Reliance Industries shares: 5 reasons why RIL stock is cracking

Shares of index heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) slipped 1.44 per cent in Friday's trade to hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,160.40. The stock was last seen trading 0.45 per cent lower at Rs 1,172. At this level, it has corrected 25.58 per cent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

Here are five factors behind the stock's recent decline:

1. Market correction

G Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics Research, said the decline in RIL shares comes amid a sharp sell-off in domestic benchmark indices, which have corrected around 15 per cent so far in calendar year 2026.

2. Muted oil and gas performance

Chokkalingam said concerns over subdued performance in the oil and gas segment amid the ongoing West Asia crisis could weigh on profitability.

3. Rising depreciation charges

Chokkalingam added that the company's substantial capital expenditure in recent periods could lead to a further steep increase in depreciation charges. Investors might not have realised the benefit of steep expansion in capacities and their future contributions to profits.

4. Jio Platforms IPO

Investors are also tracking the upcoming initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms, RIL's majority-owned subsidiary and digital technology arm, which is likely to launch its issue this month.

A clearer separation of Jio's valuation would also make Reliance's remaining businesses easier for investors to assess, Chokkalingam said. He expects the listing to help drive a rerating as investors begin valuing Reliance's underlying businesses more distinctly.

5. Q2 FY27 earnings

The Street is also awaiting RIL's September quarter (Q2 FY27) results. Nuvama Institutional Equities expects EBITDA to grow 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q2 FY27, higher than its initial assessment, driven by further expansion in middle distillate crack spreads.

The domestic brokerage expects O2C EBITDA to grow 38 per cent YoY and digital EBITDA to rise 16 per cent. These gains could be partly offset by a 6 per cent YoY decline in oil and gas (O&G) EBITDA and a 1 per cent fall in retail EBITDA, against a higher base.

Nuvama has maintained its 'Buy' rating on Reliance Industries, with a 12-month target price of Rs 1,766.