BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company, reported a significant drop in its third-quarter earnings, primarily due to sustained competitive pressures and a challenging advertising market.

The company reported a net loss of C$1.191 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to a net profit of C$707 million in the same period last year. This substantial decline was mainly attributed to non-cash asset impairment charges totaling C$2.113 billion related to its Bell Media's TV and radio properties, reflecting the ongoing decline in advertising demand and spending in the traditional advertising market.

BCE's operating revenues declined by 1.8% to C$5.971 billion, missing analysts' expectations of C$6.032 billion. The company cited lower-than-anticipated product revenue and sustained competitive wireless pricing pressures as the key factors behind the revenue drop.

Despite the challenging environment, BCE reported some positive developments in its core businesses. The company added 158,412 total mobile phone and connected device net activations, including the highest quarterly prepaid net activations in five years of 69,085, up 187% year-over-year. Additionally, 42,415 total retail Internet net subscriber activations contributed to a 5% increase in Internet revenue, marking the best quarterly growth rate since Q2 2023.

In response to the evolving market conditions, BCE has revised its revenue guidance for 2024 downward from a range of 0% to 4% previously to a decline of approximately 1.5%. However, the company maintained all other financial guidance targets for 2024, including adjusted EBITDA growth, capital intensity, adjusted EPS growth, and free cash flow growth.