Analyst Note
| Matthew Dolgin, CFA |As has been the case throughout the pandemic, BCE’s revenue and profits were depressed in the fourth quarter, with the wireless and media segments being hurt most. Even so, the firm again outperformed Rogers, its main competitor, and results were generally in line with FactSet consensus estimates. We expect substantial business improvement throughout the Canadian telecom industry when the pandemic ends, and BCE continues to position itself to outperform its peers, in our view, based on the investment it is making. The firm announced a capital spending acceleration over the next two years to more rapidly roll out its fiber-to-the-home and wireless home Internet footprints, which are primary reasons we prefer BCE to its Canadian peers. We plan to maintain our CAD 65 fair value estimate, and we think the stock is very attractive right now.