On Aug. 17, an investor named Rob asked Strategy's (MSTR) leaders a hard question during a live investor Q&A.
Rob had invested $73,000 into MSTR stock for each of his three children. He said each stake was now worth about $20,000. So, would the company consider paying common shareholders a dividend?
The answer was no. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor pointed him somewhere else. "If you want a dividend, you should buy one of the preferred stocks," Saylor said on the call.
Those preferred stocks are now about to change in a way Wall Street has rarely seen.
Why Strategy Stock Runs on Credit
Strategy holds about 4% of all Bitcoin, CEO Phong Le said on the call. It pays for much of that Bitcoin by selling preferred shares it calls "digital credit."
Digital credit topped $16 billion in just 20 months, according to Strategy's September 2026 investor presentation. Strategy owns about 90% of the total digital credit, or roughly $14.5 billion.
The flagship product is its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), which the company calls Stretch. Here's where it stood as of Sept. 18, per the presentation:
- $9.3 billion in notional value
- 12.2% current yield
- $141 million in average daily trading over 30 days
Strategy wants STRC to trade between $99 and $100, a promise that was tested amid a volatile summer this year. The company's own chart shows STRC sliding below $80 in June 2026. Strategy announced buyback authorizations on June 29 and started repurchasing STRC on July 27.
By mid-September, the price had climbed back into the high $90s. Saylor explained why the price anchor matters. He compared a wobbly STRC to a bank that randomly handed back only 99% of your money on some days.
"You'd be very angry," he said.
MSTR Stock Owners Get a New Vote
Strategy filed a preliminary proxy on Sept. 25 proposing daily dividends on STRF, STRC, STRK and STRD, according to the investor presentation.
Here's how it would work:
- Every calendar day, including weekends and holidays, becomes a record date.
- The dividend is paid on the next business day.
- STRC would announce its rate on the 15th of the prior month.
The math is simple. Strategy's example uses a $100 share paying 12% a year, which works out to $0.03 per day. Daily amounts round down. The 15th and the last day of each month pay slightly more, about $0.04, to make up the difference.
The company says yearly payouts don't change. Basically, STRC could move from 24 payouts a year to 365. The payouts for STRF, STRK and STRD jump from four a year to 365.
A Quick Change of Heart
Here's the twist. On that same Aug. 17 call, someone asked about daily dividends.
"Right now, we don't have a plan to change the other preferreds," Saylor said, adding that institutions were "comfortable with the quarterly payout."
Le said twice-monthly payouts "seem to be quite powerful with our investor base."
About five weeks later, the plan changed. The euro STRE is the only Strategy preferred left out of the proposal.
So what shifted? After STRC moved from monthly to twice-monthly payouts, the median price drop on ex-dividend dates fell from 0.49% to 0.36%, a 27% improvement. Management expects daily payouts to shrink it further.
Investors also backed the last change. On June 8, 97.5% of STRC shares voted, and 99.9% of MSTR shares voted to approve twice-monthly payouts. Strategy has paid $255 million under that schedule so far.
The buyer base is shifting, too. Le said STRC's holder mix moved from 80% retail to about 70% retail and 30% institutions. Typically, institutional investors would want stability in the underlying financial product.
What It Means for MSTR Stock
Common shareholders still won't get a dividend. Saylor argues that stronger credit will eventually lift the stock. "The better the credit is, the more valuable the company is," he said on the call.
The presentation says the change should boost demand for the preferreds, helping Strategy buy more Bitcoin per share. But the risks are real. Le said MSTR fell about 75% from its highs while Bitcoin dropped about 50%.
Dividends are paid only when the board declares them. And Strategy notes it is not a registered money market fund. Voting opens Oct. 5, with the shareholder meeting set for Oct. 28. If approved, STRC's first daily record date would be Nov. 1. The other three would follow on Jan. 1, 2027.
If it passes, Strategy's securities would make up about 93% of the $15 billion daily dividend market, per Bloomberg data cited in the deck. For Rob, the vote won't put money in his kids' accounts, but it does show exactly where Strategy is placing its bet.
Is MSTR Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Down 67% from all-time highs, MSTR stock is valued at a market cap of $60 billion. Out of the 19 analysts covering Strategy stock, 16 recommend “Strong Buy,” one recommends “Moderate Buy,” and two recommend “Hold.” The average MSTR stock price target is $228, above the current price of $157.
