BCE (NYSE:BCE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

BCE (NYSE:BCE) (TSE:BCE) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $4.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. BCE had a net margin of 25.66% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. BCE updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.790-1.910 EPS.

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

• Bell is aggressively scaling its AI strategy — a fully contracted 300 MW Saskatchewan AI data center is under construction and at full run rate is expected to contribute roughly CAD 500M revenue, CAD 400M EBITDA and >CAD 250M free cash flow at ~20% IRR; management says it has line-of-sight to monetize about 800 MW over time and raised its AI-powered solutions 2028 target to ~CAD 2B.
• Q1 financials were mixed — consolidated revenue grew 4% and adjusted EBITDA +2.9%, but adjusted EPS fell CAD 0.06 (higher D&A and interest), free cash flow edged up 0.8% to CAD 804M, margins dipped ~40 bps and net debt leverage was ~3.8x with a target to reach 3.5x by end-2027.
• Customer metrics show momentum — ~43,000 residential FTTH net adds in Canada (total fiber net adds ~50,000 including Ziply), internet revenue on North American fiber platforms +15% YoY, Crave subscribers +25% to 4.7M (D2C +59%), and improved video and postpaid wireless net adds despite a promotional Q1.
• Management is simplifying and reallocating capital — completed high-return disposals (MLSE, Bell Smart Home) and announced the CAD 675M Land Mobile Radio sale, cut legacy Canadian telecom CapEx by >CAD 2B since 2022, and is redeploying funds into higher-return AI Fabric and U.S. fiber growth initiatives.

BCE Price Performance

BCE stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.15. 3,425,862 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,906,118. BCE has a one year low of $21.09 and a one year high of $26.52. The stock has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

BCE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. BCE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of BCE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BCE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of BCE from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BCE in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Barrington Research raised shares of BCE from an “underperform” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.67.

Trending Headlines about BCE

Here are the key news stories impacting BCE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BCE said Q1 revenue rose 4% year over year, helped by stronger Bell CTS U.S./Ziply and Media performance, and free cash flow improved despite higher capital spending. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to AI-driven demand and said BCE is expanding its Bell Business Markets offering, highlighting a growth area that could support future revenue. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.4375 per share, which keeps BCE attractive for income-focused investors. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders approved the election of directors at the annual meeting, with all nominees receiving strong support. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS declined from a year earlier, and the company’s revenue and earnings guidance for FY2026 came in below consensus, which is likely pressuring the stock. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of employee firings tied to alleged attendance-policy violations may add to near-term headline risk, though the operational impact appears limited. Article title

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BCE

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $486,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in BCE by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,875,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,680,000 after purchasing an additional 183,691 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in BCE by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in BCE by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,254,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,072,000 after purchasing an additional 234,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in BCE during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,399,000. 41.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BCE Company Profile

BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE) is a Canadian communications, media and entertainment company that operates through its primary subsidiaries, including Bell Canada and Bell Media. As a large integrated telecommunications provider, BCE delivers a broad range of connectivity services and content to residential, business and wholesale customers across Canada. The company combines network infrastructure with media assets to offer bundled communications and entertainment solutions.

On the services side, BCE provides fixed-line and wireless voice services, mobile data, high-speed internet, fibre and broadband access, and television services through platforms such as Bell Fibe and Bell TV.