TD Securities Turns Cautious on BCE, Lowers ARPU Estimates

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is included among the 15 Cheapest Stocks with Highest Dividends.

TD Securities Turns Cautious on BCE, Lowers ARPU Estimates

On April 2, TD Securities downgraded BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) to Hold from Buy and set a C$37 price target. Analyst Vince Valentini reduced his average revenue per user (ARPU) growth estimates by 100 basis points across the next seven quarters for three major telecom players.

On March 16, Reuters reported that BCE plans to invest an additional $1.7 billion to build a 300-megawatt AI data center in Saskatchewan, with Cerebras Systems and CoreWeave signed on as tenants. A unit of BCE, Bell Canada, is working with a provincial government to develop and operate what it described as the largest purpose-built AI data center in Canada once completed. The company expects to spend around $1.3 billion in capital expenditures in 2026 to support construction. Funding will come from a mix of debt and available cash.

Cerebras Systems is expected to supply AI chips for large-scale training and computing. CoreWeave will provide AI computing capacity using processors from NVIDIA. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring. The project will roll out in phases, with the first stage expected to be operational in the first half of 2027. The facility is intended to serve as a regional hub for advanced computing. It is expected to support the expansion of Canada’s AI ecosystem and contribute to economic growth in Saskatchewan.

It will also connect to Bell’s fibre network through a partnership with SaskTel. Both companies will act as go-to-market partners to deliver AI-powered products and services. BCE has also raised its forecast for AI-driven solutions revenue to about $2 billion by 2028, up from a prior estimate of roughly $1.5 billion.

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is a Canada-based communications company. It provides broadband Internet, wireless, television, media, and business communication services through its Bell brand. The company operates through two segments: Bell Communication and Technology Services and Bell Media.

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