Strategy shares dropped 4% in after-hours trading on Thursday after MSCI announced new rules that could push the company out of the MSCI World Index.
MSCI said it will adopt methodology changes that remove "non-operating companies" from its Global Investable Market Indexes, a group that includes the MSCI World Index and its large passive investment flows. Once the rule change circulated, Strategy’s common stock, MSTR, traded 4% lower within 20 minutes of the closing bell.
Final list due on November 11
The timing of the change matches MSCI’s November 2026 Index Review. The update becomes effective at the close on November 30.
Strategy has not been confirmed for removal, but MSCI specifically identified it as being under threat of exclusion. The final list of affected constituents is scheduled for November 11.
This is the second MSCI World Index scare for Strategy shareholders in 2026. On January 6, MSCI passed on its first chance to remove the company from the index.
How the new MSCI screen works
MSCI’s new methodology has two stages. First, a company moves into a five-ratio exclusion screen if its operating assets make up less than half of total assets.
Protos reported that Strategy would enter that screening phase because it holds the vast majority of its assets in non-operating, passive BTC investment.
Next, if MSCI flags a company on at least four of the five ratios, the stock becomes ineligible. A removal also requires failure across each of the two most recent annual filing periods, which can predate the formal adoption of the rules.
In the impact list released alongside the rule adoption, MSCI flagged Strategy. As of October 9, its float-adjusted market value was about $40 billion, larger than every other stock on the potential removal list.
Saylor and Phong Le opposed the proposal
Strategy founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le have actively campaigned against the possible removal. The company also maintains a dedicated page on its website arguing for continued MSCI index inclusion.
In an August 31 letter, Saylor and Le called the proposal "discriminatory, arbitrary, and misguided." They said the rules "would profoundly harm MSCI’s reputation as a reliable and neutral index provider."
The letter urged MSCI to "remain what it has held itself out to be for decades: a mirror of the market, not an arbiter of it."
Saylor repeated that view in a television appearance two days before the decision. On October 13, he told Bloomberg Crypto that MSCI’s position was "disappointing."
Prior estimate pointed to $2.8 billion in outflows
During an earlier de-indexation threat in November 2025, JPMorgan estimated that MSCI exclusion alone could mean $2.8 billion of outflows for Strategy.
In its August consultation response, Strategy said funds linked to MSCI owned about 3.1% of its basic shares, or roughly 13 million shares.