A little over halfway through 2026, Canadian stock market investors have had an interesting time with the stock market. Geopolitical tensions and significant disruptions in global supply chains have worked with other macroeconomic factors to make the market volatile this year.
Pullbacks in share prices can, understandably, make investors feel wary of putting money into stocks. Downturns can bring share prices of high-flying stocks to more reasonable levels. These situations can also make fundamentally solid dividend stocks trade at significant discounts.
Share prices do not necessarily indicate the health of the underlying business. If the company is doing well, growing in important areas, maintaining a good balance sheet, and paying dividends, the dip can present an opportunity to get a bargain on undervalued stocks.
That might be the situation with BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE). It is one of the biggest telecom providers in Canada, but BCE stock has lost approximately 50% of its value in the last five years of trading on the TSX. Despite losing so much of its valuation over the last five years, BCE continues to be one of the largest communications firms in the country, reaching millions of customers.
Let’s take a look at why it might be a good investment to consider at current levels.
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An industry-leading stock
BCE does not have a monopoly in the Canadian telecom space, but it boasts one of the biggest market shares among its providers. BCE has significant reach through several well-known brands operating under its belt, creating a wide network that diversifies its revenue streams across several segments of the economy here and in the US.
Despite falling significantly in the last five years, BCE looks well-positioned to deliver substantial growth in the long run. The first quarter of Fiscal 2026 ended in March, and BCE stock had plenty of good news to show.
The company reported a 4% year-over-year uptick in its consolidated revenue. BCE also completed the acquisition of Ziply Fiber, a move that added almost 50,000 new residential fibre-to-home subscribers to its fold. Fibre growth is critical to telcos because it supports faster speeds, better competitiveness, and customer retention (which helps a lot when competition is rising).
If BCE keeps improving its network quality while keeping costs low, the company can retain its position as one of the top players in the industry.
Foolish takeaway
As of this writing, BCE stock trades for $30.28 per share and pays investors $0.44 per share, translating to a juicy 5.8% dividend yield. For income-focused investors, the attractive dividend yield alone can make BCE stock a compelling buy-and-hold investment.
Besides its telco operations, BCE is leveraging the growing popularity of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The company’s AI-powered enterprise solutions saw 113% year-over-year growth in revenue in the March 2026-ending quarter compared to last year. It is also partnering with several big names to advance sovereign AI in Canada, which paints a nice picture for investors who want to capitalize on AI-fueled growth.
There isn’t a clear timeline on when its forward-looking initiatives will bear fruit in terms of share price recovery. However, it is likely to materialize. It might be a good time to invest in its shares when the stock trades at a multi-year low.
