Ambani’s Reliance faces a rare January setback
Reliance Industries has had a rough start to the year, with a rare share-price slide in January and weaker-than-expected earnings, highlighting the pressures building across some of its key businesses. Tested by geopolitics Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, which has a market value of 19.12 trillion rupees ($210.42 billion), has slumped about 10% so far in 2026, a rare early-year drop that has weighed on the benchmark Nifty 50, which is down roughly 2%. The last time the stock dropped more in any January was in 2011. The fall, including a 3% decline after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings, reflects complications in its refining business due to geopolitical tensions, intensifying competition in its retail operations, and investor caution ahead of the planned listing of its telecoms unit. The company faces “headwinds” from loss of Russian crude in its export-focused refinery and higher freight costs in its core oil-to-chemicals business, Jefferies said in a January 16 note.