The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that BCE's share price is up nearly 14 per cent since May, when the big telco slashed its quarterly dividend by more than half. The Globe's David Berman writes that perhaps the stigma of cutting the dividend is losing some of its edge. BCE is not an isolated example of a stock that has rebounded on bad news. During the lockdowns in 2020, a number of Canadian companies cut their payouts to preserve cash during a particularly tumultuous time for the economy. They included Laurentian Bank, Suncor, RioCan, CAE and Gildan. Within a year, a portfolio of 10 Canadian stocks that slashed their payouts during the first half of 2020 had rebounded 56 per cent. However, the dividend cuts were not related to bad management decisions or shifting fundamentals of a struggling sector. Some of these companies continue to struggle. Still, the bigger takeaway is interesting: If a slashed dividend offers a clear signal that management has run out of financial options, it might signal that the worst is over. BCE's most recent quarterly results, released in August, showed improving revenue and profit that beat analysts' expectations. Perhaps BCE's dividend cut was the low point for the stock.