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BCE Q2 EPS fell to C$0.63 from C$0.78, while revenues rose 1.3% to C$6,085 million.
Product sales surged 17.4% on wireless growth and Bell AI Fabric launch, offset by lower service revenues.
2025 guidance lifted for revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, but free cash flow outlook revised lower.
BCE Inc. (BCE - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 63 Canadian cents (46 cents) compared with 78 Canadian cents in the prior-year quarter. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52 cents per share.
Quarterly total operating revenues inched up 1.3% year over year to C$6,085 million ($4,397.8 million). The top line beat the consensus estimate of $4,324.9 million. It reported a 17.4% increase in product revenues to C$818 million and a 1.5% dip in total service revenues to C$5,267 million.
BCE’s shares are up 0.2% in pre-market trading today. Shares of the company have lost 32.1% in the past year compared with the Zacks Diversified Communication Services industry's decline of 2.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BCE Segmental Results
Bell CTS’ operating revenues went up 1% year over year to C$5,334 million, due to higher product revenues, partly offset by lower service revenues.
Within the Bell CTS segment, service revenues fell 1.5% to C$4,516 million mainly due to declines in legacy voice, legacy data services and satellite services, and lower mobile phone blended average revenue per user (“ARPU”).
Product revenues were up 17.4% year over year, primarily due to the first Bell AI Fabric facility opening in Kamloops, BC and increased wireless device sales to consumers from higher upgrade volumes and contracted activations.
Postpaid mobile phone net subscriber activations were 44,547 against net activations of 78,500 in the prior-year quarter. The decline was due to a 14.8% fall in gross subscriber activations attributed to a softer market, slower population growth from immigration policies and a shift toward higher-value subscriber additions.
Prepaid mobile phone net subscriber activations fell to 49,932 in the second quarter compared with 52,543 in the prior-year quarter. This was due to a 3.7% decline in gross activations, caused by slowing population growth related to government immigration policies.
Mobile phone blended ARPU fell 0.7% to C$57.61 from C$58.04 in the year-ago period. This was mainly due to ongoing increased competitive pressure on base rate plan pricing, as well as lower data overage revenues from customers subscribing to unlimited and bigger capacity data plans.
Bell Media revenues grew 3.8% year over year to C$843 million, boosted by higher subscriber revenues (up 8.1%), partly offset by lower ad revenues (down 3.1%). Total digital revenues rose 9%, driven mainly by Crave and direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth.
Other Details of BCE
Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter fell 0.9% year over year to C$2,674 million, with a 1.6% fall at Bell CTS, partly offset by a 7.8% rise at Bell Media. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 43.9% compared with 44.9% in the prior-year quarter.
BCE’s Cash Flow
BCE’s operating cash flow was down 8.9% year over year to C$1,947 million, but free cash flow was up 5% to C$1,152 million from the prior-year quarter. Free cash flow was driven by reduced capital expenditures and lower cash dividends paid by subsidiaries to non-controlling interests, despite a decline in cash flows from operating activities.
BCE’s 2025 Outlook
BCE updated its full-year 2025 financial guidance to reflect the Ziply Fiber acquisition. The guidance does not reflect the pending divestiture of Northwestel.
For 2025, management now anticipates revenue growth of 0-2% with previous guidance being (3)-1%.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow in the 0-2% range compared with the previous guidance of (2)-2% band. Free cash flow is now forecasted in the range of 6% to 11% lower compared with the earlier guidance of 11-19% growth. Free cash flow guidance was adjusted as BCE expects capital intensity to further decrease following Ziply Fiber's buildout of 500,000 fiber locations in its copper footprint by year-end 2028.
Earlier, management adjusted the annual dividend to C$1.75 per share from C$3.99, reinforcing the balance sheet while preserving flexibility amid economic uncertainty.
Adjusted EPS growth is now likely to be between (13%) and (10%) compared with the earlier range of (13%) to (8%)
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (LUMN - Free Report) reported a second-quarter 2025 adjusted loss (excluding special items) of 3 cents per share, which was significantly narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 24 cents. Adjusted loss per share was 13 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Lumen’s quarterly total revenues were $3.092 billion, down 5% year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.1%. The top line was impacted by $46 million in one-time reimbursements related to the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Driven by significant AI-fueled connectivity demand, Lumen secured a total of $9 billion in PCF deals, up $500 million since the first quarter.
TELUS Corporation (TU - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 22 Canadian cents, down from 25 Canadian cents in the same period last year. Quarterly total operating revenues increased 2% from a year ago to C$5,082 million, owing to strong revenue growth across all segments. The company’s operating revenues (from contracts with customers) were C$5,031 million, up 3% year over year.
TELUS delivered total mobile and fixed customer growth of 198,000 during the second quarter, driven by 167,000 additions in mobile phones and connected devices, and 31,000 fixed customer additions.
Telefonica, S.A. (TEF - Free Report) reported a second-quarter 2025 net income of €155 million, which plummeted 67% year over year. Furthermore, basic EPS were €0.02 (8 cents) compared with €0.07 a year ago. The bottom line met the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
TEF’s quarterly revenues declined 3.7% year over year to €8.95 billion ($10.2 billion) due to adverse foreign exchange rate movements. The top line fell short of the consensus estimate by 8.83%. However, the quarterly revenue figures showed an organic growth of 1.5%, highlighting the company’s operational strength in its core markets. Segment-wise, Telefonica experienced notable gains in B2B, with organic revenue growth of 5.2%, while B2C revenues increased 2.1%.
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BCE Q2 Earnings Miss, Revenues Beat Estimates, Guidance Revised
Key Takeaways
BCE Inc. (BCE - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 63 Canadian cents (46 cents) compared with 78 Canadian cents in the prior-year quarter. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52 cents per share.
Quarterly total operating revenues inched up 1.3% year over year to C$6,085 million ($4,397.8 million). The top line beat the consensus estimate of $4,324.9 million. It reported a 17.4% increase in product revenues to C$818 million and a 1.5% dip in total service revenues to C$5,267 million.
BCE’s shares are up 0.2% in pre-market trading today. Shares of the company have lost 32.1% in the past year compared with the Zacks Diversified Communication Services industry's decline of 2.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BCE Segmental Results
Bell CTS’ operating revenues went up 1% year over year to C$5,334 million, due to higher product revenues, partly offset by lower service revenues.
Within the Bell CTS segment, service revenues fell 1.5% to C$4,516 million mainly due to declines in legacy voice, legacy data services and satellite services, and lower mobile phone blended average revenue per user (“ARPU”).
Product revenues were up 17.4% year over year, primarily due to the first Bell AI Fabric facility opening in Kamloops, BC and increased wireless device sales to consumers from higher upgrade volumes and contracted activations.
Postpaid mobile phone net subscriber activations were 44,547 against net activations of 78,500 in the prior-year quarter. The decline was due to a 14.8% fall in gross subscriber activations attributed to a softer market, slower population growth from immigration policies and a shift toward higher-value subscriber additions.
BCE, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
BCE, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | BCE, Inc. Quote
Prepaid mobile phone net subscriber activations fell to 49,932 in the second quarter compared with 52,543 in the prior-year quarter. This was due to a 3.7% decline in gross activations, caused by slowing population growth related to government immigration policies.
Mobile phone blended ARPU fell 0.7% to C$57.61 from C$58.04 in the year-ago period. This was mainly due to ongoing increased competitive pressure on base rate plan pricing, as well as lower data overage revenues from customers subscribing to unlimited and bigger capacity data plans.
Bell Media revenues grew 3.8% year over year to C$843 million, boosted by higher subscriber revenues (up 8.1%), partly offset by lower ad revenues (down 3.1%). Total digital revenues rose 9%, driven mainly by Crave and direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth.
Other Details of BCE
Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter fell 0.9% year over year to C$2,674 million, with a 1.6% fall at Bell CTS, partly offset by a 7.8% rise at Bell Media. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 43.9% compared with 44.9% in the prior-year quarter.
BCE’s Cash Flow
BCE’s operating cash flow was down 8.9% year over year to C$1,947 million, but free cash flow was up 5% to C$1,152 million from the prior-year quarter. Free cash flow was driven by reduced capital expenditures and lower cash dividends paid by subsidiaries to non-controlling interests, despite a decline in cash flows from operating activities.
BCE’s 2025 Outlook
BCE updated its full-year 2025 financial guidance to reflect the Ziply Fiber acquisition. The guidance does not reflect the pending divestiture of Northwestel.
For 2025, management now anticipates revenue growth of 0-2% with previous guidance being (3)-1%.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow in the 0-2% range compared with the previous guidance of (2)-2% band. Free cash flow is now forecasted in the range of 6% to 11% lower compared with the earlier guidance of 11-19% growth. Free cash flow guidance was adjusted as BCE expects capital intensity to further decrease following Ziply Fiber's buildout of 500,000 fiber locations in its copper footprint by year-end 2028.
Earlier, management adjusted the annual dividend to C$1.75 per share from C$3.99, reinforcing the balance sheet while preserving flexibility amid economic uncertainty.
Adjusted EPS growth is now likely to be between (13%) and (10%) compared with the earlier range of (13%) to (8%)
BCE’s Zacks Rank
BCE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Performance of Peers in the Same Space
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (LUMN - Free Report) reported a second-quarter 2025 adjusted loss (excluding special items) of 3 cents per share, which was significantly narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 24 cents. Adjusted loss per share was 13 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Lumen’s quarterly total revenues were $3.092 billion, down 5% year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.1%. The top line was impacted by $46 million in one-time reimbursements related to the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Driven by significant AI-fueled connectivity demand, Lumen secured a total of $9 billion in PCF deals, up $500 million since the first quarter.
TELUS Corporation (TU - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 22 Canadian cents, down from 25 Canadian cents in the same period last year. Quarterly total operating revenues increased 2% from a year ago to C$5,082 million, owing to strong revenue growth across all segments. The company’s operating revenues (from contracts with customers) were C$5,031 million, up 3% year over year.
TELUS delivered total mobile and fixed customer growth of 198,000 during the second quarter, driven by 167,000 additions in mobile phones and connected devices, and 31,000 fixed customer additions.
Telefonica, S.A. (TEF - Free Report) reported a second-quarter 2025 net income of €155 million, which plummeted 67% year over year. Furthermore, basic EPS were €0.02 (8 cents) compared with €0.07 a year ago. The bottom line met the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
TEF’s quarterly revenues declined 3.7% year over year to €8.95 billion ($10.2 billion) due to adverse foreign exchange rate movements. The top line fell short of the consensus estimate by 8.83%. However, the quarterly revenue figures showed an organic growth of 1.5%, highlighting the company’s operational strength in its core markets. Segment-wise, Telefonica experienced notable gains in B2B, with organic revenue growth of 5.2%, while B2C revenues increased 2.1%.