BCE Inc (BCE) Cash Flow Statement
Where BCE’s cash came from and went, 2025
December 31, 2025 · Canadian dollars- Cash from operations
- C$6.99B +0.1% vs 2024
- Capital expenditures
- C$3.70B 15.1% of revenue
- Free cash flow
- C$3.29B 13.5% margin
- Returned to shareholders
- C$2.36B 72% of free cash flow
- Change in cash
- −C$1.25B cash at year-end C$320.0M
Cash from operations
C$6.99B
Capital expenditures
−C$3.70B
Investments (net)
+C$5.00B
Acquisitions & other
−C$4.90B
Dividends
−C$2.18B
Share buybacks (net)
−C$182.0M
Net borrowing (repayment)
−C$1.83B
Other financing
−C$456.0M
Change in cash
−C$1.25B
Drawn to scale: where the cash came from and how it was used. Hover for values.
BCE operating cash flow, capex and free cash flow
Operating cash flowCapital expendituresFree cash flowFCF margin (right axis)
BCE cash flow trends, 2016–2025
| Metric | Trend | Then | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | C$6.64B2016 | C$6.99B2025 | +0.6%/yr | |
| Capital expenditures | C$3.77B2016 | C$3.70B2025 | −0.2%/yr | |
| Free cash flow | C$2.87B2016 | C$3.29B2025 | +1.5%/yr | |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.2%2016 | 13.5%2025 | +0.2 pts | |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 2.192016 | 1.082025 | −1.11 | |
| Stock-based compensation | C$90.0M2016 | C$95.0M2023 | +0.8%/yr | |
| Dividends paid | C$2.43B2016 | C$2.18B2025 | −1.2%/yr | |
| Share buybacks (net) | C$106.0M2016 | C$182.0M2025 | +6.2%/yr | |
| Capex / revenue | 17.4%2016 | 15.1%2025 | −2.2 pts |
Change is the average annual growth (CAGR) or the difference between the first and latest year.
BCE cash flow by activity
OperatingInvestingFinancingChange in cash
BCE net income vs operating cash flow
Net incomeOperating cash flow
Operating cash flow above net income usually means earnings are backed by cash (depreciation and stock-based pay are non-cash expenses).
BCE cash flow statement in Canadian dollars
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | ||||||||||
| Net income | C$6.46B | C$375.0M | C$2.33B | C$2.93B | C$2.89B | C$2.47B | C$3.25B | C$2.93B | C$2.99B | C$3.03B |
| Depreciation & amortization | C$5.24B | C$5.04B | C$4.92B | C$4.72B | C$4.61B | C$4.40B | C$4.40B | C$4.01B | C$3.84B | C$3.51B |
| Stock-based compensation | — | — | C$95.0M | C$101.0M | −C$1.79B | −C$1.42B | −C$1.80B | C$89.0M | C$81.0M | C$90.0M |
| Change in working capital | −C$657.0M | −C$534.0M | −C$157.0M | C$367.0M | C$285.0M | C$473.0M | C$57.0M | C$381.0M | C$376.0M | C$286.0M |
| Other non-cash items | −C$4.05B | C$2.11B | C$763.0M | C$248.0M | C$2.01B | C$1.82B | C$2.06B | −C$29.0M | C$63.0M | −C$272.0M |
| Cash from operating activities | C$6.99B | C$6.99B | C$7.95B | C$8.37B | C$8.01B | C$7.75B | C$7.96B | C$7.38B | C$7.36B | C$6.64B |
| Investing activities | ||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | −C$3.70B | −C$4.43B | −C$4.76B | −C$5.14B | −C$6.92B | −C$4.29B | −C$3.99B | −C$4.03B | −C$4.03B | −C$3.77B |
| Investments (net) | C$5.00B | −C$4.44B | −C$5.66B | −C$5.51B | −C$7.00B | −C$3.54B | −C$4.04B | −C$4.39B | −C$5.44B | −C$4.58B |
| Acquisitions & other investing | −C$4.90B | C$4.43B | C$4.64B | C$5.13B | C$6.92B | C$4.29B | C$3.99B | C$4.03B | C$4.03B | C$3.77B |
| Cash from investing activities | −C$3.60B | −C$4.44B | −C$5.78B | −C$5.52B | −C$7.00B | −C$3.54B | −C$4.04B | −C$4.39B | −C$5.44B | −C$4.58B |
| Financing activities | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | −C$2.18B | −C$3.80B | −C$3.67B | −C$3.45B | −C$3.26B | −C$3.11B | −C$2.97B | −C$2.83B | −C$2.64B | −C$2.43B |
| Share repurchases & issuance (net) | −C$182.0M | −C$235.0M | −C$140.0M | −C$125.0M | C$5.04B | C$5.74B | C$1.94B | −C$175.0M | −C$224.0M | −C$106.0M |
| Net borrowing (repayment) | −C$1.83B | C$2.48B | C$2.69B | C$739.0M | C$2.58B | −C$638.0M | −C$1.21B | C$158.0M | C$691.0M | C$719.0M |
| Shares issued | C$0 | C$0 | C$20.0M | C$171.0M | C$261.0M | C$26.0M | C$240.0M | C$11.0M | C$0 | C$0 |
| Other financing | −C$456.0M | −C$191.0M | −C$445.0M | −C$325.0M | −C$5.65B | −C$6.15B | −C$2.21B | −C$364.0M | C$23.0M | −C$1.0M |
| Cash from financing activities | −C$4.65B | −C$1.75B | −C$1.54B | −C$2.99B | −C$1.02B | −C$4.13B | −C$4.20B | −C$3.20B | −C$2.15B | −C$1.82B |
| Summary | ||||||||||
| Net change in cash | −C$1.25B | C$800.0M | C$623.0M | −C$140.0M | −C$17.0M | C$79.0M | −C$280.0M | −C$200.0M | −C$228.0M | C$240.0M |
| Cash at end of period | C$320.0M | C$1.57B | C$772.0M | C$149.0M | C$207.0M | C$224.0M | C$145.0M | C$425.0M | C$625.0M | C$853.0M |
| Free cash flow | C$3.29B | C$2.56B | C$3.18B | C$3.23B | C$1.09B | C$3.47B | C$3.97B | C$3.36B | C$3.32B | C$2.87B |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.5% | 10.5% | 12.9% | 13.4% | 4.6% | 15.1% | 21.6% | 14.3% | 14.6% | 13.2% |
| Capex / revenue | 15.1% | 18.1% | 19.3% | 21.2% | 29.5% | 18.7% | 21.7% | 17.2% | 17.8% | 17.4% |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 1.08 | 18.63 | 3.41 | 2.86 | 2.77 | 3.14 | 2.45 | 2.52 | 2.46 | 2.19 |
| Jun '26 | Mar '26 | Dec '25 | Sep '25 | Jun '25 | Mar '25 | Dec '24 | Sep '24 | Jun '24 | Mar '24 | Dec '23 | Sep '23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating activities | ||||||||||||
| Net income | C$597.3M | C$654.7M | C$630.0M | C$4.55B | C$644.0M | C$466.2M | C$350.2M | −C$1.19B | C$426.0M | C$331.5M | C$324.4M | C$707.0M |
| Depreciation & amortization | C$1.38B | C$1.36B | C$1.37B | C$1.31B | C$1.29B | C$1.27B | C$1.25B | C$1.26B | C$1.27B | C$1.26B | C$1.25B | C$1.23B |
| Stock-based compensation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | C$18.0M | C$34.0M | C$16.0M | −C$594.0M |
| Change in working capital | −C$99.0M | −C$269.7M | −C$265.0M | C$112.0M | −C$138.0M | −C$395.4M | C$52.8M | −C$134.0M | C$54.8M | −C$406.7M | C$234.6M | C$88.0M |
| Other non-cash items | C$288.1M | −C$592.5M | −C$174.0M | −C$4.06B | C$154.0M | −C$251.3M | −C$348.7M | C$1.91B | −C$207.3M | −C$385.1M | −C$37.7M | C$528.0M |
| Cash from operating activities | C$2.16B | C$1.15B | C$1.56B | C$1.91B | C$1.95B | C$1.09B | C$1.30B | C$1.84B | C$1.56B | C$835.6M | C$1.79B | C$1.96B |
| Investing activities | ||||||||||||
| Capital expenditures | −C$1.08B | −C$843.2M | −C$1.32B | −C$894.0M | −C$763.0M | −C$506.5M | −C$669.2M | −C$967.0M | −C$714.6M | −C$739.7M | −C$776.4M | −C$1.16B |
| Investments (net) | −C$26.0M | −C$48.0M | −C$85.0M | −C$1.21B | −C$750.0M | −C$339.0M | −C$604.0M | −C$1.05B | −C$1.89B | −C$898.0M | −C$2.06B | −C$1.18B |
| Acquisitions & other investing | −C$21.0M | −C$15.2M | C$101.0M | C$894.0M | C$763.0M | C$610.0M | C$853.5M | C$967.0M | C$1.22B | C$974.8M | C$1.28B | −C$1.39B |
| Cash from investing activities | −C$1.13B | −C$906.3M | −C$1.30B | −C$1.21B | −C$750.0M | −C$235.6M | −C$419.7M | −C$1.05B | −C$1.38B | −C$662.9M | −C$1.55B | −C$3.72B |
| Financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Dividends paid | −C$444.2M | −C$445.1M | −C$454.0M | −C$436.0M | −C$646.0M | −C$445.4M | −C$669.2M | −C$953.0M | −C$697.8M | −C$685.8M | −C$700.2M | −C$918.0M |
| Share repurchases & issuance (net) | −C$63.0M | −C$94.2M | −C$87.0M | −C$67.0M | −C$39.0M | −C$70.2M | −C$45.2M | −C$42.0M | −C$57.0M | −C$104.8M | −C$70.9M | −C$27.0M |
| Net borrowing (repayment) | −C$1.31B | C$1.27B | C$190.0M | −C$69.0M | −C$1.00B | −C$950.0M | −C$507.0M | C$430.0M | — | — | — | −C$59.0M |
| Shares issued | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 | C$0 |
| Other financing | −C$113.6M | −C$23.8M | −C$53.0M | −C$179.0M | −C$52.0M | C$248.2M | C$136.6M | −C$17.0M | C$1.08B | C$756.7M | C$648.9M | −C$62.0M |
| Cash from financing activities | −C$1.93B | C$705.8M | −C$404.0M | −C$751.0M | −C$1.74B | −C$1.22B | −C$1.08B | −C$582.0M | C$320.8M | −C$34.0M | −C$122.2M | −C$1.07B |
| Summary | ||||||||||||
| Net change in cash | −C$926.6M | C$1.05B | −C$151.0M | −C$45.0M | −C$542.0M | −C$361.4M | −C$282.3M | C$212.0M | C$495.5M | C$126.2M | C$126.8M | −C$281.0M |
| Cash at end of period | C$479.2M | C$1.38B | C$314.0M | C$465.0M | C$510.0M | C$731.0M | C$1.09B | C$1.86B | C$1.20B | C$708.7M | C$582.5M | C$619.0M |
| Free cash flow | C$1.08B | C$308.8M | C$244.0M | C$1.02B | C$1.18B | C$585.1M | C$635.1M | C$875.0M | C$846.9M | C$96.0M | C$1.01B | C$799.0M |
| Free cash flow margin | 17.5% | 5.0% | 3.8% | 16.9% | 19.5% | 9.9% | 9.9% | 14.7% | 14.1% | 1.6% | 15.7% | 13.1% |
| Capex / revenue | 17.5% | 13.6% | 20.6% | 14.8% | 12.5% | 8.5% | 10.4% | 16.2% | 11.9% | 12.3% | 12.0% | 19.1% |
| Operating cash flow / net income | 3.62 | 1.76 | 2.48 | 0.42 | 3.02 | 2.34 | 3.72 | — | 3.67 | 2.52 | 5.52 | 2.77 |
Negative numbers are cash paid out. Quarterly columns are labeled by the month the quarter ended. Figures in Canadian dollars as reported; data from EODHD.
BCE cash generation
In fiscal 2025 (ended December 31, 2025), BCE generated C$7.0 billion of cash from operations (up 0.1%) and spent C$3.7 billion on capital expenditures, leaving free cash flow of C$3.3 billion, 13.5% of revenue. It returned C$2.4 billion to shareholders through dividends (C$2.2 billion) and net share buybacks (C$182.0 million). Cash and equivalents fell by C$1.3 billion over the year.
Related: BCE income statement, BCE balance sheet, BCE dividend history. See the BCE stock overview for the latest quote and news.
BCE cash flow FAQ
What is BCE's free cash flow?
BCE's free cash flow was C$3.3 billion in fiscal 2025: C$7.0 billion of operating cash flow minus C$3.7 billion of capital expenditures It was C$2.6 billion a year earlier..
How much cash does BCE generate from operations?
BCE generated C$7.0 billion of cash from operating activities in fiscal 2025, 1.08 times its net income of C$6.5 billion.
How much does BCE spend on capital expenditures?
BCE spent C$3.7 billion on capital expenditures in fiscal 2025, 15.1% of revenue, compared with C$4.4 billion the year before.
How much stock does BCE buy back?
BCE spent C$182.0 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2025.
How much does BCE pay in dividends?
BCE paid C$2.2 billion in dividends in fiscal 2025, 66.1% of free cash flow.