BCE Inc

Bell Canada and Cisco announced a memorandum of understanding in late September 2026 to build a sovereign AI infrastructure platform in Canada, pairing Bell's domestic data centres and networks with Cisco's AI, security, observability, and Sovereign Critical Infrastructure technologies for customers with strict data residency and control needs. The partnership sits alongside Cisco's US$9.3b in hyperscale AI infrastructure orders for FY26 and US$7.5b of expected related FY27 revenue, extending the same AI networking and security capabilities toward government and regulated workloads. Cisco's investment narrative projects $83.4 billion in revenue and $20.1 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring 9.6% yearly revenue growth and a $6.8 billion earnings increase from $13.3 billion today, with a $137.25 fair value estimate implying 28% upside. Some of the most optimistic analysts see Cisco reaching about US$90.6b in revenue and US$23.0b in earnings by 2029, while other fair value estimates put the stock as low as $110.56. The MOU reinforces the AI and regulated-sector demand story but does not materially change the near-term gross margin headwind or the risk that investors reassess Cisco's growth and earnings multiple.

Bell Canada and Cisco announced a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a sovereign AI infrastructure offering for Canada, combining Bell's data centre, network and operations capabilities with Cisco's AI, security, observability, infrastructure monitoring and management, and Sovereign Critical Infrastructure technologies. The collaboration will focus on three core areas: building a Canadian platform for sovereign AI, supporting modular AI infrastructure deployments, and developing flexible commercial models. The companies said they will assess how Cisco AI PODs architectures and capabilities from Cisco's Sovereign Critical Infrastructure portfolio can be combined with Canadian infrastructure, connectivity and operations services. The effort builds on Bell's work through Bell AI Fabric and Cisco's sovereign AI infrastructure advancements, targeting customers in government, regulated industries and other sectors where trust, control and resilience are critical. John Watson, Group President, Business Markets, Bell Cyber, AI Fabric and Ateko, said the collaboration aims to make it easier to deploy and scale sovereign AI infrastructure, while Raj Juneja, President of Cisco Canada, said the work will support sovereign AI infrastructure that is configurable, secure and easier for organizations to deploy with confidence.

Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding to expand Bell AI Fabric in Saskatchewan with the phased development of up to 900 megawatts of additional capacity, creating a path to a 1.2 gigawatt Canadian AI infrastructure hub in the province. The full buildout is expected to represent the largest capital investment in Saskatchewan's history, with total capital investment including data centre infrastructure, tenant compute and related power generation potentially exceeding $50 billion. The additional capacity would come from partner-developed natural gas power generation, and the proposed facilities would use closed-loop cooling technology requiring no municipal water, with development proceeding in phases as customer commitments are secured and subject to commercial agreements, permits, approvals and environmental assessments. The project is expected to support 800 to 1,200 construction, engineering and technical jobs, create up to 600 permanent operations and management roles, and potentially generate as many as 3,000 additional offsite and community jobs. As part of the expanded partnership, Bell AI Fabric will establish a head office of its national ecosystem in Saskatchewan, placing the province at the heart of Canada's AI economy.

BCE Inc reported second-quarter 2026 results with consolidated revenue up 1.5% and adjusted EBITDA up 1%, generating over $1 billion in free cash flow. Postpaid wireless churn improved to 1.02%, the lowest quarterly level in three years, while fiber net adds reached 45,271 in Canada and 9,600 at Ziply, its highest since acquisition. Bell AI Fabric contracted capacity hit 335 megawatts, with construction on track for Saskatchewan and Winnipeg facilities, and Bell Media revenue grew 8.9% as Crave surpassed 5 million subscribers. However, wireless product revenue declined 6.6% due to lower handset sales, Ziply Fiber revenue was flat sequentially amid legacy declines, and CapEx rose $317 million year-over-year, pressuring free cash flow. Net debt leverage improved to approximately 3.7 times, with a path to the 3.5 times target by end of 2027.

HSBC upgraded Adobe to Buy from Hold with a price target of $308, up from $282, arguing the market overestimates the adverse impact of AI-based design tools. DA Davidson upgraded Palantir to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $175, up from $165, noting the company has grown into its valuation as profits rose significantly and the stock's multiple contracted. Wolfe Research upgraded Chevron to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $210 price target, citing incremental production options that extend the free cash flow growth outlook beyond 2030. Needham upgraded Silicom to Buy from Hold with a $60 price target after the company announced material progress with a new AI inference customer, resulting in initial production orders. TD Securities upgraded BCE to Buy from Hold with an unchanged price target of C$37, calling the 13% selloff since early June unjustified and an attractive entry point. On the downgrade side, Goldman Sachs cut SkyWest to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $108, down from $126, citing downside risk to block hours. Susquehanna downgraded Greenbrier to Neutral from Positive with an unchanged price target of $52, pointing to a lack of visibility on improved builds and tariffs. Barclays downgraded Dana to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $33, down from $41, believing the path to a higher valuation multiple will take time. DA Davidson downgraded AGNT Inc. to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $6.50, down from $10.25, as checks suggest core U.S. agent count trends resumed their downward trajectory midway through Q2. China Renaissance downgraded Trip.com to Hold from Buy with a $42 price target. Among new initiations, BMO Capital started Honeywell Aerospace with an Outperform rating and $276 price target, implying 21% upside. JPMorgan resumed coverage of On Holding with an Overweight rating and $51 price target, placing the shares on Positive Catalyst Watch. RBC Capital initiated NiSource with an Outperform rating and $52 price target, highlighting a rare combination of above-peer EPS growth and a favorable data center setup in Indiana. RBC Capital also initiated PSEG with a Sector Perform rating and $81 price target, noting the New Jersey regulatory overhang is potentially alleviating but wanting more clarity. KeyBanc initiated Waystar with an Overweight rating and $30 price target, seeing a large valuation disconnect given the company's high-margin growth story with large moats.

BCE stock has fallen 36.9% over the past three years, yet the broader valuation checks still point to the shares screening as cheap. The stock trades on a P/E of 4.5x, compared with a Telecom industry average of 16.7x and a broader peer group around 14.5x, while the fair P/E ratio implied by the model is 7.3x. BCE screens as undervalued in 6 of 6 valuation checks, so the broader metrics lean toward the stock being cheap rather than fully priced. The push into Canadian sovereign AI infrastructure and high speed networks can support long term earnings power, while dividend cuts and job reductions highlight financing pressure and execution risk around that investment plan.

Bell has been named Canada's Most Reliable Internet by Opensignal, the company announced today. The recognition is based on Opensignal's independent analysis of real-world broadband performance from February to April 2026. Bell also earned accolades for Canada's Most Consistent Internet Quality and Canada's Fastest Internet Upload Speeds, reinforcing its leadership across key performance metrics. These awards add to Bell's existing claim as Canada's Fastest Internet, based on Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data from the second half of 2025. Bell says the results reflect sustained investment in its fibre network.

Bell Canada, Cohere, Hypertec and BUZZ High Performance Computing have announced a major AI infrastructure deal to advance sovereign AI in Canada. The collaboration will see Bell provide data centre capacity and connectivity from its Merritt, British Columbia facility, while BUZZ HPC delivers an AI-native cloud layer using Hypertec's Canadian-built hardware and NVIDIA accelerated computing. Cohere will use the platform to operate its foundation models and support secure enterprise-grade AI solutions for government and enterprise customers. The agreement aims to reinforce Canada's digital sovereignty by enabling critical AI research and development on Canadian infrastructure with Canadian partners.