STRC Stock Slumps Near Record Lows as Bitcoin Weakness and Dividend Concerns Weigh on Investor Sentiment

Strategy’s dividend-paying preferred stock, STRC, fell to $91.79 on Tuesday, marking its third-lowest closing price since trading began in July 2025. The decline highlights growing investor concerns surrounding bitcoin’s price performance, dividend sustainability, and increasing competition from rival bitcoin-backed income products.

The only lower closes for STRC occurred shortly after its market debut, when the stock dropped to a low of $88.60. Although the preferred security was designed to trade close to its $100 par value, it has struggled to regain that level and has remained below $100 for an extended period. Notably, STRC has not traded at par since May 15, the ex-dividend date for its most recent payout.

Historically, STRC tended to rise toward its $100 par value before the ex-dividend date, as investors sought to qualify for upcoming dividend payments. After going ex-dividend, the stock typically declined by roughly the dividend amount before gradually recovering. However, this pattern failed to materialize during the June dividend cycle, signaling weaker market demand.

Several factors appear to be driving the stock’s underperformance. Bitcoin prices remain under pressure, trading around $65,000 and roughly 50% below their October peak. Because STRC has historically shown a strong correlation with bitcoin, continued weakness in the cryptocurrency market has negatively impacted investor sentiment.

Investors are also questioning dividend coverage. Strategy recently used part of its cash reserves to repay $1.5 billion in convertible debt, reducing the company’s dividend coverage from approximately 24 months to just seven months based on current payout levels.

At the same time, investors have increasingly shifted attention to Strive’s competing bitcoin-backed preferred stock, SATA. Trading near its $100 par value at $99.99, SATA offers an annualized yield of about 13%, compared with STRC’s 11.5%. SATA also provides daily dividend payments and benefits from Strive’s debt-free balance sheet, making it attractive to income-focused investors.

The valuation gap between the two securities has widened significantly, with STRC trading at an $8.20 discount to SATA—the largest spread recorded so far. Based on its current market price and dividend rate, STRC offers an annualized yield of approximately 12.53%. Market pricing suggests investors may require an increase of roughly 100 basis points in the dividend rate before STRC can regain stronger demand and move closer to its intended $100 par value.