Math 2018 was right as 5G and fiber capex were starting to amp up.
in the last 6 years BCE has made significant investments in the next gen while depreciating the previous gen. They have also paid a very strong divedend.
The debt the company has taken on to fund the build out can been seen in the asset increases as well as the liability increases. Meaning the debt was used to fund the build out not the dividend.
2018 liability 36.4B vs last q 52.2B = 15.8B increase in liability
2018 asset 57.1B vs last q 72.5B = 15.4B increase in asset
Overall the company has shrank by under 400M which is largely due to losses in the "side businesses"
what this math shows is the dividend has been properly covered by profit as the equity has been largely unchanged.
That's during a pandemic, a price war, and a generational shift in tech.
With the lowering of the expenses (which is the real opportunity for the company) the dividends will be protected. With 5G and the need for connectivity to the genAI in the clouds amplifying the subscriber opportunity.
anyone who struggles with the math on the proposition can look at the basics of net worth remaining relatively flat while the company paid out almost 20B in dividends over that time frame