Unlisted Gems 2026: Reliance Retail leads as top 100 firms earn ₹8.9 trn

India's top 100 unlisted firms generated Rs 8.9 trn in revenue in 2025, led by Reliance Retail, with Tata Electronics and other fast-growing firms signalling a strong pipeline of IPO-ready companies

Reliance Retail ranked as India’s largest unlisted company by revenue in the Unlisted Gems 2026 list released by JM Financial in collaboration with Hurun India. Flipkart secured the second spot with revenues of Rs 83,000 crore, while Malabar Gold and Diamonds ranked third at Rs 66,000 crore.

The report noted that the country’s top private companies collectively generated Rs 8.9 trillion in revenue in 2025. It features 100 major privately held firms with annual revenues exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, underscoring the expanding scale and profitability of India’s unlisted corporate sector and signalling a robust pipeline of prospective IPO candidates.

Among the fastest-growing companies by revenue were Tata Electronics, which posted a staggering 3,173 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate), followed by Tata Passenger Electric Mobility at 904 per cent, and JSW One Platforms at 522 per cent. The sharp rise of these companies signals the momentum in sectors such as electronics manufacturing, electric vehicles and digital B2B commerce.

In profitability terms, Reliance Retail also led the pack with the highest EBITDA at Rs 22,573 crore. Adani Properties at Rs 11,332 crore and Zerodha Broking at Rs 5,664 crore followed. Together, the 100 companies delivered a combined EBITDA of Rs 1.03 trillion.

Commenting on the findings, Vishal Kampani, vice-chairman and managing director of JM Financial, said the list underscores the significance of a powerful yet often under-represented engine of India’s growth story.

“These 100 unlisted enterprises exemplify scale, resilience and value creation, standing as the epitome of excellence in Indian entrepreneurship built with depth and discipline across the economy. Collectively, they reflect the growing strength and maturity of India’s institutional business ecosystem,” he said. 

 India’s next generation of IPO candidates must demonstrate revenue maturity, earnings visibility and the ability to withstand quarterly scrutiny before tapping public markets, leaders from JM Financial and Hurun India said at a discussion around the report. They stressed that the transition from private to public ownership is less about valuation opportunity and more about preparedness.

Kampani said, “It is the most important factor (preparedness) when you are going public. When you are private, you are giving guidance to a limited set of people — your board and a few investors. If there is a change in strategy, it is just a board meeting. But when you are a public company and you give guidance, you are giving it to the public (investors) at large.”

Companies should attempt listing only when they have achieved stability in their revenue cycles and are either profitable or close to profitability. Scale remains critical. “Rs 1,000 crore in revenue is broadly considered the ‘bare minimum’ threshold for a mainboard IPO,” Kampani said, adding that smaller firms typically access capital through private markets or SME exchanges.

According to the report, the 100 companies together saw net profits rise sharply from about Rs 13,000 crore in 2023 to Rs 35,900 crore in 2025, pointing to improving operational efficiency and demand momentum. 

Their combined valuation stands at Rs 28.5 trillion, with the firms employing roughly 1.2 million people, highlighting their importance to the broader economy. Balance sheets remain largely stable, with 65 per cent of companies maintaining debt-to-equity ratios below 1x, though a handful of highly leveraged firms lift the overall average.

The list also features fast-growing startups and digital-first businesses such as DeHaat, reflecting the widening mix of traditional and new-economy players achieving large scale while remaining privately held. The list, which presents companies spanning retail, manufacturing, technology platforms, logistics and financial services, indicates the increasing depth of India’s private enterprise ecosystem.

Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher, Hurun India, said, “What stands out this year is how dramatically India’s industrial ambitions have compressed timelines. Tata Electronics scaled revenue by over 30x in three years with a staggering 3,173 per cent CAGR, while Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, at just four years old, posted a 904 per cent revenue CAGR. These are not incremental stories; they signal that India is building real hardware capacity in semiconductors and electric mobility at a velocity we have not seen before. The Make in India thesis is no longer aspirational; it is showing up in the financials.”