STRC Returns to $100 Par for First Time Since May After $2B+ Buybacks

Strategy's Stretch preferred stock reached the $100 level for the first time since May on Monday, after the company spent over $2 billion in buybacks and five months of dividend rate increases to protect that price.

In June, STRC traded below $80 at times, far off its stated value. The climb back to $100 restores the price at which Strategy plans to resume issuing new shares — the mechanism that funds its bitcoin purchases. Chairman Michael Saylor had committed to keeping the stock at or above par and maintaining the 12% dividend until that was achieved.

Two developments occurred in the past week. On Oct. 28, shareholders approved daily dividends for STRC and three other preferreds with a 99.3% vote, eliminating the semi-monthly ex-dividend drops that had introduced price volatility.

The first daily dividend was paid on Monday. Additionally, Strategy's Oct. 29 filing set the November rate at 12% annualized, which equals $1 per share for the month.

Strategy's common stock (MSTR) rose more than 7% on Monday after bitcoin climbed above $80,000.

BREAKING: Michael Saylor's STRC has returned to par for the first time since May!

They will start buying more bitcoin as soon as it goes above $100

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) November 4, 2026

Why Stretch (STRC) fell and what it is

The Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred, known as Stretch, debuted in July 2025 at $90 with an initial 9% rate. Saylor described it as the company's "iPhone moment." Its mechanism is a feedback loop: Strategy adjusts the monthly dividend to keep the price near $100, issues new shares when the price exceeds par, and uses the proceeds to buy bitcoin.

It grew to become the world's largest tradable preferred, with a market value exceeding $8 billion and a holder base that CEO Phong Le has estimated at roughly 80% retail.

The feedback loop broke earlier this year. STRC dipped below par in late January; Strategy increased the rate to 11.25% in February, 11.5% in March, and eventually to 12% by summer, yet the price kept dropping as bitcoin slid toward $65,000. With the price at $89, the at-the-market program was inactive, halting the company's cheapest source of funding.

In late May, Strategy sold 32 BTC worth roughly $2.5 million to fund a Stretch distribution — its first bitcoin sale since 2022. Critics warned of a potential "death spiral," though analysts at Benchmark and TD Cowen contested that view.

The solution was share repurchases. Strategy stopped buying bitcoin in the week of Oct. 19 and used $204.9 million on STRC alone, contributing to the roughly $2.25 billion the company has retired since the discount emerged.

Every share repurchased below $100 reduced the outstanding float and simultaneously cut the dividend expense.

Thin Margin Beneath the Treasury

The price recovery is significant because of what lies underneath. Strategy currently holds 849,327 BTC, after adding 811 coins last week, at an average purchase price of roughly $75,446. With bitcoin trading near $78,300 on Wednesday, the holdings are about 4% above cost.

Strategy posted $20.91 billion in third-quarter operating income, predominantly unrealized gains, along with a negative year-to-date BTC yield and the departure of its chief financial officer.

The preferred securities form a recurring obligation that must be met. STRC, STRF, STRK, and STRD collectively have annual dividend payments in the hundreds of millions; the quarter's 5,552 BTC sales were used to cover these and the buybacks. When Stretch is at par, Strategy can fund these obligations via new preferred issuance instead of selling coins. When it is at $89, that option is unavailable.

The next question is whether Strategy will restart the at-the-market program at $100 and whether there will be buyers to take the shares.