BCE changes
Pick any two versions below to diff them.
- Price
- CA$30.47
- Discount category
- Well below intrinsic value
- Next earnings
- Feb 4, 2027
- Next earnings is estimate
- Yes
- Company name
- added: BCE
- Sector
- added: Telecommunications and media
- About
- added: BCE Inc. (BCE) is based in Montréal, Québec. It is the largest communications company in Canada, and it operates through its subsidiary Bell Canada. Bell CTS Canada sells wireless, Internet, TV and business services, Bell CTS U.S. is Ziply Fiber, a fibre Internet provider that BCE bought on August 1, 2025, and Bell Media owns CTV, Crave and TSN. Operating revenues were $6,182 million in Q3 2026 and adjusted EBITDA was $2,786 million, in Canadian dollars. The common shares trade on the TSX in Canadian dollars and on the NYSE. BCE files 40-F and 6-K reports with the SEC.
- Thesis
- added: The price of BCE depends on whether it can return to earnings growth while it carries large debt and spends more on AI data centres and US fibre. In Q3 2026 revenue grew 2.2% and adjusted EBITDA grew 0.9%, but adjusted EBITDA of Bell CTS Canada fell 0.8%, adjusted EPS fell 6.3% and capital spending rose 49.3% to $1,330 million. Net debt was $39,554 million. For the price to hold or rise, four things must be true. Wireless pricing must improve and the Canadian business must stop losing EBITDA. The Bell AI Fabric data centre in Saskatchewan must open its first data hall in the first half of 2027 and earn a return on its cost. The sale of 49.9% of the tower company to La Caisse must close in Q1 2027, so that net debt leverage reaches the target of 3.5 times by the end of 2027. Free cash flow must cover the dividend of $1.75 per share. The Q4 2026 report, expected in early February 2027, with its 2027 guidance, is the next test.
- Risks
- added: Debt is large. Net debt was $39,554 million at September 30, 2026, which is about 3.7 times adjusted EBITDA of the last four quarters, and BCE targets 3.5 times by the end of 2027. Competition and regulation press on prices. BCE expects more wireline price competition, and a CRTC decision requires an aggregated wholesale high-speed access service on its fibre-to-the-premise network. AI data centres need large capital. Construction of the 300 megawatt Sherwood facility was expected to cost about $1.7 billion, and BCE expects the total to be higher with the expansion. Returns depend on tenant demand. Margins of the US fibre business fell. The adjusted EBITDA margin of Bell CTS U.S. was 39.9% in Q3 2026, down 4.5 points, partly because of higher payments to the Network FiberCo partners. A class action from 2004 about wireless system access fees was dismissed for delay on October 16, 2026, but the plaintiff filed an appeal on November 2, 2026.
- Balance sheet
- added: Cash: CA$653M Debt: CA$41.5B Net debt: CA$40.9B EBITDA, last 12 months: CA$10.8B Net debt / EBITDA: 3.8× (medium) Undrawn credit line: CA$2.3B Debt due within 12 months: CA$6.2B At September 30, 2026, BCE had debt due within one year of $6,205 million and long-term debt of $35,308 million, which is $41,513 million in all, including lease liabilities and junior subordinated debt. Preferred shares were $3,216 million. Cash and cash equivalents were $653 million. Net debt, as BCE defines it with 50% of preferred shares and 50% of junior subordinated debt, was $39,554 million. Available liquidity was $3.7 billion: cash, $700 million under a securitized receivables program and $2.3 billion under $4.0 billion of committed credit facilities, with $1.7 billion of commercial paper outstanding. Free cash flow guidance for 2026 is $2,100 million to $2,300 million, and the annual dividend is $1.75 per common share. All amounts are in Canadian dollars. As of Sep 30, 2026.
- Checkpoints
- added: Feb 4, 2027 (estimate): Q4 2026 results and 2027 guidance. Pending. Watch: 2026 adjusted EBITDA grows within the guided 0% to 4% and free cash flow is in the range of $2,100 million to $2,300 million, and this passes; a result below either range fails. Q1 2027 (estimate): Tower company sale to La Caisse closes. Pending. Watch: The sale of 49.9% of the tower company closes in Q1 2027 for about $2.45 billion and the proceeds lower debt, and this passes; a delay past Q1 2027 fails.
- Recent events
- added: Nov 5, 2026: BCE reported Q3 2026 results. Operating revenues rose 2.2% to $6,182 million, adjusted EBITDA rose 0.9% to $2,786 million and adjusted EPS fell to $0.74 from $0.79. Free cash flow fell to $854 million because of higher capital spending. BCE confirmed its 2026 guidance and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per common share. Oct 27, 2026: Bell agreed to sell a 49.9% stake in a new wireless tower company to La Caisse for $2.45 billion. The deal values the tower company at about $4.91 billion. Bell keeps control with 50.1%, and the deal is expected to close in Q1 2027. Oct 20, 2026: Ziply Fiber and Network FiberCo agreed to buy another US fibre business. BCE expects its cash share for this and an earlier small purchase to be about US$200 million, and closing is expected in Q1 2027. Sep 14, 2026: Bell and the Government of Saskatchewan signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to add up to 900 megawatts of AI data centre capacity at the Sherwood facility, a path to 1.2 gigawatts in all. May 27, 2026: Bell Canada announced offerings of $1.6 billion of MTN debentures in two series due 2036 and 2056, and US$650 million of 5.450% notes due 2036. Mar 16, 2026: Bell announced a partnership with the Government of Saskatchewan to build a 300 megawatt AI data centre, and it raised its expected capital intensity for 2026 to about 20%.