According to Woofun AI, MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) revealed impressive financial data in its financial report for the third quarter of 2026: operating profit reached US$21 billion, the highest single-quarter record in the company's history. This huge book gain was entirely due to fluctuations in the price of the BTC assets it holds, rather than traditional business growth.
Despite the impressive profit figures, the market gave negative feedback on its core indicator — the corresponding amount of BTC per share — which did not rise but fell during the quarter, revealing the structural contradictions behind its capital operations.
An in-depth analysis of its financial structure. This divergence between profit and position efficiency stems from the mandatory confirmation rules of US accounting standards for changes in cryptocurrency valuations. Against the backdrop of rising BTC prices this quarter, MicroStrategy confirmed unrealized earnings of $20.91 billion, driving net revenue to $19.53 billion, equivalent to $44.75 per share.
However, this “paper wealth” in accounting masks the dilution effect. According to data compiled by Woofun AI, although the company's total BTC holdings increased 26% year over year to 848,517, the value of BTC per share fell by 3.7%, which means that the current amount of BTC represented per share is even less than the level in January. Looking back at July, when the price of BTC fell, the same accounting rules caused the company to record a quarterly loss of $8.22 billion, although BTC was still up 4.5% per share at the time.
This sharp profit fluctuation highlights the highly sensitive nature of the MicroStrategy business model to the BTC price, and also reveals the dilution pressure brought about by financing the issuance of new shares to maintain the BTC holdings strategy.
To support this huge balance sheet, MicroStrategy raised $21.23 billion in 2026 through the issuance of new shares, etc. Meanwhile, the company sold $431.8 million worth of BTC, and the proceeds were used to pay dividends and implement a share repurchase program.
Notably, MicroStrategy spent $2.04 billion to buy back its STRC (STRC.US) preferred shares in 2026, and investors can earn cash and enjoy monthly dividends by selling such shares. The company also established a reserve of $50.7 billion to cover dividends and interest expenses on preferred shares over the next 3.4 years. CEO Phong Le emphasized in the announcement that the company showed determination to restore the STRC stock price and announced that preferred shares will pay daily dividends starting November 1.
However, due to priority implementation of the buyback program, the amount of BTC purchased by the company each week during the first two weeks of October fell sharply by 84%. Additionally, management changes are underway; Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kang will step down on November 5, and Head of Operations Reza Virasteh will take over on January 1.
The market reaction did not turn positive due to record profits. Before the financial report was released, MicroStrategy's stock price had fallen 2.4% to $141.62; after the release of the earnings report, the stock price fell further 0.8% in after-hours trading. By contrast, the BTC price fluctuated around $90,600 on Thursday night. MicroStrategy claims that it wants to lead the development of the 'digital credit' market, but its stock price continues to fall below the corresponding BTC value behind it, causing the value of BTC per share to continue to decline.
This phenomenon reflects the huge costs required to maintain its highly leveraged, high-dividend business model, as well as investors' concerns about its long-term capital efficiency. This is a sobering reassessment by the market of its 'BTC agent' narrative following multiple dilution financings.