Saylor Sells $544.5M of MSTR, Skips Bitcoin, Buys Back His Own Preferred Stock 🧵

Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, went a fifth consecutive week without purchasing any BTC, opting instead to lift its cash reserve to $3.75 billion through share sales while spending $25 million to repurchase shares of its own STRC preferred stock. The $3.75 billion reserve represents enough to cover 2.1 years of preferred stock dividends and debt interest, against the roughly $1.76 billion Strategy owes annually in such payments, according to Executive Chairman Michael Saylor.

Between July 20 and July 26, Strategy sold 5,429,160 shares of Class A common stock under its at-the-market program, generating $544.5 million in net proceeds according to a Form 8-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The company's bitcoin holdings remained unchanged at 843,775 BTC, last touched on June 22 with a purchase of 520 BTC for $35 million. Strategy has not added to its bitcoin reserves since, marking its longest buying pause in two years. Bitcoin's stack was acquired at an average price of $75,476 per coin, totaling $63.69 billion in aggregate cost, while bitcoin itself was last trading near $65,000.

The company also repurchased 288,930 shares of STRC preferred stock for $25 million, at an average price of $86.52 per share, drawing on the $1 billion repurchase authorization approved June 29. Roughly $975 million remains available under that program. STRC, which carries a 12% annual dividend and a $100 par value, has traded below par since mid-May and hit record lows earlier this month. MSTR and STRC each gained about 2.5% in Monday's pre-market trading, with STRC quoted at $88.61 and MSTR changing hands at $96.22.

The shift is governed by the Digital Credit Capital Framework, introduced in June, which dedicates raised capital to preferred dividends and debt service. Strategy holds roughly $22.98 billion in remaining MSTR ATM capacity and, separately, $23.5 billion of MSTR issuance authorization. Critics including gold advocate Peter Schiff noted that year-to-date "Bitcoin Yield" has fallen to 4.5% from 13.3% on May 25, writing that "if you're bullish, you're better off just owning Bitcoin." Saylor, in announcing the framework, said "Strategy remains committed to Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset," while "Digital Credit requires liquidity, discipline, and active capital management."

Strategy's first-quarter net loss reached $12.54 billion, or $38.25 per share. The company plans to report second-quarter results after Thursday's close.