BCE
BCE's revenue rose 0.2% to C$24.5 billion in fiscal 2025. Its net margin was 26.6%, up from 1.5% a year earlier. Free cash flow was C$3.3 billion, up 6.5%. It paid out C$2.4 billion in dividends and buybacks, 73% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 1.8%.
Net margin is net income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on equity is net income as a share of shareholders' equity.
Revenue and margins
Net income and earnings per share
From fiscal 2016 to 2025, earnings per share grew 8.2% a year and net income 8.7% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 7% and diluted each share's earnings.
Returns on capital
Cash flow
Payouts and share count
Balance sheet
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | — | — | — | — | — |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 28.0 | 29.5 | 34.4 | 40.5 | 41.1 |
| Net debt (negative means net cash) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Debt to equity | 1.2x | 1.3x | 1.7x | 2.4x | 1.8x |
| Interest coverage | 4.6x | 4.4x | 3.2x | 1.6x | 5.3x |
| Current ratio | 0.7x | 0.6x | 0.7x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
| Quick ratio | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.6x | 0.6x |
Piotroski F-score
The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.
| Test | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Cash from operations is positive | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Return on assets rose | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Debt fell relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Pass |
| Current ratio rose | Pass | Fail | Fail |
| Share count didn't rise | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| Gross margin rose | Fail | Pass | Pass |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | Fail | Fail | Fail |
| F-score | 4 of 9 | 4 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
| Accruals ratio | −8.0% | −9.1% | −0.6% |
Compare
Put BCE side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.
Similar companies
| Company | Year | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Free cash flow margin | Return on capital | Net debt to EBITDA | F-score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCE | FY25 | 0.2% | — | 13.5% | — | — | 6 | |
| AT&T | FY25 | 2.7% | 19.2% | 15.5% | 8.7% | 2.6x | 7 | Compare |
| Verizon | FY25 | 2.5% | 21.2% | 14.6% | 9.4% | 2.9x | 5 | Compare |
| Telephone and Data Systems | FY25 | −5.3% | −7.9% | 16.2% | −1.5% | 0.3x | 5 | Compare |
| Live Nation Entertainment | FY25 | 8.8% | 5.0% | 1.3% | — | 0.6x | 6 | Compare |
10 years of figures
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | 21.7 | 22.7 | 23.5 | 23.8 | 22.9 | 23.4 | 24.2 | 24.7 | 24.4 | 24.5 |
| Revenue growth | — | 4.6% | 3.3% | 1.4% | −3.8% | 2.5% | 3.1% | 2.1% | −1.1% | 0.2% |
| Gross profit | 15.0 | 15.7 | 16.1 | 16.4 | 15.9 | 16.2 | 16.5 | 16.7 | 16.7 | 16.7 |
| Research and development | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Operating income | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net income | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 6.5 |
| Diluted EPS (CAD) | 3.33 | 3.20 | 3.10 | 3.37 | 2.76 | 2.99 | 2.98 | 2.28 | 0.18 | 6.79 |
| Diluted shares (millions) | 870 | 895 | 899 | 901 | 904 | 907 | 912 | 912 | 912 | 929 |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | 6.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Capital expenditure | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| Free cash flow | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| Dividends paid | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 2.2 |
| Share buybacks | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Acquisitions | 0.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 4.9 |
| Stock-based compensation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Balance sheet at fiscal year end | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Debt incl. finance leases | 17.9 | 19.3 | 20.3 | 23.3 | 24.9 | 28.0 | 29.5 | 34.4 | 40.5 | 41.1 |
| Total assets | 50.1 | 55.8 | 57.1 | 60.1 | 60.7 | 66.8 | 69.3 | 71.9 | 73.5 | 80.2 |
| Total liabilities | 32.3 | 35.2 | 36.4 | 38.7 | 39.3 | 43.8 | 46.8 | 51.4 | 56.1 | 56.9 |
| Shareholders' equity | 17.5 | 20.3 | 20.4 | 21.1 | 21.0 | 22.6 | 22.2 | 20.2 | 17.1 | 23.0 |
| Margins and ratios | ||||||||||
| Gross margin | 69.1% | 69.1% | 68.7% | 69.1% | 69.5% | 68.9% | 68.4% | 67.9% | 68.4% | 68.5% |
| Operating margin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Net margin | 14.2% | 13.4% | 12.7% | 13.7% | 11.8% | 12.3% | 12.1% | 9.4% | 1.5% | 26.6% |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.2% | 14.6% | 14.5% | 16.7% | 15.5% | 13.5% | 13.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% | 13.5% |
| Return on capital | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Return on equity | — | 16.1% | 14.6% | 15.7% | 12.8% | 13.3% | 13.1% | 11.0% | 2.0% | 32.5% |
| Return on assets | — | 5.8% | 5.3% | 5.5% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.3% | 3.3% | 0.5% | 8.5% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |