Strategy's increased dollar buffer covers more than 2 years of dividend obligations
Strategy (MSTR), the largest bitcoin BTC$87,556.03 holder among publicly traded companies, increased its dollar reserve to $2.2 billion, giving the company a two-and-a-half-year buffer to meet dividend obligations and the flexibility to navigate a potential “bitcoin winter” if BTC prices follow the conventional four-year market cycle.
The company sold stock to add $748 million to the reserve on Monday. This cash cushion eases near term liquidity pressure and supports operations through periods of heightened volatility.
The reserve is earmarked for preferred stock dividend payments totaling some $824 million a year, according to the company dashboard, across the STRK, STRC, STRF, STRD and STRE series. The runway extends into the next bitcoin BTC$87,556.03 halving, an event that cuts block rewards by 50% roughly every four years and is likely to next occur in April 2028.
The roughly 32 months of cover supports uninterrupted payments through 2026, 2027 and into 2028.
The first convertible note put date, when bondholders may force Strategy to repurchase their bonds arrives in September 2027, with a $1 billion principal. Based on MSTR’s history of settling prior notes via share conversion, this would be the preferred option.
If the share price remains below the $183-per-share conversion threshold, Strategy would have sufficient cash. It currently trades near $165, around 12% below that level.
At or above the conversion price, the notes would convert into equity, while prices below would require cash repayment. In addition, MSTR holds 671,268 BTC, offering further flexibility, as only a small portion of holdings would be needed if cash settlement were required.
Jeff Walton, the chief risk officer at Strive, underscored the importance of what he calls the company’s USD battery, noting that the current reserve is enough to fully address the September 2027 convertible put while still leaving an additional 15 months of preferred dividend coverage.
MSTR shares are down roughly 45% year to date, trading near $163 per share.