Key facts
- Operating income reached a historic $20.91 billion in Q3 2026.
- Net income was $19.53 billion, or $44.75 per diluted share.
- Bitcoin holdings valued at $68.9 billion as of October 23.
- Company sold approximately $431.8 million of bitcoin this year.
- Strategy repurchased 20,980,508 shares of STRC for $2.04 billion.
- Shareholders approved a move to daily dividends, effective November 1.
Strategy reported a historic $20.91 billion in operating income for the third quarter of 2026, primarily due to a paper gain on its substantial bitcoin holdings. Net income surged to $19.53 billion, or $44.75 per diluted share, a significant increase from $2.79 billion in the prior year. The company's CFO, Andrew Kang, who also announced his departure, highlighted the record operating income. Strategy marks its bitcoin holdings to market each quarter, meaning price fluctuations directly impact earnings. Bitcoin's rally during the period contributed to the strong results. The company held 848,517 bitcoin, valued at $68.9 billion on October 23, with an average cost of $75,446 per bitcoin, resulting in an unrealized gain. Kang noted that the company increased its bitcoin holdings by 26% year-to-date. Total revenue, however, decreased by 3% to $125.4 million, falling short of analyst estimates. Gross profit margin improved slightly to 71%. Strategy ended September with $2.50 billion in cash and equivalents and $3.40 billion in short-term investments. Despite the overall positive financial results, the bitcoin per share metric, used by management as a key performance indicator, showed a decline, with the BTC yield at negative 3.7% for the year. The company has sold approximately $431.8 million of bitcoin this year to fund preferred dividends and stock buybacks. Strategy raised $21.23 billion in capital in 2026, including $5.41 billion from its at-the-market program in the third quarter. It used a significant portion of these funds to repurchase 20,980,508 shares of STRC for $2.04 billion at an average price of $97.39 per share. CEO Phong Le stated the buyback program aims to strengthen the security. The company has about $956.7 million remaining under its authorization for further repurchases. Strategy's total dollar reserves amount to $5.07 billion, sufficient to cover 3.4 years of dividend and interest obligations. The board maintained the STRC dividend rate at 12.00%. Shareholders approved a transition to daily dividends, set to begin on November 1, with other related securities following in January 2027. Le described this as a move towards a tokenized, 24/7/365 financial system.