Corporate Bitcoin giant Strategy reported a massive Q1 2026 net loss of $12.54 billion, driven by a $14.46 billion unrealized loss on its BTC holdings. Despite this, the company increased its Bitcoin stash to 818,334 BTC and raised billions in capital. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor suggested the firm may sell some Bitcoin to cover dividend payments, a notable shift from its long-held “never sell” stance.
The world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, Strategy, posted a first-quarter net loss attributable to common stockholders of $12.77 billion. This result was primarily driven by a $14.46 billion unrealized loss on its Bitcoin position due to poor prices early in 2026.
Excluding Bitcoin accounting, the underlying software business showed stability with revenues growing to $124.3 million. The company aggressively accumulated more BTC, purchasing 89,599 Bitcoin during the quarter to bring its total holdings to 818,334.
Strategy raised $7.37 billion in Q1 alone through capital markets activity, including its at-the-market offering program. Its variable-rate preferred stock, STRC, has scaled to $8.5 billion in notional value, which the company calls the largest preferred stock by market cap globally.
On an earnings call, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor made a notable statement regarding the company’s Bitcoin strategy. “We will probably sell some Bitcoin to pay a dividend just to inoculate the market and send the message that we did it,” he said.
An analyst participating in the call flagged this comment as more material than previous discussions on the subject. The statement marks a potential shift for Saylor, who has long evangelized Bitcoin as an asset never to be sold.
The company’s exposure to U.S. interest rates is becoming more relevant given STRC’s nature as a floating instrument. This comes amid the approaching tenure of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair and the prospect of rate cuts.
Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff recently called STRC “an obvious Ponzi scheme” in a live discussion, arguing dividend payouts are funded by continuously issuing new shares. Strategy has pushed back on that characterization, pointing to its Bitcoin holdings as a balance sheet backstop.
Strategy’s shares closed around $187, down roughly 3.5% in after-hours trading following the earnings release. Bitcoin itself was holding at around $81,000 at the time of the report.
