Strategy's STRC hits $100 par for first time since May after buybacks

STRC returns to $100 par

Strategy's Stretch preferred stock, known as STRC, reached $100 on Wednesday for the first time since May. Par is the stated face value of a preferred share. Preferred stock is a type of share that usually pays a set dividend.

The return to $100 follows more than $2 billion in buybacks, a 12% dividend rate and a move to daily dividend payouts. Strategy says it will resume issuing new shares at that price, and money from those sales funds its bitcoin purchases.

Key points from the report

• STRC traded below $80 at times in June.
• Strategy has retired about $2.25 billion of STRC since the discount opened.
• Shareholders approved daily dividends on Oct. 28 by a 99.3% vote.
• The November dividend rate was set at 12% annualized, or $1 per share for the month.
• Strategy holds 849,327 bitcoin after adding 811 coins last week.

How Stretch slipped below $100

Stretch launched in July 2025 at $90 with a starting rate of 9%. Strategy adjusts the dividend rate each month to try to keep the price near $100. When the price is above par, the company can sell new shares and use the cash to buy bitcoin.

The price drifted below par in late January. Strategy raised the rate to 11.25% in February, 11.5% in March and 12% by summer, but the price kept falling as bitcoin moved toward $65,000. At $89, the at-the-market share program was idle. That program is a way for a company to sell shares gradually to the market.

In late May, Strategy sold 32 bitcoin for about $2.5 million to cover a Stretch distribution. The report describes it as the company's first bitcoin sale since 2022. Critics raised concern about a possible death spiral. Analysts at Benchmark and TD Cowen disputed that concern.

Buybacks and daily payouts

Strategy paused bitcoin purchases in the week of Oct. 19 and spent $204.9 million on STRC alone that week. The report says that spending was part of about $2.25 billion retired since the discount opened. Buying shares below $100 reduced the number of shares left and lowered the dividend bill.

On Oct. 28, shareholders approved daily dividends for STRC and three other preferred stocks. The report says the change removed semi-monthly ex-dividend price drops. An ex-dividend date is when a share starts trading without the right to the next dividend. The first daily payment went out on Monday.

Strategy's Oct. 29 filing set the November rate at 12% annualized, or $1 per share for the month. Chairman Michael Saylor had pledged to keep the stock at or above par and hold the dividend at 12% until it reached par.

Bitcoin holdings sit just above average cost

Strategy holds 849,327 bitcoin at an average cost of about $75,446 per coin. With bitcoin near $78,300 on Wednesday, the report puts the position about 4% above water. The same report notes Strategy shares were up over 7% after bitcoin jumped above $80,000.

The company reported $20.91 billion in third-quarter operating income, almost all of it unrealized gains. The report also notes a negative year-to-date bitcoin yield and a chief financial officer stepping down.

STRC, STRF, STRK and STRD together carry annual dividends in the hundreds of millions. The quarter's 5,552 bitcoin in sales went to fund those dividends and the buybacks, the report says. At par, Strategy can pay obligations with new preferred issuance rather than selling bitcoin, according to the report.

What happens next: the at-the-market test

The report says the next test is whether Strategy reopens the at-the-market program at $100 and whether buyers absorb any new shares. It also describes Stretch as the largest tradable preferred stock in the world, with a market value above $8 billion. CEO Phong Le put the holder base at about 80% retail, meaning individual investors rather than institutions.

Sources

• Bitcoin Magazine