BCE (NYSE:BCE) Announces Earnings Results

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04, Zacks reports. BCE had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 25.49%.

Here are the key takeaways from BCE’s conference call:

• Q3 revenue grew 2.2% and adjusted EBITDA rose 0.9%, while adjusted EPS fell CAD 0.05 and free cash flow declined year over year amid higher capital spending. BCE reaffirmed its 2026 financial guidance.
• Wireless postpaid churn improved to 1.06%, its lowest third-quarter level since 2022, with more than 24,000 postpaid phone net additions. Service revenue and ARPU remained down year over year, but management said improving pricing trends could bring both to growth by mid-2027.
• Bell AI Fabric’s initial 300 MW in Saskatchewan is fully contracted and on track for its first data hall in the first half of 2027; BCE says 335 MW is contracted across its plans and cites a further 900 MW Saskatchewan expansion pipeline. Management also reported 41% growth in AI-powered solutions revenue, while noting that expansion depends on securing power, land and customers.
• Bell Media revenue increased 9.7% and adjusted EBITDA rose 8%, supported by Crave growth: subscribers reached 5.15 million, up 21% year over year. Digital video advertising revenue increased 41%.
• BCE agreed to sell La Caisse a 49.9% stake in TowerCo for CAD 2.45 billion, providing added financial flexibility while retaining control of the tower business. The company reiterated its goal of reaching 3.5 times net debt leverage by the end of 2027.

BCE Price Performance

Shares of BCE stock traded down $0.41 on Friday, reaching $21.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,877,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,849,578. The company has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.42, a PEG ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.53. BCE has a 52-week low of $18.68 and a 52-week high of $26.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a C$0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.77%.

Key Stories Impacting BCE

Here are the key news stories impacting BCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BCE reported Q3 EPS of $0.53, above the $0.49 consensus, and revenue also topped estimates. The earnings beat may support the view that the shares are undervalued. BCE Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: BCE declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.44 per share, equivalent to about C$1.75 annually and an indicated yield of 8%. That is attractive to income-focused investors, though the yield alone does not establish the dividend’s safety. BCE Stock Still Looks Reasonable
• Negative Sentiment: EPS was below the $0.57 reported a year earlier. Some coverage also characterized the quarter as a major miss and highlighted a larger AI investment, pointing to possible concerns about other performance measures and whether the spending will generate adequate returns despite the consensus-beating headline figures. BCE Q3 Earnings: A Big Miss Funded by a Bigger AI Bet

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of BCE in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BCE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of BCE from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $24.50 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BCE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

About BCE

BCE Inc is a Canadian communications and media company headquartered in Montréal, Québec. Through its Bell Canada operations, the company provides wireless and wireline telecommunications services, including mobile voice and data, high-speed internet, local and long-distance voice, and digital television. Bell serves residential, small-business, enterprise and government customers across Canada.

BCE also operates a media business through Bell Media, which includes television networks, digital platforms, radio stations and related content operations.