When the stock market is volatile due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, pullbacks could make investors uncomfortable. But they could also make fundamentally solid dividend stocks even more attractive. All you need to do is to separate a weak share price from a weak business. When the underlying company is still investing, growing in important areas, and paying attractive dividends, the dip looks even more interesting.
That currently seems to be happening with BCE (TSX: BCE). The telecom giant has been under pressure and lost nearly 50% of its value over the last three years. Still, BCE remains one of Canada’s largest communications firms, with wireless, internet, television (TV), media, and business services that reach millions of customers.
In this article, I’ll tell you why this top TSX dividend stock still deserves a place in a long-term income portfolio.
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A telecom stock with a wide reach
To put it simply, BCE owns many well-known brands like Bell, Bell MTS, Bell Aliant, Fibe, Northwestel, and Ziply Fiber in the United States Pacific Northwest. That wide network gives the company several revenue streams across connectivity, content, and enterprise services.
Although BCE stock has fallen about 50% over the last three years, its long-term growth prospects continue to improve. Currently, the stock trades at $30.55 per share with a market cap of $28.5 billion. At the current market price, its dividend yield sits at 5.7%, paid on a quarterly basis.
For income investors, that attractive yield could be another reason to keep watching. While a high yield should never be the only reason to buy from a company with essential services and a national footprint, it deserves a closer look.
Recent results show some growth
In the first quarter ended in March 2026, BCE posted 4% year-over-year (YoY) consolidated revenue growth, which helped lead to a 2.9% YoY increase in its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). The Ziply Fiber acquisition played a big role in the growth, helping its internet segment revenue rise 15% from a year ago.
That deal also added nearly 50,000 residential fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) internet net subscriber activations. For a telecom business, fibre growth matters because it can support customer retention, faster speeds, and better long-term competitiveness. If BCE can keep improving its network quality while controlling costs, that could help protect its market position.
The AI and media angle
At the same time, BCE is leaning into artificial intelligence (AI). Its AI-powered enterprise solutions generated 113% YoY revenue growth in the latest quarter, while Bell Business Markets revenue rose 9.7%. Its products, such as Ateko, Bell Cyber, and Bell AI Fabric, give the company more ways to serve business customers beyond basic connectivity.
Moreover, its media side is showing momentum as well. In the latest quarter, subscriptions of its entertainment offering Crave climbed 25% YoY, helped by direct-to-consumer streaming and sports content.
Its partnership with Cohere, Hypertec, and BUZZ HPC to advance sovereign AI in Canada could also back its future growth. The collaboration combines BCE’s data-centre and connectivity base with enterprise-grade AI solutions and accelerated computing infrastructure.
While none of these initiatives guarantee a quick rebound in the share price, they clearly show that BCE is not simply relying on its legacy phone and media businesses. In fact, it’s trying to build new revenue streams around connectivity, cloud, security, AI, and streaming content – making it the top TSX dividend stock still worth every dollar.
