6 hours ago
11
Strategy’s preferred stock STRC opened trading at $95.39 on August 12, marking its highest level in two months. The stock is now sitting less than 5% below its $100 par value, a quiet milestone for an instrument that spent much of the year struggling to hold that psychological floor.
What STRC actually is and why $95 matters
STRC, formally known as the Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, is not your typical preferred share. It was issued on July 29-30, 2025, when Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) sold 28,011,111 shares at $90 each. That offering raised $2.521 billion, making it the largest US IPO of 2025.
The capital has one primary destination: buying more Bitcoin.
The “variable rate” part is where things get interesting. STRC’s dividend adjusts monthly based on how the stock trades relative to its $100 par value. When shares dip below $95, the annualized dividend rate gets bumped up by 0.5%.
The current annualized dividend rate sits at 12% for August 2026 payment periods. On August 12, the stock traded in a range of roughly $95.34 to $95.81, after closing the previous session at $95.32. The 52-week range tells a more dramatic story: STRC has traded as low as $71.25 and as high as $100.42.
Getting from $71.25 to $95.39 is a 33% climb.
The bigger picture at Strategy
STRC was the most ambitious version of that playbook. Raising over $2.5 billion through a single preferred stock offering gave Strategy a massive war chest without diluting common shareholders through a traditional equity raise. The trade-off is the ongoing dividend obligation, which at 12% annualized is not cheap capital.
Recent corporate activity has included stock repurchases and new dividend approvals announced in July 2026. The repurchase program serves a dual purpose: it supports STRC’s market price and reduces the outstanding share count, both of which can help keep the dividend rate from climbing even higher.
Why the recovery matters for investors
At $95.39, STRC is trading below par but within striking distance of $100, meaning the automatic dividend escalators are less likely to kick in going forward, assuming the price holds or improves.
There’s also the question of what happens if STRC sustainably trades above par. At $100.42, the 52-week high, the stock briefly crossed that line. Below $95, the dividend sweetens enough to attract buyers. Above $100, the yield compresses enough to invite sellers. That $95 to $100 corridor is where STRC is likely to spend most of its time in a stable market environment.
Traders watching STRC should keep one eye on Bitcoin’s price charts and the other on Strategy’s monthly dividend announcements, as the two are connected by the mechanics of the instrument itself.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) ·