BCE Inc.

BCE reported Q2 consolidated revenue of 1.5% year-over-year growth, adjusted EBITDA growth of 1%, adjusted EPS of $0.65, up $0.02, and adjusted EBITDA margin of 43.8%, essentially stable. Free cash flow was over $1 billion in the quarter, while CapEx was up $317 million year over year due to Ziply Fiber build-out and Bell AI Fabric investments. Management reconfirmed all 2026 financial guidance targets and said free cash flow is tracking consistent with full-year 2026 guidance. BCE ended Q2 with $4.6 billion of total available liquidity and net debt leverage of approximately 3.7x, with a target of 3.5x by end-2027.

Mirko Bibic framed the quarter as evidence that BCE’s Investor Day strategy is working: disciplined execution in core telecom, investment in higher-growth opportunities, and a path to sustainable free cash flow growth. He highlighted better wireless pricing, lower churn, fiber-led Internet growth, strong momentum in AI-powered enterprise services, and Bell Media’s digital monetization. His tone was confident and repetitive on execution, emphasizing that BCE is doing “exactly how we said we would run the company.”

Curtis Millen said the quarter reflected measured investment balanced with free cash flow generation. He cited revenue up 1.5%, adjusted EBITDA up 1%, margin at 43.8%, adjusted EPS of $0.65, and free cash flow above $1 billion; CapEx rose $317 million year over year because of Ziply and Bell AI Fabric. He also noted $4.6 billion of total available liquidity, a 3.7x leverage ratio, approximately $4.9 billion of pension solvency surplus, about $2.5 billion of June debt offerings, and around $100 million of the Saskatchewan tenant prepayments received in Q2. He said BCE remains on track for 3.5x leverage by the end of 2027 and reconfirmed 2026 guidance.

Analysts focused on three main areas: the timing of Saskatchewan AI data center CapEx, the Ziply fiber revenue ramp, and wireless pricing/ARPU trends. Management said Saskatchewan’s build timing had not changed; CapEx moved later only because cash spending is recorded when incurred, and the vast majority of equipment has already been ordered. On Ziply, management said build activity is ramping in the second half, penetration is tracking the case where fiber exists, and revenue growth should follow build-out over time, though near-term revenue has been held back by legacy declines and a larger wholesale renewal. On wireless, BCE said pricing improved in the back half of Q2 and into July, ARPU was stable excluding last year’s G7 impact, and one enterprise/government contract contributed to net adds but results were otherwise in line with peers.