BCE reports third quarter 2026 results

• 2.2% consolidated revenue growth delivered 0.9% higher adjusted EBITDA¹
• Net earnings of $701 million, down 84.6% due to lower gains on investments from sale of MLSE stake in 2025, with net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $630 million, down 86.0%, or $0.67 per common share; adjusted net earnings¹ of $695 million yielded adjusted EPS¹ of $0.74, down 6.3%
• Cash flows from operating activities up 15.9% to $2,218 million; free cash flow¹ decreased to $854 million on higher capital expenditures to support the build-out of Bell AI Fabric data centres in Canada and Ziply Fiber's fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) network in the U.S.
• Bell Business Markets revenue² up 9.2% with 41% growth of AI-powered solutions revenue² driven by strong demand for Ateko and Bell Cyber
• 67,199 residential fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) Internet net subscriber³ activations⁴, including Ziply Fiber, contributing to 5.1% Internet revenue growth
• 24,110 postpaid mobile phone net subscriber³ activations; postpaid churn down 7 basis points to 1.06%³ -- lowest Q3 level in four years
• Bell Media revenue up 9.7% on strong FIFA World Cup 2026^TM and Crave performance, with adjusted EBITDA up 8.0%
• Crave subscriptions up 21% to 5.15 million, driven by strong direct-to-consumer streaming growth

MONTRÉAL -- BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE) (NYSE: BCE) today reported results for the third quarter (Q3) of 2026.

"In the year since our Investor Day 2025, Bell's Q3 results show responsible investment in key growth areas and steadfast execution of our long-term priorities," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO, BCE and Bell Canada.

"Fibre and wireless continue to drive growth. We added more than 24,000 postpaid mobile phone net subscribers, with churn reaching its lowest third-quarter level in four years. We also added more than 67,000 new residential FTTH subscribers across Canada and the U.S., contributing to 5.1% Internet revenue growth.

Bell Business Markets remains a strong performer with revenue up 9.2%, including 41% growth in AI-powered solutions revenue. We also continued to advance Bell AI Fabric, including a non-binding MOU with the Government of Saskatchewan to explore up to 900 megawatts of additional capacity at our facility outside Regina, creating a potential path to 1.2 gigawatts of total capacity.

Bell Media delivered its second consecutive quarter of strong revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth. Crave subscriptions grew 21% to over 5.1 million, including 41% growth in direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers.

We also announced an agreement with La Caisse to sell a 49.9% stake in our newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company, allowing us to surface the value of our tower infrastructure assets while retaining control of the business.

Our commitment to 3.5x net debt leverage¹ by the end of 2027 remains unchanged, and we remain focused on disciplined execution of our four strategic priorities. As we invest in the future to create value for shareholders, we are pleased with the progress we've made as we head into the end of 2026."

KEY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

Driving transformation through new business transactions

• Subsequent to the end of Q3, Bell entered into a definitive agreement with La Caisse, which will acquire a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company for a purchase price of C$2.45 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The move allows BCE to surface the value embedded in its passive infrastructure assets, giving it financial flexibility to strengthen the balance sheet and fund future key growth areas.

Put the customer first

• Bell became the first carrier in Canada to detect and protect customers against spoofed calls using AI, enhancing our Suspicious Call Detection service with a model that identifies and flags suspicious spoofing activity in real time. This development adds another layer of protection against increasingly sophisticated phone fraud.
• Bell launched its On-Demand Network, Canada's first Network-as-a-Service platform, giving business customers a single digital experience to help activate, manage and scale connectivity. Built on Bell's fibre network and powered by Cisco infrastructure, the platform provides greater visibility, control and flexibility as business needs evolve.

Deliver the best fibre and wireless networks

• Bell delivered a championship network performance during Canada's summer of world-class soccer, carrying 330 TB of wireless traffic across stadiums, official fan festivals and municipal fan zones in Toronto and Vancouver. Powered by Bell's fibre and 5G+ Advanced networks, the operation provided secure, resilient and reliable connectivity for fans, broadcasters, media partners and tournament operations.
• Bell completed construction of its first sovereign direct-to-device satellite ground station in Canada, located in Québec, and began testing the facility with AST SpaceMobile's satellite constellation. The technology, once deployed commercially, will allow Canadians greater mobile connectivity in remote and rural locations up to the 59^th parallel.
• Bell's 5G+ network was ranked Canada's Fastest 5G+ Network by Rohde & Schwarz⁵, based on independent drive testing across 19 Canadian communities. The recognition was the latest in a series of accolades that reinforced Bell's continued investment in faster speeds, stronger reliability and advanced wireless capabilities for customers across Canada.

Lead in enterprise with AI-powered solutions

• Bell announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding to expand Bell AI Fabric in Saskatchewan through the phased development of up to 900 MW of additional capacity, creating a path to a 1.2 GW Canadian AI infrastructure hub. The project is expected to support Canadian data sovereignty, local investment and long-term national economic growth.
• Bell Cyber and Cohere deployed a sovereign domain-specific AI model for Canadian cybersecurity operations, combining Cohere's secure enterprise AI technology with Bell Cyber's data and operational expertise. Running on Bell AI Fabric infrastructure, the model is designed to accelerate threat investigations while keeping processing and sensitive security information in Canada.
• Bell and Cisco signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on sovereign AI infrastructure for Canada, bringing together Bell's Canadian data centres, networks and operations with Cisco's AI, security, and infrastructure technologies. The collaboration will provide flexible options to help Canadian organizations deploy, operate and scale AI infrastructure in Canada.

Build a digital media and content powerhouse

• Bell Media broke viewership records with Canada's biggest FIFA World Cup^TM ever, reaching more than 30 million Canadians on TSN, RDS, CTV, Noovo and Crave throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026^TM tournament. The final game was the most watched World Cup match ever in Canada with an average audience of 6.4 million viewers.
• Bell Media expanded its investment in premium original drama through a first-look development agreement with Jeff Frost's Bristol Circle Entertainment, focused on developing original scripted content for CTV and Crave. The agreement combines Bell Media's reach and commissioning expertise with Bristol Circle Entertainment's track record in premium television to create Canadian content for audiences at home and around the world.
• Crave and Noovo presented Québec's 2026 provincial election leaders' debate, bringing together the leaders of the province's five main political parties. The event marked the first leaders' debate on Crave and the first produced by Noovo Info, reaching more than 1.3 million viewers on Noovo and continuing to draw audiences on Crave, where it remains available on demand.
• Crave expanded the reach of Québec productions across Canada by adding a selection of Télé-Québec fiction, documentary and children's programming to its offering. English subtitles are available for several titles, helping Québec stories reach broader French- and English-speaking audiences and supporting the discoverability of local creators nationwide.

BCE RESULTS

Financial Highlights

BCE operating revenues were $6,182 million in Q3 2026, up 2.2% compared to Q3 2025. This was the result of 1.6% higher service revenue of $5,412 million and a 6.9% increase in product revenue to $770 million.

• The increase in service revenue reflects the contribution of Bell Communication and Technology Services (Bell CTS) U.S., which includes Ziply Fiber's results for a full quarter compared to only two months in Q3 2025, and growth at Bell Media, partly offset by a year-over-year decline at Bell CTS Canada.

Net earnings in Q3 decreased 84.6% to $701 million and net earnings attributable to common shareholders totalled $630 million, or $0.67 per share, down 86.0% and 86.2%, respectively.

• The year-over-year declines were mainly due to lower gains on investments resulting from the sale of our minority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) in 2025, partly offset by lower impairment of assets, lower income taxes and lower other expense.

Adjusted net earnings were down 5.2% in Q3 to $695 million, resulting in a 6.3% decrease in adjusted EPS to $0.74.

Adjusted EBITDA grew 0.9% in Q3 to $2,786 million, reflecting the contribution of Bell CTS U.S. and an 8.0% increase at Bell Media, partly offset by a 0.8% decrease at Bell CTS Canada.

• Higher operating revenue was moderated by:
  • 3.3% increase in operating costs, reflecting a full quarter of Ziply Fiber's operating expenses, compared to two months in Q3 2025;
  • higher content costs at Bell Media;
  • modest increase in operating costs at Bell CTS Canada.

• Adjusted EBITDA margin⁶ was 45.1%, down 0.6 percentage points from 45.7% in Q3 2025, reflecting higher operating expenses and a greater proportion of lower margin product sales.

BCE capital expenditures in Q3 were $1,330 million, up 49.3% from $891 million last year, corresponding to a capital intensity⁷ of 21.5%, compared to 14.7% in Q3 2025.

• The year-over-year increase reflected greater capital investments to support the build-out of Bell AI Fabric data centres in Canada, as well as $225 million in capital investments in the U.S. to support the continued expansion of Ziply Fiber's FTTP network, compared to $128 million in Q3 2025, which included only two months of Ziply Fiber. This was partly offset by lower spending on FTTP footprint expansion in Canada.

BCE cash flows from operating activities in Q3 were $2,218 million, up 15.9% from $1,914 million in Q3 2025.

• The year-over-year increase reflected higher working capital, lower income taxes paid, lower interest paid and lower severance, acquisition and other costs paid.

Free cash flow was $854 million, down 14.9% from $1,003 million in Q3 2025, mainly due to higher capital expenditures, partly offset by higher cash flows from operating activities, excluding cash from income taxes paid on significant divestitures and acquisition and other costs paid.

OPERATING RESULTS BY SEGMENT

Bell CTS

On August 1, 2025, BCE completed its acquisition of Ziply Fiber and created the Bell CTS U.S. segment. The results of BCE's Canadian wireless and wireline operations are reported under Bell CTS Canada.

Bell CTS operating revenues increased 1.3% to $5,476 million in Q3 2026 compared to Q3 2025, driven by both higher service and product revenue. The increase in service revenue reflects the contribution from Bell CTS U.S., which was included for only two months in Q3 2025, partly offset by a year-over-year decline at Bell CTS Canada.

Bell CTS adjusted EBITDA⁸ grew 0.2% in Q3 to $2,530 million, reflecting the contribution from Bell CTS U.S., partly offset by a year-over-year decline at Bell CTS Canada. Bell CTS adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 0.5 percentage points to 46.2% from 46.7% in Q3 2025. The margin decline reflected a higher proportion of lower-margin product sales and a 2.2% increase in operating costs, mainly due to a full quarter of Ziply Fiber's operating expenses compared to two months in Q3 2025.

Bell CTS added 67,199 net residential FTTH Internet subscribers^3,4 in Q3 2026, down 10.8% from 75,334 in Q3 2025, mainly due to lower net activations at Bell CTS Canada.

Total high-speed Internet net subscriber³ activations totalled 27,186 in Q3 2026, down 6.5% from 29,083 in Q3 2025, reflecting declines at both Bell CTS Canada and Bell CTS U.S.

Bell CTS high-speed Internet subscribers^{3,4,9,10,11,12} totalled 4,942,447 at the end of Q3 2026, down 2.1% from Q3 2025. The decrease reflects a decline at Bell CTS Canada, partly offset by an increase at Bell CTS U.S. Included in the total were 3,697,621 residential FTTH Internet subscribers, up 2.8% compared to Q3 2025.

• A small acquisition by Ziply Fiber in the quarter added 3,839 high-speed Internet subscribers, including 3,814 residential FTTH Internet subscribers, to the respective bases.

Bell CTS video net subscriber³ losses totalled 5,514 in Q3 2026, compared to 1,666 in Q3 2025. The increase in net losses was driven by greater net losses at both Bell CTS Canada and Bell CTS U.S.

At the end of Q3 2026, Bell CTS served 2,158,569 video subscribers^3,12,13, a 2.6% increase over Q3 2025, reflecting year-over-year growth at Bell CTS Canada, partly offset by a year-over-year decline at Bell CTS U.S.

Bell CTS retail residential NAS net losses³ increased by 5.8% to 48,659 in Q3 2026, reflecting increased net losses at Bell CTS Canada, partly offset by fewer net losses at Bell CTS U.S.

Bell CTS' retail residential NAS customer base^3,11,12 totalled 1,586,229 at the end of Q3 2026, representing a 10.2% decline compared to Q3 2025. The decrease reflects declines at both Bell CTS Canada and Bell CTS U.S.

Bell CTS Canada

Bell CTS Canada operating revenue decreased 0.2% to $5,238 million in Q3 2026 compared to Q3 2025, due to lower service revenue, partly offset by higher product revenue.

Bell CTS Canada service revenue was down 1.3% in Q3 to $4,468 million, reflecting:

• ongoing declines in legacy voice, data and TV services;
• greater residential acquisition, retention and bundle discounts on residential services compared to Q3 2025;
• lower mobile phone blended average revenue per user (ARPU)¹⁴;
• the sale of our home security and monitored alarm assets in Q4 2025.

These factors were partly offset by:

• continued growth in our postpaid mobile phone, mobile connected device and FTTP Internet subscriber bases;
• increased sales of AI-powered solutions driven by growth at Ateko and Bell Cyber, as well as higher traditional business solutions services revenues.

Bell CTS Canada product revenue increased 6.9% in Q3 to $770 million, reflecting greater equipment sales to large business customers, including the timing of certain wireline equipment deals.

Bell CTS Canada adjusted EBITDA decreased 0.8% in Q3 to $2,435 million, reflecting the flow-through of lower year-over-year service revenue and 0.3% higher operating costs. Together with a greater proportion of lower-margin product sales, these factors contributed to a 0.3 percentage-point margin decline to 46.5% from 46.8% in Q3 2025. The increase in operating costs this quarter is attributed to:

• higher costs associated with the growth of our AI-powered solutions business and traditional business solutions services;
• greater cost of goods sold driven by higher wireline product sales.

These cost factors were partly offset by cost reduction initiatives and operating efficiencies.

Postpaid mobile phone net subscriber^3,15 activations totalled 24,110 in Q3 2026, up 12,599 from Q3 2025. The increase reflects greater migrations from prepaid service, the onboarding of customers under a long-term government-sector mobile services contract, and lower mobile phone postpaid customer churn, which improved 7 basis points to 1.06% amid lower market activity and our continued focus on customer service and retention.

This was partly offset by 6.1% lower gross subscriber activations, due to a less active market resulting from reduced promotional offer intensity and limited population growth in Canada.

Prepaid mobile phone net subscriber activations^3,15 totalled 29,579 in Q3 2026, compared to 56,507 in Q3 2025. The year-over-year decline reflected greater migrations to postpaid service and a 7.7% decrease in gross activations due to limited population growth in Canada and fewer international students. Mobile phone prepaid customer churn increased to 5.32% from 5.10% in Q3 2025.

Bell's mobile phone customer base^3,15,16 totalled 10,433,954 at the end of Q3 2026, essentially stable year over year. The total comprised 9,633,130 postpaid subscribers, up 1.1%, and 800,824 prepaid subscribers, down 8.3% compared to Q3 2025.

Mobile phone blended ARPU¹⁴ was down 1.7% to $57.07 in Q3 2026 from $58.04 in Q3 2025, reflecting:

• lower connection fees related to the implementation of a recent CRTC ruling prohibiting certain customer fees;
• lower overage revenue from customers subscribing to unlimited and larger capacity data plans;
• lower outbound roaming revenue due to increasing adoption of plans that include U.S. and international roaming and decreased international travel;
• the impact on blended ARPU of onboarding customers under a long-term government-sector mobile services contract.

Mobile connected device³ net activations decreased 49.9% in Q3 2026, compared to the same period last year, mainly due to higher business Internet of Things (IoT) deactivations.

At the end of Q3 2026, mobile connected device subscribers^3,15,16 totalled 3,435,436, an increase of 5.6% over last year.

Bell CTS Canada residential FTTH Internet net subscriber³ activations totalled 58,643 in Q3 2026, compared to 66,766 in Q3 2025. Despite continued strong demand for Bell's fibre services and bundled offerings with mobile service, the year-over-year decrease reflects:

• a lower level of new fibre footprint expansion compared to last year;
• slower market growth due to limited population growth.

Bell CTS Canada high-speed Internet net subscriber³ activations totalled 23,436 in Q3 2026, compared to 24,431 in Q3 2025.

Bell CTS Canada video net subscriber³ losses totalled 5,328 in Q3 2026, compared to 1,609 in Q3 2025. The higher year-over-year net losses reflect greater IPTV net losses, partly offset by strong uptake of our streaming bundles.

Bell CTS Canada retail residential NAS³ net subscriber losses were 45,604 in Q3 2026, compared to 42,866 in Q3 2025, reflecting continued substitution to wireless and Internet-based technologies.

Bell CTS U.S.

Bell CTS U.S. operating revenues were $238 million in Q3 2026, compared to $160 million in Q3 2025. The increase primarily reflects the inclusion of a full quarter of Ziply Fiber's results, compared to only two months following its acquisition on August 1, 2025. Growth in Internet revenue from the continued expansion of Ziply Fiber's FTTP footprint was offset by ongoing declines in legacy voice and data services.

Bell CTS U.S. adjusted EBITDA was $95 million in Q3 2026, compared to $71 million in Q3 2025. Operating costs were $143 million, compared to $89 million. The Q3 2025 comparatives include only two months of Ziply Fiber. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 39.9%, down 4.5 percentage points from 44.4%, reflecting acquisition-related changes to the cost base, higher payments to the Network FiberCo partnership and the flow-through of lower legacy voice and data revenue.

Bell CTS U.S. residential FTTH Internet net subscriber³ activations totalled 8,556 in Q3 2026, compared to 8,568 in Q3 2025, which included only two months of Ziply Fiber.

Bell CTS U.S. retail residential NAS net subscriber³ losses were 3,055 in Q3 2026, compared to 3,124 in Q3 2025, which included only two months of Ziply Fiber. The losses reflect ongoing substitution to wireless and Internet-based technologies.

Bell Media

Bell Media operating revenue increased 9.7% year over year to $803 million, driven by higher advertising, subscriber and program sales.  

Advertising revenue was up 9.0% in Q3 2026, reflecting strong sports advertising performance driven by the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and growth in digital video advertising revenue¹⁷, partly offset by continued softness in traditional advertising demand.

Subscriber revenue increased 9.5% in Q3 2026, on continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth, which benefitted from the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Total digital revenues¹⁸ grew 19.9% year over year in Q3 2026, driven by continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth and higher digital video advertising revenue, reflecting increased adoption of ad-supported subscription tiers on Crave, highlighting Bell Media's ongoing shift to digital advertising platforms.

Total Crave subscriptions increased 21% year over year to 5.15 million at the end of Q3 2026, driven by a 41% increase in Crave direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers.

Bell Media adjusted EBITDA was up 8.0% to $256 million in Q3 2026 on the flow-through of higher operating revenue. However, margin declined 0.5 percentage points to 31.9% from 32.4% in Q3 2025, reflecting a 10.5% increase in operating costs associated with the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and contractual rights increases for premium content, including to support the growth of Crave. These factors were partly offset by cost reduction initiatives.

COMMON SHARE DIVIDEND

BCE's Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4375 per common share, payable on January 15, 2027 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2026.

OUTLOOK FOR 2026

BCE confirmed its financial guidance targets for 2026, as provided on February 5, 2026, and as updated on March 16, 2026 to incorporate the expected financial impact of Bell AI Fabric's 300 MW data centre in Saskatchewan, as per the table below.

For 2026, we expect:

• improvements in wireless pricing, growth in AI-powered enterprise solutions, the incremental financial contribution of Ziply Fiber, media revenue growth, and cost efficiencies to support higher revenue and adjusted EBITDA;
• capital expenditures to increase due to the construction of the Saskatchewan AI data centre, resulting in a higher capital intensity ratio;
• higher depreciation and amortization expense, increased interest expense and lower tax adjustments to result in lower adjusted EPS;
• lower free cash flow due to higher capital expenditures related to the construction of the Saskatchewan AI data centre.