Strategy has spent roughly $950.8 million repurchasing nearly 9.96 million shares of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, known as STRC, since July 20.
The aggressive buyback program has helped STRC recover from levels near $70 and move back toward Strategy’s preferred trading range of $99 to $100.
STRC closed at $97.07 on September 16 after briefly reaching $99.03 earlier in the week, putting the preferred security close to its $100 stated value.
At the same time, Strategy has increased its total preferred-security repurchase authorization from $1 billion to $2 billion, leaving the company with significant capacity to continue buying shares if market conditions warrant.
Strategy repurchases nearly 10 million STRC shares
Strategy disclosed in a September 14 regulatory filing that it bought another 1,420,467 STRC shares between September 8 and September 13.
The latest purchase cost approximately $139.3 million and was funded using the company’s U.S. dollar cash balance.
Strategy did not sell shares through its at-the-market programs during the period and also reported no Bitcoin purchases or sales.
Across eight weekly reporting periods between July 20 and September 13, Strategy repurchased a total of 9,961,554 STRC shares for approximately $950.8 million.
Bloomberg separately estimated that Strategy accounted for roughly 18% of STRC’s total trading volume during that period, highlighting how significant the company’s own buying activity has been.
STRC rebounds from nearly $70 toward $100
STRC has staged a strong recovery after previously falling to around $70.
The security reached an intraday high of $99.03 on September 14 before pulling back slightly.
By September 16, STRC closed at $97.07 after trading between $97.01 and $97.95 during the session.
Strategy has openly stated that it wants STRC to trade between $99 and $100.
The company’s investor materials explain that management may use several tools to support trading near the $100 stated amount, including share repurchases, dividend-rate adjustments, liquidity management and issuance policies.
However, Strategy has also made clear that the $99–$100 range is a corporate objective rather than a guaranteed price.
STRC currently pays a 12% annualized dividend
Strategy currently pays an annualized dividend rate of 12% on STRC.
That works out to $0.50 per share for each full semi-monthly dividend period based on STRC’s $100 stated value, provided the dividend is declared.
The company’s board has already declared $0.50 payments for the periods ending September 30 and October 15.
Management has said it does not currently intend to recommend changing the 12% dividend rate until STRC trades consistently near $100.
Strategy also maintains a policy of not issuing new STRC shares below the $100 stated value.
Both policies reflect management’s current intentions and are not contractual guarantees.
The price of STRC is important because Strategy has linked future issuance of the preferred stock to its ability to raise additional capital.
CEO Phong Le previously indicated that the company could resume issuing STRC once the security returns to par value.
That capital could potentially be used for additional Bitcoin purchases.
Strategy spends $950.8M across eight buyback periods
Strategy began its current STRC repurchase campaign with relatively modest purchases.
Between July 20 and July 26, the company bought 288,930 STRC shares for approximately $25 million.
The following week, Strategy purchased another 912,143 shares for $81.2 million.
The pace of buying then increased substantially during August.
From August 3 to August 9, Strategy spent $108.6 million on 1,152,020 shares.
During August 10–16, the company bought 1,388,720 shares for $132.2 million.
That was followed by another 1,431,212 shares for $136.4 million between August 17 and August 23.
Strategy then purchased 1,557,177 shares for $151.8 million during August 24–30.
For the week ending September 7, the company bought another 1,810,885 STRC shares for approximately $176.3 million.
The latest $139.3 million transaction brought the total spent since July 20 to approximately $950.8 million.
Strategy doubles preferred-share buyback authorization
Strategy originally approved up to $1 billion for repurchases of its digital-credit securities in June.
STRC was identified as the company’s highest priority when management believed buying the shares would create value.
On September 8, Strategy’s board increased the total preferred-security repurchase authorization to $2 billion, including purchases that had already been completed.
After the transactions reported through September 13, Strategy still had around $1.05 billion of authorized preferred-stock repurchase capacity remaining.
Its separate $1 billion authorization to repurchase MSTR common stock remained unused.
Strategy has explained that buying STRC below $100 allows it to retire $100 of stated value for less than that amount.
Repurchases can also reduce future preferred-dividend obligations.
The company has said it may buy more aggressively when STRC trades at a larger discount and reduce purchases as the security approaches $100.
MSTR and Bitcoin sales helped fund STRC buybacks
A large portion of Strategy’s buyback program has been financed through sales of MSTR common stock.
Bloomberg estimated that around $765 million, or roughly 80% of the total STRC repurchase spending since July 20, came from MSTR sales.
Some of that money first moved into Strategy’s cash reserves before being used for the buybacks.
Another roughly $161 million came from Bitcoin sales.
Strategy’s regulatory filings provide more detail on those transactions.
Between July 27 and August 2, Strategy sold 1,638 BTC for approximately $104.73 million.
Of those proceeds, around $52.3 million was directed toward STRC repurchases, while the remaining $52.4 million was used for preferred dividend payments.
The following week, Strategy sold another 1,690 BTC for $108.6 million at an average net price of approximately $64,262 per Bitcoin.
The company said all of those proceeds were used to buy back STRC.
Together, the two allocations amount to about $160.9 million.
Cash reserves also financed recent purchases
Later STRC repurchases were increasingly financed through Strategy’s U.S. dollar cash balance.
During the first two reporting periods of September, the company used approximately $315.6 million in cash for STRC purchases.
Strategy’s cash balance declined from $1.61 billion on August 30 to approximately $1.44 billion on September 7.
By September 13, the balance had fallen further to around $1.30 billion.
The company’s separate U.S. dollar reserve remained at approximately $5.10 billion.
Some analysts have questioned what could happen to STRC’s market price if Strategy eventually reduces its buying activity.
Strategy itself has acknowledged that its repurchase program and dividend policies may not always be enough to keep STRC near $100.
Strategy keeps Bitcoin holdings at 845,050 BTC
While Strategy has remained active in the STRC market, its Bitcoin holdings have recently remained unchanged.
The company reported no Bitcoin purchases or sales during the two reporting periods ending September 7 and September 13.
Strategy therefore continues to hold 845,050 BTC.
The company acquired those holdings for an aggregate cost of approximately $63.73 billion, giving it an average purchase price of about $75,412 per Bitcoin.
Strategy’s most recent Bitcoin purchase occurred between August 24 and August 30.
During that period, the company acquired 4,603 BTC for approximately $369.7 million at an average price of $80,318.
That acquisition was funded through MSTR at-the-market proceeds.
During the same week, Strategy also allocated another $151.8 million from common-stock issuance toward STRC repurchases.
STRC buybacks outpace recent Bitcoin purchases
Between July 20 and September 13, Strategy spent about $950.8 million repurchasing STRC.
During the same period, it spent approximately $369.7 million on new Bitcoin purchases.
That means the company directed more than twice as much capital toward STRC repurchases as it did toward acquiring additional Bitcoin during the period.
This shift highlights how important STRC’s return toward its $100 stated amount has become to Strategy’s capital-management strategy.
Management has previously connected a recovery in STRC with its ability to resume issuing preferred shares and potentially use those proceeds for future Bitcoin purchases.
With STRC now trading close to $100, that possibility may become increasingly relevant if the company’s current policy remains unchanged.
Strategy still has more than $1B available for buybacks
Strategy’s latest filing leaves the company with substantial flexibility.
Around $1.05 billion of authorized preferred-security repurchase capacity remains available.
The company can increase, reduce, suspend or completely stop purchases depending on factors such as STRC’s price, trading liquidity, available capital and broader market conditions.
For now, STRC’s recovery from around $70 to above $97 shows that the preferred security has moved significantly closer to Strategy’s stated $99–$100 objective.
The key question is whether STRC can maintain that level once the pace of company-supported buying changes.
