BCE Waiting For The Next Act

BCE (BCE) reported excellent results. Net earnings applicable to common shares of $558 million, up $310 million year-over-year. The dividend yield is well over 5% which traditionally signals high valuation. The dividend is declared but essentially unchanged. So while there is good news the board is not yet prepared to send the dividend signal. We all know they are re-structuring and re-building so read the results carefully it’s never a straight line.

The interesting perspective is that BCE owns a large hunk of CTV. Currently there is an ad war between cable and local stations about dubious access fees. BCE has a financial interest in both sides of the quirky