BCE (BCE) Q1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Consolidated revenue increased 4% year-over-year in Q1 2026, with adjusted EBITDA up 2.9% and margin at 42.7%; net earnings declined 2.3% to $667 million.

• Strategic priorities advanced in customer experience, fiber growth, AI-powered solutions, and digital media transformation.

• Divestiture of Land Mobile Radio business for CAD 675 million and sale of MLSE stake at a 10x return simplified the business and supported deleveraging.

• AI-powered solutions revenue grew 113% year-over-year, with Bell Business Markets revenue up 9.7%.

• Crave subscribers rose 25% year-over-year to 4.74 million, marking the most-watched quarter in its history.

Financial highlights

• Q1 2026 revenue: $6,168M (+4.0% y/y); Adjusted EBITDA: $2,631M (+2.9% y/y); Net earnings: $667M (-2.3% y/y).

• Adjusted EPS declined by CAD 0.06 year-over-year to $0.63 (-8.7%), due to higher depreciation, amortization, and interest costs.

• Free cash flow rose 0.8% to $804 million, while cash flows from operating activities declined 26.9% due to higher income taxes from divestitures.

• Capital expenditures increased 15.4% to $841 million, mainly due to U.S. fiber expansion and AI data center investments; capital intensity at 13.6%.

• Bell CTS Canada wireless postpaid net adds were 16,947, reversing a net loss from Q1 last year; postpaid churn was 1.34%.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 guidance: revenue growth of 1–5%, adjusted EBITDA growth of 0–4%, and capital intensity below 15%.

• Adjusted EPS expected to decline 5–11% and free cash flow to decrease 28–34% due to higher capex for Saskatchewan AI data center.

• Annualized common share dividend maintained at $1.75.

• AI-powered solutions revenue objective raised to CAD 2 billion by 2028, with potential upside.