BCEBCE Inc.
Is the business good?
The checks split: earnings fully cash-backed (3.1×), but margins compressing.
Operating profit is fully backed by cash. Conversion is worsening vs a year ago.
Operating margin has narrowed over the past few years, profitability per dollar of sales is eroding.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is BCE?
BCE Inc. earns 4.3% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so growth costs more than it returns.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 4.7 points below what the capital costs: growth destroys value
- Operating margin
- 13%
Operating margin · Telecom Services median 11% · 12 months to Q2 2025
- Cash conversion
- 3.10×
Cash conversion · 3.53× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- +2.0%
Share count, year on year · shareholders own a smaller slice than a year ago
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 12% |
| FY2021 | 11% |
| FY2022 | 11% |
| FY2023 | 10% |
| FY2024 | 12% |
| FY2025 | 44% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q2 2025
- 69%
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2025
- 13%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2025
- 9.9%
- Free cash flow margin
- 14%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $24.0B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $3.31B
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $2.39B
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 4.3%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.