Strategy reported $20.91 billion in third-quarter operating income on Oct. 29, a result driven almost entirely by gains on its bitcoin holdings rather than its software business.

In its earnings release, the bitcoin treasury company — which rebranded from MicroStrategy to Strategy in early 2025 — said it held 848,517 $BTC as of Oct. 25, up 26% year to date, and had raised $21.23 billion in capital over the same period.

Under fair-value accounting — a Financial Accounting Standards Board rule in effect for U.S. public companies since the start of 2025 — changes in bitcoin's market value flow through earnings even when the coins are not sold. Strategy recorded a $20.912 billion digital-asset gain in Q3. Excluding that line, it would have recorded a $2.6 million operating loss, according to The Defiant's calculation from its financial statements. Software revenue was $125.4 million, down 3% from a year earlier, per the company's official Q3 2026 earnings release.

Bitcoin Accumulation Slowed in Q3

Bitcoin accumulation slowed during the quarter. Holdings rose about 0.2%, from 846,000 $BTC on June 30 to 847,666 on Sept. 30 — a net addition of just 1,666 $BTC — while their original cost basis edged from $63.94 billion to $63.95 billion. The company bought 7,218 $BTC and sold 5,552 $BTC during Q3.

Despite the year-to-date increase in total holdings, Strategy's "$BTC Yield" metric was negative 3.7%. That measure tracks the change in bitcoin per assumed diluted share, not an investment return.

STRC Nears $100 After Buybacks

"Returned $STRC to health," Executive Chairman Michael Saylor wrote in his results summary shared on X.

Strategy tied that assessment to $2.04 billion of STRC repurchases and a larger dollar buffer. Through Oct. 25, it had bought back about 20.98 million preferred shares at an average price of $97.39 each, including repurchases awaiting settlement. Its STRC dashboard showed a price of $99.92 at the Oct. 28 close, near the security's $100 stated amount. The Defiant reported prices of $73–$78 in June.

Supporting the preferred shares still requires cash. Dividends across Strategy's preferred stocks totaled $419.6 million in Q3, roughly triple the $139.9 million of a year earlier. The STRC annual dividend rate remains 12%.

Strategy raised $5.41 billion through its at-the-market share-sale programs in Q3, all of it from MSTR common stock rather than preferred issuance. It also sold $348.6 million of bitcoin during the quarter, directing $239.9 million to preferred dividends and $108.6 million to STRC repurchases. In short, the preferred-dividend and buyback outlays are being funded through common-stock issuance and bitcoin sales.

As of Oct. 25, Strategy reported $5.07 billion of dollar assets, which it said covered about 3.4 years of preferred dividends and debt interest. Its company dashboard listed the combined annualized dividend and interest obligation at $1.509 billion.

Daily Dividend Schedule Ahead

The next change is payment frequency. Following shareholder approval on Oct. 28, STRC is scheduled to switch from twice-monthly dividends to daily entitlements on Nov. 1, payable the next business day. A separate SEC filing says the change does not alter dividend rates or total regular dividend obligations. STRF, STRK and STRD are scheduled to follow on Jan. 1, 2027.

Source: CryptoNewsNet