Most people holding Strategy’s 11.5% dividend-paying STRC, are making a strange bargain with the company; that on monthly snapshot days, the stock will trade near the company’s intended $100 share price.
In between those dates, however, STRC invariably wanders downhill. Indeed, it closed yesterday at $91.79, 8.2% below its target.
Strategy persuades buyers to take the bargain of downside possibility on their investment with an above-market yield of 11.5%.
Strategy, the bitcoin ($BTC) treasury company built by Michael Saylor, markets STRC as a near-$100 instrument that strips away $BTC’s volatility, providing ostensibly predictable payouts and a USD-stable target.
Anyone who holds STRC at the close of Nasdaq’s regular trading session on the dividend record “snapshot” date receives that payout.
Because Strategy pays a dividend on the full $100 par regardless of its price on Nasdaq, the company designed STRC to hold near $100 on its snapshot dates.
The actual chart of Nasdaq trades, unfortunately, says otherwise.
STRC had its IPO in July 2025 and didn’t even trade up to $100 until October. For over a trailing month as of publication time, STRC hasn’t traded at or above $100.
STRC crashes ex-dividend
The morning after its snapshot date, the stock trades “ex-dividend,” and holders earn nothing extra for maintaining their investment until another two weeks transpire and another snapshot occurs.
Predictably, the stock always rallies into these snapshot dates and immediately sells off afterward.
Historical prices bear this out across the security’s short life.
In August 2025, STRC dropped to $92.20 in-between its dividend snapshot dates.
In September, it drifted to $96.61. October was a similar $96.75. Then November frightened investors with a 9.5% drop from $100 to $90.52.
Although each month’s trading range is unique, this month is risking becoming on of its worst. Just yesterday, shares closed at $91.79.
Run-ups into the dividend snapshots are routine, but declines are just as routine.
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Semi-monthly dividends haven’t helped yet
Strategy’s talked shareholders into making the problem twice as frequent, albeit shorter in duration.
On June 8, holders approved a shift to semi-monthly dividends, with record dates on the 15th and the last day of each month. Its first semi-monthly dividend will occur next month.
Strategy CEO Phong Le said the change was designed to “stabilize price” for STRC, which definitely hasn’t happened so far.
Over its lifetime, STRC has traded as high as $100.42 and as low as $90.38. That is a band of more than $10 for a $100 stock that’s supposed to hug its par value.
With STRC trading 8.2% below its par as of yesterday’s close, Strategy has two obvious defenses available.
First, it could raise the dividend. STRC pays 11.50% a year now, a yield higher than most junk bonds, but there’s plenty of room to go higher if the company wants to burn cash faster.
Payouts started at 9% when the shares launched, and have climbed steadily to 11.5% today.
Second, Strategy could buyback shares. The company has never done this.
As Protos has documented, the cost of maintaining investor confidence in STRC keeps rising. For a security sold on the idea of stable income, STRC asks for a lot of faith between its semi-monthly record dates.
