Montreal – November 05, 2026 -- BCE Inc. grew third-quarter revenue 2.2% to $6,182 million, but free cash flow fell to $854 million as spending on Bell AI Fabric data centres and Ziply Fiber's U.S. fibre network increased.
Adjusted EBITDA edges up 0.9% while earnings drop on prior-year MLSE gain
Service revenue rose 1.6% to $5,412 million and product revenue climbed 6.9% to $770 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 0.9% to $2,786 million, helped by Bell CTS U.S. and an 8.0% gain at Bell Media. A 0.8% decline at Bell CTS Canada partly offset those gains.
Operating costs rose 3.3%, reflecting a full quarter of Ziply Fiber expenses versus two months in Q3 2025, plus higher content costs at Bell Media.
Net earnings fell 84.6% to $701 million. Net earnings attributable to common shareholders dropped 86.0% to $630 million, or $0.67 per share. BCE attributed the decline mainly to lower investment gains after the 2025 sale of its minority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Adjusted net earnings declined 5.2% to $695 million, and adjusted EPS fell 6.3% to $0.74.
Operating cash flow rises 15.9% to $2,218 million as capex climbs
Cash flows from operating activities grew 15.9%. Free cash flow decreased to $854 million on higher capital expenditures for Bell AI Fabric in Canada and Ziply Fiber's fibre-to-the-premise build in the U.S. CEO Mirko Bibic described the results as "responsible investment in key growth areas" and reaffirmed the target of 3.5x net debt leverage by the end of 2027.
La Caisse to pay C$2.45 billion for 49.9% of new tower company
After quarter-end, Bell signed a definitive agreement under which La Caisse will acquire a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company. The purchase price is C$2.45 billion, subject to customary adjustments. BCE retains control of the business. The company says the deal gives it flexibility to strengthen the balance sheet and fund growth areas.
Business Markets revenue jumps 9.2% on 41% growth in AI-powered solutions
Demand for Ateko and Bell Cyber drove the 41% growth in AI-powered solutions revenue. Bell signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Government of Saskatchewan to explore up to 900 megawatts of additional Bell AI Fabric capacity near Regina, a potential path to 1.2 gigawatts in total.
Bell Cyber and Cohere deployed a sovereign AI model for Canadian cybersecurity operations on Bell AI Fabric infrastructure. Bell also signed a separate memorandum of understanding with Cisco on sovereign AI infrastructure, and launched its On-Demand Network, which it calls Canada's first Network-as-a-Service platform, built on Bell's fibre network and Cisco infrastructure.
Fibre adds 67,199 subscribers; postpaid churn hits 1.06%
Bell added 67,199 residential FTTH Internet net subscribers, including Ziply Fiber, and Internet revenue grew 5.1%. Postpaid mobile phone net activations totalled 24,110. Postpaid churn fell 7 basis points to 1.06%, the lowest Q3 level in four years.
Bell completed construction of its first sovereign direct-to-device satellite ground station in Quebec and began testing with AST SpaceMobile's constellation. Once commercial, it is expected to extend mobile coverage in remote areas up to the 59th parallel. Rohde & Schwarz ranked Bell's 5G+ network Canada's fastest, based on drive testing across 19 communities.
Bell Media revenue climbs 9.7% on World Cup audiences and 5.15 million Crave subscriptions
Bell Media's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage reached more than 30 million Canadians across TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo and Crave. The final averaged 6.4 million viewers, the most-watched World Cup match in Canada. Crave subscriptions rose 21% to 5.15 million, with direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers up 41%.
Bell's networks carried 330 TB of wireless traffic across stadiums, fan festivals and fan zones in Toronto and Vancouver during the tournament. Bell Media also signed a first-look development deal with Jeff Frost's Bristol Circle Entertainment for scripted content on CTV and Crave. Crave and Noovo's Quebec election leaders' debate reached more than 1.3 million viewers on Noovo.