Assists from Hollander and Rozanov helped the media company score on streaming revenue
BCE Inc. beat profit expectations but still saw its share price slide as investors focused on weak revenue and ongoing pressure in the wireless market.
According to Bloomberg, BCE earned 69 cents per share on an adjusted basis in the fourth quarter, ahead of the 62–63 cents analysts had forecast.
Net earnings rose to about $632m from $505m a year earlier.
However, BNN Bloomberg said operating revenue edged down to $6.40bn from $6.42bn and noted that the top line came in slightly below estimates.
Bloomberg reported that the stock fell as much as 5 percent after the open in Toronto before trading down about 3.3 percent at $34.78.
Guidance points to modest growth and pricing risk.
BCE said its 2026 guidance remains in line with the three-year financial outlook it shared last year and that it is on track to meet its financial targets by 2028, as reported by BNN Bloomberg.
The company expects revenue to grow 1–5 percent year-over-year in 2026.
Chief executive Mirko Bibic said the company has already factored competitive pricing into its outlook.
He told analysts that coming out of Black Friday in November 2025, BCE thought it could show moderate average revenue per user growth by the fourth quarter of 2026, but recent discounting by peers may make that “more difficult to get there.”
The core wireless franchise shows slower growth but better retention.
BCE added just over 56,000 net postpaid subscribers in the quarter, down about 1 percent from a year earlier.
BNN Bloomberg reported that the company cited a less active market, slower population growth tied to changing immigration policies and its focus on higher-value subscribers.
Mobile phone average revenue per user fell 0.8 per cent to $56.72.
BCE attributed the decline to “ongoing but abating” competitive pricing, lower overage charges as customers move to larger data plans, and weaker roaming revenue as Canadians travel less to the United States and adopt Canada–US–Mexico–international plans.
At the same time, BNN Bloomberg said churn improved to 1.49 percent, the third straight quarter of year-over-year improvement, while Bloomberg cited Bank of Nova Scotia analyst Maher Yaghi describing the shift to premium and converged customers as a “likely the best strategy long term.”
Management is also leaning on enterprise and AI-related services to support growth.
BCE expects revenue to increase 1–5 percent this year, up from 0.2 percent in 2025, helped by AI-related business services, higher wireless pricing and stronger wireless product sales.
Bibic said the company has “really pushed hard” to build an AI strategy that complements its core telecom business, highlighting the Bell AI Fabric network and related data centre buildout.
He said “AI-powered solutions revenue has increased 31 percent year over year in Q4,” driven largely by organic growth in its Ateko automation offering and Bell Cyber.
Media and streaming add another leg to the story.
BNN Bloomberg reported that Crave subscriptions rose 26 percent year-over-year to about 4.6m after the late-November release of “Heated Rivalry,” a hit series about two LGBTQ+ hockey players.
Bibic called the show a “global sensation” that underscores the value of premium Canadian storytelling, and said Bell Media is “off to a strong start” this year, pointing to NFL audiences and the upcoming FIFA World Cup as monetization opportunities.
