How to Research Big-Ticket Upcoming IPOs (NSE, Jio and Others)
Every few years a handful of giant IPOs dominate every finance feed in India. Right now it is the NSE and Reliance Jio. Learning how to research big-ticket upcoming IPOs matters more than usual here, because the bigger the name, the louder the hype, and the easier it is to apply on excitement alone. A ₹30,000 crore listing is not automatically a good investment, and a familiar brand is not the same thing as a sound entry price.
This guide walks through a repeatable research method you can apply to any large IPO. We use the live mega-issues of 2026 as worked examples, but the framework is the point. The companies will change. The questions you ask should not.
Start with the one document that matters: the DRHP
Before you read a single broker note or watch a single video, find the company's Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). It is the legal disclosure document filed with SEBI, and unlike a YouTube thumbnail, the people who wrote it can be sued for lying in it.
The DRHP tells you the things that decide whether an IPO is worth your money: how the company makes money, whether profit is growing or shrinking, who is selling, and what could go wrong. If a "tip" you have heard is not supported anywhere in the DRHP, treat it as noise.
For the current big names, the filing status itself is already a useful signal:
- NSE filed its DRHP with SEBI on 18 June 2026, a roughly ₹30,000 crore issue, the largest in Indian history.
- Reliance Jio filed its DRHP with SEBI on 19 June 2026 — announced by Mukesh Ambani at Reliance's 49th AGM on the same day. The issue is a 100% fresh issue of ₹37,700 crore (27 crore shares), valuing Jio at ~$137 billion. Listing expected August to October 2026.
Two giant names, two completely different stages. That alone tells you "upcoming" means very different things for each. Learn to read a DRHP properly with our guide on what a DRHP is and how to read it.
Ask whether the company actually gets the money
This is the single most overlooked question in mega-IPO research, and it splits the current names cleanly.
An IPO can be a fresh issue (the company sells new shares and keeps the cash), an Offer for Sale (OFS) (existing shareholders sell their shares and pocket the proceeds), or a mix. In a 100% OFS, the company itself receives nothing. The listing is purely an exit for early backers.
- NSE: a 100% OFS of about 14.89 crore shares. Sellers include SBI, Bank of Baroda and several public-sector insurers. NSE raises no fresh capital.
- Jio: structured as an all-fresh issue of around ₹25,000 crore, with the proceeds going into the business for debt repayment and network and AI spending.
Neither structure is automatically good or bad. A pure OFS in a cash-rich monopoly like NSE is normal, because the business does not need funding. But the distinction changes the story. If you are betting on a company using IPO money to grow, a 100% OFS means there is no such money. Always check.
Read the financials, not the brand
A trillion-rupee valuation should be backed by trillion-rupee fundamentals. The brand is the hook; the numbers are the case. Pull three to four years of revenue and net profit straight from the DRHP and look for the direction of travel.
NSE is the instructive example. Its DRHP shows net profit of ₹8,406 crore in FY24, rising to ₹12,188 crore in FY25, then dipping to ₹10,302 crore in FY26 as SEBI's curbs on derivatives trading bit into volumes. The headline (most profitable exchange, net margins above 50%) is genuinely impressive. But the FY26 dip is exactly the kind of detail that hype skips and a careful reader catches. You can dig into our full breakdown on the NSE IPO and its DRHP financials.
For loss-making or thin-margin businesses, the question flips: is the loss narrowing, and is there a credible path to profit? Walk through the method in our guide to analysing IPO financials from the RHP.
Judge the valuation against peers, not against zero
The most common mega-IPO mistake is confusing a big company with a cheap one. A great business at a stretched price can still be a poor investment on day one.
Put the asking valuation next to something comparable. NSE's targeted valuation of roughly ₹5 to 6 lakh crore against FY26 profit works out to a high price-to-earnings multiple, defensible for a monopoly but not a bargain. Jio's DRHP-implied valuation of ₹11.5 lakh crore ($137 billion) is enormous, and the right test is what subscribers, margins and the data and AI roadmap justify, not the size of the Reliance name.
If you cannot explain why the price is reasonable relative to a peer or to the company's own profit, you are not investing. You are guessing.
Map the risks the headlines bury
Every DRHP carries a risk-factors section. For big IPOs it is long, and it is where the uncomfortable truths live. Read it before you read any bullish summary.
- NSE still has SEBI settlement petitions pending on connectivity and "dark fibre" matters as of its DRHP date, plus the long shadow of the old co-location case.
- Jio has filed its DRHP (June 19, 2026) but the listing is still months away — SEBI review takes 30 to 75 days, putting the earliest listing in August 2026. Market conditions could delay further.
You do not need to be scared off by risks; every company has them. You need to know them, weigh them against the price, and not be surprised later.
Separate timeline from hype
Big IPOs generate coverage for months, sometimes years, before a single share trades. Treat "DRHP filed" and "open for subscription" as very different events, and do not let a far-off listing turn into money sitting idle in anticipation. Even a SEBI-approved mega-IPO can stall: approval is permission to list, not a commitment to a date, and issuers routinely wait for friendlier market conditions before opening.
A practical approach: build a watchlist, note each company's actual stage, and set a reminder to revisit when the DRHP is approved or the price band is announced. Our 2026 upcoming IPO watchlist tracks the big names, and the live IPO calendar shows what is genuinely open right now versus merely talked about.
A simple checklist for any big IPO
Before you decide on any large listing, answer these in your own words using the DRHP:
- Stage. Has it filed, been approved, or just been rumoured?
- Structure. Fresh issue, OFS, or mix? Does the company get any money?
- Financials. Is revenue and profit rising, flat, or falling over three years?
- Valuation. How does the asking price compare to peers and to profit?
- Risks. What are the top three risk factors, in plain language?
- Category fit. As a retail investor, which quota applies to you? See IPO investor categories explained.
If you cannot answer all six, you have more research to do, no matter how famous the company is.
FAQ
Where do I find the DRHP for an upcoming IPO? DRHPs are filed with SEBI and published on the SEBI website, on the lead managers' sites, and usually linked from the company's investor-relations page. Major financial portals also host them. Always prefer the original document over a summary.
Is a 100% OFS IPO bad? Not by itself. An OFS simply means existing shareholders are selling and the company receives no fresh capital. For a cash-rich, profitable business like NSE that needs no funding, an OFS is normal. It only becomes a concern when you were counting on the company using IPO proceeds to grow.
Should I apply to a big IPO just because the brand is well known? No. Brand recognition tells you nothing about valuation or returns. The NSE and Jio are marquee names, yet each carries a different structure, price tag and risk set. Research the numbers, not the logo.
When will the NSE and Jio list? As of June 2026: NSE filed its DRHP on 18 June and awaits SEBI review. Jio Platforms filed its DRHP on 19 June 2026 — the same day as RIL's 49th AGM — for a ₹37,700 crore fresh issue at ~$137 billion valuation. Both now await SEBI observations (30 to 75 days). Earliest listing window for both is August to October 2026. Track the live IPO calendar for confirmed dates.
How is researching a mega-IPO different from a small one? The method is the same (DRHP, structure, financials, valuation, risks), but big IPOs come with far more noise and far higher valuations, so discipline matters more. The size of the issue is not evidence of a good entry price.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. IPO data and valuations are based on DRHP filings and public reporting as of June 2026 and can change. Please consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor before investing.