Strategy Spent More on Its Own Shares Than on Bitcoin Last Week. Why Is Saylor Buying Back Stock Instead of BTC?

In the week to November 8, 2026, Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR | MSTR Price Prediction) spent $188.3 million buying back its preferred stock, more than double what it invested in Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). According to the company’s November 9 SEC filing, it sold 2,051,348 common shares from November 2 through November 8 for a net $283.8 million. From that amount, Strategy used $188.3 million to repurchase 1,887,464 shares of its preferred stock, STRC.

In comparison, the company put $81.9 million into Bitcoin, buying 1,036 BTC at an average $79,012 per coin, and kept the remaining $13.6 million in cash. That makes the Strategy STRC buyback 2.3 times its Bitcoin spending. Bitcoin trades at $75,034, down 1.2% over 24 hours and below Strategy’s average purchase price of $75,456 per coin.

MSTR stock trades at $128, down 16.5% over the past month. So why is a company known for buying Bitcoin putting most of a week’s share-sale money into its preferred stock?

STRC Pays 12% and Trades Below Face Value

STRC is a perpetual preferred stock, which means it has no maturity date and pays a fixed dividend. It also ranks above common shares for payment. Strategy pays a hefty 12% annual dividend on STRC’s $100 stated value, and on November 1 it switched to paying that dividend daily. STRC trades just below $100 and has gained 1.1% over the past month.

Buying back STRC below face value lets Strategy cut its 12% dividend obligation at a discount, while also helping steady the stock’s price. That support is key, since the company doesn’t sell new STRC shares when the stock trades weak. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said on a February 5, 2026 earnings call that when STRC trades below $100, Strategy won’t issue new shares.

On the same call, Saylor said the company can’t lower the dividend rate by more than 25 basis points a month, and a basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Because the rate moves only in small steps, buybacks do most of the work of pushing STRC toward $100. A healthy STRC could then reopen the preferred-stock funding channel that used to pay for Bitcoin purchases.

Strategy’s Filing Shows a Small Bitcoin Buy and No Promise of More

Strategy funds these buybacks through stock sales and cash reserves, because its software business brought in $125.4 million in third-quarter revenue while its preferred dividends amounted to $419.6 million. Strategy holds a $4.77 billion USD Reserve and $146.2 million in cash, and it paid $21.1 million in preferred dividends from the reserve in the latest reporting period.

Despite the buybacks, Strategy still bought Bitcoin. The 1,036 BTC raised its holdings to 850,364 BTC, bought for a total of $64.16 billion, and lifted its average purchase price to $75,456 from $75,451 at the November 2 filing. Saylor announced the news on X, highlighting both the Bitcoin purchase and the $188 million STRC repurchase.

However, the filing only reports completed trades, and the company’s outlook commits to repurchasing STRC while promising no future Bitcoin purchases. CEO Phong Le said in the third-quarter results that Strategy is committed to returning STRC to health, and with $560.3 million of preferred buyback capacity left, the company intends to keep repurchasing STRC while it trades below $100.

Strategy Is Selling Bitcoin Too as the MSCI Decision Nears

Strategy has also sold about $431.8 million worth of Bitcoin in 2026 to cover preferred dividends and STRC buybacks. Its BTC Yield, a measure of Bitcoin held per share, stands at negative 3.7% for the year. Although Saylor said in February that Strategy avoids selling shares when its stock trades weak, the company sold MSTR shares in a month when the stock fell 16.5%.

According to Bull Theory, a crypto commentary account on X, Strategy has an unrealized loss of around $1 billion on its Bitcoin. At the overnight low on November 8, its total holdings were about $1.68 billion below cost. With Bitcoin at $75,034, Strategy is roughly $359 million underwater.

MSCI is set to publish its final deletion list on November 11, with removals starting November 30, and Strategy could be dropped. If that happens, index funds would need to sell MSTR shares, which could make it harder for Strategy to raise money through new stock sales, the source of both its Bitcoin purchases and its STRC buybacks.

Does Strategy’s STRC Buyback Do Anything for Bitcoin’s Price?

The STRC buybacks help Strategy, but Bitcoin only benefits from the $81.9 million purchase. Strategy cuts its dividend bill and pushes STRC toward the level where it can sell new shares again, which improves its funding. For Bitcoin, the direct effect is buying 1,036 BTC, and the filing guarantees no repeat.

So buybacks only pay off for Bitcoin holders if Strategy reopens funding for new coins, which requires STRC to hold $100 after the November 11 MSCI decision and later filings to show new STRC sales paying for Bitcoin. If buybacks keep outpacing Bitcoin buys while BTC trades below Strategy’s $75,456 average cost and the roughly $80,000 treasury break-even, Strategy is putting its balance sheet ahead of its Bitcoin pile.

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