BCE INC. vs VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC, two Telecom stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Verizon's 23.9% operating margin is the cleanest big number on either page; BCE's 26.6% NET margin is the most suspicious one, an implausible line for a telecom that, beside a 4.6 times multiple, reads as divestiture-gain arithmetic rather than operating excellence. Verizon's page needs no forensics: 11.3 times earnings, a 5.9% dividend, and a 19.1% free-cash yield, the largest cash return in North American telecom. BCE yields 11.4% in free cash itself. Both are priced as utilities in decline; the cash says both are utilities in fact. The pair rewards reading the cash-flow line first and the income statement second, which for telecoms is usually the right order anyway.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | BCE | VZ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $22.92 | $46.50 |
| Market cap | $21.3B | $195.8B |
| Sector | Telecom | Telecom |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| P/E | 4.6 | 11.3 |
| P/B | 1.24 | 1.87 |
| P/S | 1.18 | 1.41 |
| EV/EBITDA | 5.5 | 4.5 |
| Revenue growth | +1.1% | +2.9% |
| Operating margin | — | 23.9% |
| Net margin | 26.6% | 12.5% |
| Return on equity | 27.9% | 16.6% |
| Return on assets | 8.1% | 4.2% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 16.9% |
| FCF yield | 11.4% | 19.1% |
| Dividend yield | — | 5.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.27 |
| Current ratio | 0.58 | 0.64 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 0.47 | 6.65 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.