Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) this week repurchased $1.5 billion in aggregate principal of its 0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029, paying about $1.38 billion in cash — an 8% discount that saved the company roughly $120 million. The move reduced total convertible note obligations from $8.2 billion to $6.7 billion. At the same time, the firm issued $2.0 billion in Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (ticker: STRC) and $84 million in Class A common stock through its at-the-market offering programs, using the proceeds to buy another 24,869 bitcoin.
How the buyback worked
Strategy bought back the notes at 92 cents on the dollar. The $120 million in savings is real — that's money that won't have to be repaid at maturity. After the repurchase, the company's cash reserve dropped to $871 million.
From the bond buyback alone, Strategy recorded a BTC Gain of 4,391 bitcoin and a BTC Dollar Gain of $333 million as of May 22, 2026. Those are internal metrics the firm uses to track how its bitcoin holdings per share improve when it retires cheap debt.
Where the cash came from
To fund the buyback and maintain its bitcoin buying pace, Strategy tapped two equity channels. The larger one: $2.0 billion notional of STRC perpetual preferred stock, a new instrument the firm introduced earlier this year. The smaller piece: $84 million from its at-the-market common stock offering programs.
The STRC issuance is notable — it's a variable-rate perpetual with no fixed maturity and a dividend that can adjust. That gives Strategy flexibility to raise capital without diluting common shareholders as much as a straight equity offering would. The proceeds also funded the 24,869 bitcoin purchase. Strategy now holds 843,738 BTC, acquired at an average price of $75,700 per coin — a total outlay of roughly $63.9 billion.
The bitcoin math
Strategy tracks a metric called BTC Yield, which measures the percentage change in its bitcoin holdings per fully diluted share. Year to date, that yield sits at 13.3%. The firm has added 89,378 BTC year to date, with a BTC Dollar Gain of $6.8 billion.
Those numbers are separate from the accounting loss the company posted in Q1 2026 — a $12.5 billion hit driven largely by unrealized bitcoin write-downs under new fair-value rules. That loss is paper, not cash, but it's a reminder of how volatile the balance sheet can look quarter to quarter.
Strategy's playbook
CEO Phong Le pointed back to the Q1 2026 earnings call, where Strategy told investors it would treat all capital tools — cash, equity, and selective bitcoin sales — as levers to manage convertible debt. This week's moves fit that pattern: issue stock, buy bitcoin, and retire cheap debt at a discount.
MSTR shares rose 1.9% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, moving alongside bitcoin's modest recovery into the mid-$77,000 range. The market seems to be pricing in the reduced debt load and the continued accumulation, even if the cash reserve is now thinner.
What comes next? Strategy's cash balance is down to $871 million, but the firm still has room to issue more STRC or common stock. The convertible note stack is lighter by $1.5 billion. For now, the playbook remains the same: raise equity, buy bitcoin, and chip away at debt when the price is right.
