Strategy’s dividend-paying preferred stock STRC closed at $91.79 on Tuesday, its third-lowest finish since trading began in July 2025. The only weaker closes came later that same month, when the security fell as low as $88.60. STRC debuted at roughly $90, but it was built to trade as close as possible to its $100 par value.
That has not happened for some time. STRC has stayed below par for an extended stretch and has not traded at $100 since May 15, last month’s ex-dividend date. In prior periods, the security often moved up toward par before the ex-dividend cutoff, then dropped by about the value of the dividend and slowly recovered. On June 15, that rebound failed to materialize.
Bitcoin pressure and thinner dividend coverage are hitting sentiment
One reason is the stock’s historical link to bitcoin. STRC has tended to trade in line with BTC, and bitcoin remains under pressure at around $65,000, roughly 50% below its October all-time high. That backdrop has left little support for a preferred security already struggling to regain par.
Dividend coverage has also become a central concern. After using part of its cash reserves to repay $1.5 billion in convertible debt, Strategy now has only about seven months of dividend payout coverage left. Before that repayment, the company’s cash position covered as much as 24 months. For investors focused on income durability, that change matters.
SATA is drawing buyers with higher yield and no debt burden
Capital has also shifted toward a rival product. Strive’s bitcoin-backed preferred security, SATA, is trading at $99.99, still close to its $100 par value. STRC, by contrast, now sits at about an $8.20 discount to SATA, the widest spread on record between the two securities.
The comparison is not limited to price. SATA offers an annualized yield of about 13%, above STRC’s 11.5%, and it pays dividends daily rather than every two months. Strive also has no debt outstanding. That leaves SATA at the top of the capital structure, without obligations to convertible debt holders, a feature that may appeal more to income-focused buyers.
The market may be pricing in a need for a higher payout
Using STRC’s current dividend rate and market price, its annualized yield stands at about 12.53%, based on annual dividend payments divided by the current share price. The pricing gap suggests the market may want a richer payout before demand returns. In practical terms, STRC’s dividend rate may need to rise by about 100 basis points for the security to move back toward its intended $100 par value.