Saylor Keeps STRC's 12% Yield Exactly Where It Is, Thanks Par Anyway

Strategy is holding the monthly dividend on its high-yield preferred stock STRC at 12%, opting against an increase that some holders had been expecting. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor's company has historically raised the payout when the shares traded materially below their $100 par value, but it chose not to do so for August. The stock had recovered from a low near $71 in June to $89.46, still well below par.

The decision follows a period during which Strategy used a combination of dividend hikes, bitcoin sales to fund payouts, and stabilization in the underlying crypto market to lift the price. As recently as July 1, the company lifted the STRC dividend by 50 basis points in response to June's drop. Strategy sold some of its bitcoin holdings to help fund that payout. Bitcoin's recent firmness has also supported the preferred's partial recovery, though STRC remains meaningfully discounted to par.

Chief Executive Officer Phong Le said this week that Strategy's Corporate Objective is for STRC to trade at $99–$100 over time, underscoring management's preference for the security to hover close to par rather than trade in distressed territory. The company is under no contractual obligation to raise the dividend each month, and the board's August decision signals a wait-and-see posture despite the still-wide gap to par.

The Street now turns to whether future months of sub-par trading will trigger another hike, given the established pattern of 50-basis-point adjustments following sustained discounts. Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin and previously known as MicroStrategy, continues to market STRC as part of its capital-structure toolkit alongside its common stock (MSTR) and other preferred share classes.