Strategy Expands Preferred Buybacks to $3B as BTC per Share Stays Flat

The October 19 Form 8-K continues the recent pattern: modest Bitcoin purchases alongside much larger preferred repurchases. BTC per share barely moved. The new authorization leaves room to continue reducing dividends, although the cash funding those buybacks is declining.

More Bitcoin, essentially unchanged BTC per share

Strategy sold 140,872 MSTR shares for $22.0 million net. Those proceeds, plus $0.1 million of existing USD Cash, funded the Bitcoin purchase at an average $82,900 per BTC, including fees. No preferred ATM sales or MSTR buybacks were reported. Source: October 19 filing.

Here is the comparison with last week’s update, using Strategy’s share table:

Calculated from the underlying inputs, ADSO BTC per share rose approximately 0.0014%, rounding to +0.00% at headline precision. Basic BTC per share slipped approximately 0.0050%.

Basic shares increased 154,000, while ADSO increased 136,000 as outstanding options declined 18,000. Neither increase equals the exact ATM shares sold. The issuer publishes these totals in thousands, so tiny per-share changes should be read as approximate.

Another $23.3 million in annualized dividends removed

Strategy repurchased 1,938,780 STRC shares at approximately $99.60 each. Against their $100 stated amount, that removes roughly $193.9 million of preferred stated value for $193.1 million: a discount of about $778,000.

At the current 12% dividend rate, those shares represent $23.3 million in annualized dividends. That is the larger economic benefit of buying near stated amount. It assumes the variable rate continues and excludes interest income forgone on the cash spent.

Across the October 5 filing, October 12 update and this filing, Strategy spent $561.8 million repurchasing approximately 5.645 million STRC shares. Those shares carried about $67.7 million of annualized dividends at 12%.

Our STRC capital history now calculates 85,982,656 shares outstanding, or approximately $8.598 billion of stated amount. The remaining annualized dividend obligation is about $1.032 billion. Continuing holders retain the same per-share rate; Strategy pays it on fewer shares.

STRC is nonconvertible, so its retirement does not reduce MSTR’s common-share denominator. Spending cash near stated amount also leaves only a small immediate improvement in a net-backing model that offsets preferred stated amounts with cash.

A larger authorization needs funding

The new $3 billion authorization includes prior repurchases. After this week’s activity and the increase, Strategy reported $1.16 billion remaining. Its separate $1 billion MSTR buyback authorization remains available. Source: repurchase program update.

USD Cash fell from $640.5 million to $447.3 million. This filing explicitly identifies $193.1 million of USD Cash funding the STRC buybacks and another $0.1 million funding Bitcoin.

Separately, Strategy used $45.5 million of its USD Reserve for preferred dividends, ending with a reported $4.83 billion reserve. That reserve is intended to support preferred dividends and debt interest; USD Cash serves broader treasury purposes.

Remaining buyback authority therefore exceeds the separately reported USD Cash balance. That does not mean Strategy has exhausted its liquidity. It means the authorization itself supplies no funding. Further repurchases must be weighed against preserving cash, its interest income and capital available for Bitcoin purchases.

Daily dividends remain conditional

In a separate October 16 filing, Strategy declared $1.00 per STRC share across November’s daily record dates, subject to shareholder approval by October 31 at 5 p.m. New York time and the amended certificate being filed and effective by November 1 at 12:01 a.m. ET. The vote is scheduled for October 28.

If those conditions are met, the November 15 semi-monthly $0.50 dividend will not be payable. Otherwise, the daily dividends will not be payable. The schedules are alternatives, and payment frequency does not create extra annual income. Our daily-dividend analysis covers the mechanics.

For MSTR holders, the question in the next filings is how Strategy funds the expanded buyback program. Existing cash, fresh common issuance and renewed preferred issuance would each have different consequences for liquidity, dividend obligations and BTC per share.