Strategy Reports Record $12.54 Billion Q1 Loss, Saylor Signals Willingness to Sell Bitcoin

Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR) reported a $12.54 billion net loss for the first quarter of 2026, the largest in the company’s history. The deficit was driven almost entirely by a $14.46 billion unrealized markdown on its bitcoin holdings as the price fell from roughly $87,000 on January 1 to approximately $68,000 by March 31.

Revenue rose 11.9% year over year to $124.3 million, but operating losses widened to $14.47 billion, dominated by the digital asset valuation swing.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

As of that date, Strategy held 818,334 BTC at an average cost basis of $75,537 per coin, with a total cost of $61.81 billion and a market value of approximately $64.14 billion. The company added roughly 89,600 BTC during the quarter for $5.5 billion, its second-largest quarterly purchase ever.

The more significant development came after the earnings release as Executive Chairman Michael Saylor floated that the company could sell bitcoin to cover its dividend obligations, which now total approximately $1.5 billion annually across the company’s preferred stock classes.

MSTR dropped 4% in after-hours trading on the remarks, and bitcoin slipped below $81,000.

The comment marks a notable shift from Saylor’s long-standing public stance of never selling. At current dividend rates, the company has roughly 18 months of coverage before it would need to liquidate bitcoin or raise additional capital.

STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, now carries an $8.54 billion market capitalization with approximately $375 million in daily trading volume. The instrument raised $5.58 billion year to date, a 189% increase. Cumulative dividends paid across all preferred series total $692.5 million over 23 consecutive distributions. Strategy also proposed moving STRC dividend payments to a semi-monthly schedule.

The company paused its weekly bitcoin purchases ahead of earnings, marking only the second such interruption this year. Despite the headline loss, Strategy raised $11.68 billion year to date through at-the-market equity offerings and preferred stock sales, making it the largest U.S. equity issuer of 2026. The crypto treasury model continues to scale rapidly while exposing investors to sharp earnings volatility.