Bell Q4 2024 earnings: postpaid activations down 56% compared to 2023

Bell attributed the decrease to slower population growth and The Source converting to Best Buy Express
Feb 6, 202510:05 AM EST
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Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) released its Q4 2024 earnings on February 6th, reporting a rise in profit over the prior year despite decreasing revenue.

The company reported net earnings of $505 million for the quarter, which ended December 31st. That’s up from $435 million for the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, operating revenue came in at $6.42 billion, down from $6.47 billion the prior year.

Bell said it delivered “positive wireless service revenue growth” despite an “intensely competitive market,” with all new postpaid net activations on the main Bell brand.

Bell reported 56,550 total postpaid mobile phone net subscriber activations in Q4, down 56.1 percent from Q4 2023. The company attributed the decrease to 9.5 percent lower gross subscriber activations because of factors like “slowing population growth attributable to government immigration policies.” The telco also said The Source had a lower contribution to subscriber activations thanks to store conversions to Best Buy Express. Finally, Bell noted an increase in churn from 1.63 percent in Q4 2023 to 1.66 percent in Q4 2024, “reflecting greater competitive market activity and promotional offer intensity compared to last year.”

In total, Bell had 10,288,574 mobile phone customers at the end of 2024, up 1,528 over 2024. 9,530,436 of those are postpaid subscribers, while 758,138 are prepaid customers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) came in at $57.15, down 2.7 percent. Bell attributed the decline to “sustained competitive pressure,” a reduction in overage revenue from customers moving to unlimited plans and plans with larger data buckets, and lower roaming revenue thanks to increased adoption of Canada/U.S. plans.

When it comes to home internet, Bell noted total revenue was up 3.3 percent year-over-year and that the company now has three million residential customers on its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network, an increase of 10 percent. The company added 34,187 new internet subscribers in Q4, down 38.5 percent from Q4 2023, which was the company’s second-best Q4 result in nearly two decades. Bell attributed this to slowing industry growth due to the high internet penetration rate, a decrease in fibre expansion compared to the previous year, and an increase in customer deactivations because of ” aggressive promotional offers by competitors.”

In media, Bell said digital comprised 42 percent of revenue, up from 35 percent in 2023. Total digital revenue increased by six percent in Q4 and 19 percent in 2024. Crave subscriptions also grew by 18 percent, with Bell claiming “more than 3.6 million” subscribers. It said Q4 was the “most watched quarter in Crave history” based on hours viewed, and 2024 was the most watched year by the same metric.

Bell’s full earnings report is available here.

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