Reliance leads India’s wealth creation in 2025; Tata Group emerges as outlier

Reliance Industries Group, led by Mukesh Ambani, emerged as India’s largest wealth creator in 2025, adding ₹4.6 lakh crore to investor wealth as its combined market capitalisation climbed to ₹23.44 lakh crore during the year, as per a report by CNBC TV18.

The rally was largely driven by a near-30% rise in shares of Reliance Industries, the group’s flagship company, making it the single biggest contributor to wealth creation among India’s top conglomerates.

Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Group ranked second, with its group market capitalisation rising by ₹3.5 lakh crore to ₹14.6 lakh crore from ₹11.1 lakh crore at the start of the year.

The Bajaj Group followed, adding ₹2.6 lakh crore in market value, while the HDFC Group and the Adani Group added ₹2.2 lakh crore and ₹1.1 lakh crore, respectively. The Adani Group’s total market capitalisation rose to ₹14 lakh crore by the end of 2025.

Collectively, India’s top seven conglomerates — Tata, Reliance, HDFC, Bharti Group, Bajaj, Adani and ICICI Group — added close to ₹10 lakh crore to their market capitalisation during the year. The Reliance Group alone accounted for 48% of the total wealth created, followed by Bharti Group, which contributed 36%.

At current levels, the combined market capitalisation of these seven groups stands at ₹122 lakh crore, representing nearly 60% of the overall market capitalisation of the Nifty 50, which is valued at ₹207 lakh crore.

In contrast to its peers, the Tata Group emerged as an underperformer in 2025. Losses were led by its flagship IT services arm Tata Consultancy Services, which saw its market capitalisation erode by nearly ₹3 lakh crore amid slower earnings growth, uncertain revenue visibility, and structural shifts toward AI, cloud computing and automation.

Other Tata group companies, including Trent, Tata Elxsi, Voltas and Tata Technologies, declined between 20% and 40% during the year. Barring six companies, most Tata group stocks delivered negative returns in 2025.

Brokerage Morgan Stanley expects Reliance Industries’ earnings estimates to be upgraded every quarter through 2026, setting the stage for a valuation re-rating. The firm maintains an ‘overweight’ rating on the stock and raised its price target to ₹1,847 from ₹1,701 in a note dated December 16.

The brokerage noted that Reliance has invested over $80 billion since the Covid period, while current valuations price in only mid-cycle earnings from existing businesses. According to the note, the group’s monetisation cycle and capital redeployment into new growth engines remain underappreciated by the market.

Additional upside could come from the group’s digital arm Jio Platforms, which is expected to tap the primary market next year, potentially providing another boost to the group’s overall market capitalisation.