA fall 12.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,857 crore due to lower production and softer price realisations from the KG-D6 fields. Multiple outlets, including Reuters, stated that profit missed versus street forecasts. Softer retail margins and pressure in the upstream oil and gas segment could be why Reliance’s stock is under pressure despite broadly resilient consolidated topline numbers.
