Overall, 2025 was a good year for Canadian investors. Despite Donald Trump’s trade wars and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the auto and steel industries, the S&P/TSX Composite Index hit new highs and is up more than 26 per cent year-to-date, as of the time of writing. That’s much better than the S&P 500 or the Dow.
But, contrary to the old maxim, a rising tide doesn’t necessarily lift all boats. Several sectors and some prominent companies have been left behind, in some cases leaving people scratching their heads and wondering why.
The Communications sub-index is an example. It’s in the black so far this year, up 14.4 per cent. But that is well behind the Composite. The main reason for the underperformance is that two of its largest components have lost ground. BCE BCE-T has been struggling for years – the stock lost 12 per cent in 2023 and 36 per cent in 2024. The shares are finally showing signs of bottoming, off about 2 per cent in 2025, but by now many investors have sold.
BCE has been hit by intense competition, reduced immigration (fewer new customers), and a huge debt load as it rolled out its fibre optic network. Through all this it struggled to maintain its bloated dividend. It finally abandoned that effort in May, slashing the payout by more than half. The shares have stabilized since but are still below their opening level last January.
Telus T-T faced a similar dividend problem. Its stock has also lost ground for three years in a row, although it didn’t fall as much as BCE. Telus announced last week it is freezing the dividend at current levels for the foreseeable future, with the savings earmarked for debt reduction and to invest in growth areas of its business, such as Telus Health.
Telus adds to this year’s dividend gloom. It may be a learning experience
But even with the dividend freeze, the company’s payout looks high. The quarterly outlay is $0.4184 per share ($1.6736 per year) to yield almost 9 per cent at a recent price of $18.75. Don’t be surprised if the company makes further adjustments in 2026.
The best-performing stock among the big three telecoms is Rogers Communications RCI-B-T, which has gained about 17 per cent this year. But that follows losses in 2023 and 2024 (-28.75 per cent last year), so it too has had problems. Rogers has not increased its dividend since early 2019 and current yields 3.85 per cent.
The hottest stock in the group is the smaller Quebecor QBR-B-T. Based in Montreal, it provides cable and communications services to over four million customers in Quebec and, increasingly, across Canada. The emergence of Quebecor as a national player is in part due to its acquisition of Freedom Mobile, the popular wireless service that was sold off as a condition of the takeover of Shaw Communications by Rogers in 2023.
Quebecor stock is up 63 per cent so far this year, closing Friday at $51.35. That’s a great performance in a lagging sector. The stock pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35 ($1.40 a year), to yield 2.7 per cent. The p/e ratio is 14.46.
Outlook: There is nothing to suggest a quick recovery for BCE or Telus in 2026. If you own the stocks, or are considering buying them, it should be for cash flow only. Rogers looks like the better bet among the big three. Its dividend is sustainable, the yield is reasonable, and it trades at a very low p/e of 4.16.
But Quebecor has momentum right now and is trading just below its all-time high. It’s my top communications choice for 2026 and we’re adding it to my Internet Wealth Builder recommended list.
Gordon Pape is editor and publisher of the Internet Wealth Builder and Income Investor newsletters.