Strategy's value could improve in 2026 if Michael Saylor sticks to hint of buying more Bitcoin than he sells

Strategy’s accumulation of Bitcoin and shift toward perpetual preferred stock financing could improve the company’s capital structure and share performance through the rest of 2026, regardless of proposed selling plans.

Michael Saylor posted “Buy more bitcoin than you sell” earlier on X, a pointed response after Strategy disclosed earlier this week that it would likely sell some Bitcoin to fund dividend obligations for the company.

Strategy’s Bitcoin buying pace

Strategy has purchased 145,834 Bitcoin worth roughly $11 billion since January, mostly bought while BTC traded below the company’s estimated average cost of around $75,000.

According to JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Strategy’s full-year purchases would reach approximately $30 billion, a figure that would exceed the roughly $22 billion the company spent on Bitcoin in each of the two prior years.

“Strategy appears to have re-accelerated its Bitcoin purchases in April, extending a 2026 pattern of increasingly opportunistic buying, responsive to both market conditions and financing availability,” the JPMorgan analysts wrote.

The company now holds 818,334 BTC, worth more than $65 billion at current prices, making it the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.

STRC and the dividend trade-off

The second development with direct implications for MSTR shareholders is Strategy’s growing reliance on STRC, its perpetual preferred stock carrying an approximate 11.5% yield.

The STRC pivot carries obligations. The annual preferred share dividend burden runs at roughly 2.2% of its total Bitcoin holding value, or about $1.5 billion, according to TD Cowen’s estimates.

Saylor said earlier this week that the company would “probably” sell Bitcoin in the future to cover those payments, the first time the company has publicly acknowledged a scenario in which it becomes a net seller of any portion of its holdings.

His follow-up post on X, “Buy more bitcoin than you sell,” appeared to frame this as a net-positive equation. The company buys far more Bitcoin through STRC and equity issuance than it would ever need to sell for dividends.

What this means for MSTR

TD Cowen analysts Lance Vitanza and Jonnathan Navarrete raised their price target on MSTR to $395 from $385 on Thursday, citing higher-than-expected capital efficiency from this financing shift.

That target implies more than 110% upside from Wednesday’s closing price of $186.82.

By issuing STRC instead of common equity, Strategy can buy Bitcoin with less dilution to existing MSTR holders. STRC’s outstanding face value now exceeds $8.5 billion.

TD Cowen raised its BTC Yield forecast for Strategy to 18.2% for fiscal 2026 (up from 16.7%) and to 9.6% for fiscal 2027 (up from 5.4%). The firm’s baseline scenario assumes Bitcoin reaches approximately $140,000 by year-end, with a bull case of $175,000.

JPMorgan noted that demand for Strategy shares among investors remains strong across both retail and institutional holders.

For the remaining quarters of the year, the key factors are remain if Strategy can maintain its current buying pace, and how the Bitcoin price moves relative to TD Cowen’s $140,000 baseline.

A stable premium and rising BTC price would add to MSTR’s leverage effect. A reduction in either would destabilize the STRC dividend math and narrow the gap between the $395 target and reality.

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