NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 17:30 ET — After-hours
- Strategy shares climbed after the company disclosed a higher dividend rate on its STRC preferred stock in an SEC filing.
- Crypto-linked stocks firmed as bitcoin rose, keeping Strategy in focus as a high-beta proxy for the token.
- Investors are watching bitcoin’s next move and upcoming U.S. data for clues on risk appetite.
Strategy Inc shares were up about 3.5% at $157.16 in after-hours trading on Friday, after a sharp session that ranged from $150.03 to $160.76. Trading volume was about 20 million shares.
The move matters because Strategy has become a bellwether “bitcoin treasury” trade, and small changes in how it funds itself can ripple through both its common stock and its yield-heavy preferred shares. Investors have focused on the company’s cost of capital as it leans on multiple security types to finance its bitcoin strategy.
Broader risk appetite also set the backdrop on the first trading day of 2026, with U.S. stocks ending mixed. “Buy the dip, sell the rip,” is the dominant mindset, Joe Mazzola, head of trading & derivatives strategy at Charles Schwab, told Reuters. Reuters
In a filing dated Dec. 31, Strategy said it lifted the regular annual dividend rate on its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock — ticker STRC — to 11.00% from 10.75% for monthly periods beginning on or after Jan. 1. The company also said its board declared a cash dividend of $0.916666667 per STRC share for the month ending Jan. 31, payable on Jan. 31 to holders of record on Jan. 15.
Preferred stock is a class of equity that typically pays a dividend and ranks ahead of common shares for payouts. “Perpetual” means it has no set maturity date, while “variable-rate” means the dividend can reset, in this case monthly.
Bitcoin was up about 1.9% at roughly $90,114, while crypto-linked stocks also advanced, with Coinbase up about 4.6% and Marathon Digital up about 10.2%.
Strategy’s stock often moves more than bitcoin because investors treat it as a leveraged proxy — its balance-sheet exposure can amplify swings when the token rises or falls. That dynamic can also cut both ways when bitcoin volatility spikes.
Strategy says its treasury strategy is built around giving investors “varying degrees of economic exposure to Bitcoin” through a mix of securities, alongside its enterprise analytics software business. Strategy
On its STRC product page, the company says the preferred’s dividend rate is adjusted monthly to encourage trading around its $100 stated amount, and it notes the cash dividend is not guaranteed.
Near-term, traders will be watching whether bitcoin’s rebound holds and whether rates and the dollar shift as U.S. data flow normalizes after holiday-thinned trading. Reuters reported markets are focused on the Fed outlook and upcoming employment data.
The next major scheduled check-in for Strategy is its quarterly results window in early February; Nasdaq lists an estimated earnings date of Feb. 4. Investors typically look for any updates on funding costs, preferred dividend mechanics, and the company’s bitcoin-related disclosures.
For now, Strategy remains a fast-moving trade tied to crypto direction — and to how confidently investors think its financing model can keep working in both calm and volatile markets.
