Strategy holds Stretch dividend rate at 12% for October 2026

Strategy is keeping its foot right where it was. The Bitcoin treasury company confirmed on October 1, 2026, that the annualized dividend rate on its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock, better known by its ticker STRC, will stay at 12.00% for October.

What Strategy announced

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor confirmed the decision on the first day of the month. The 12% rate applies to STRC’s semi-monthly dividend periods throughout October.

STRC carries a par value of $100, and dividends are calculated off that figure. At a 12% annualized rate, each semi-monthly payment works out to $0.50 per share.

The 12% level isn’t new. STRC has paid at that rate since July 2026, which makes October another month at the same plateau.

That plateau came after a climb. When Strategy launched STRC in July 2025, the starting rate was 9%. The company then raised it multiple times before it reached 12% in July 2026.

How Stretch is supposed to work

Strategy designed the instrument as a US dollar-denominated perpetual preferred equity. The goal is to keep the shares trading close to their $100 par value. The lever it uses is a monthly rate review.

When market conditions shift, the company can move the rate to make the shares more or less attractive. The inputs include Bitcoin price swings and credit spreads, along with STRC’s current trading levels.

Strategy also factors in its own balance sheet when setting the rate. The company’s USD reserve stood around $2.55 billion in mid-2026, a cushion meant to support dividend payouts and other obligations.

On the hierarchy, STRC sits ahead of common shareholders. It has priority over MSTR common stock for both dividends and liquidation. The tradeoff is that STRC holders cannot convert their shares into MSTR stock.

The bigger machine behind STRC

STRC is one piece of what Strategy calls its “Digital Credit Capital Framework.” The framework raises capital that Strategy can use for ongoing Bitcoin purchases while giving investors high-yield income securities.

The company has paired that framework with other initiatives, including a buyback program and a Bitcoin monetization strategy.

Strategy has proposed shifting STRC to daily dividend accruals, pending shareholder approval. Today, dividends are tied to semi-monthly periods. A daily accrual would spread that out, so value builds day by day, which could smooth out price swings that tend to cluster around payment dates.

What this means for investors

For income-focused investors, STRC offers a way to collect yield linked to a Bitcoin treasury company without holding Bitcoin directly. A 12% annualized rate paid twice monthly, at $0.50 per share, is the core draw.

The “variable” in the name cuts both ways. Strategy reviews the rate every month, and the same factors that kept it at 12% for October — including Bitcoin’s price, credit spreads, and STRC’s trading levels — could argue for a different number later.

The USD reserve of around $2.55 billion as of mid-2026 gives Strategy room to keep paying through rough patches in the Bitcoin market.

STRC holders get first claim on payouts ahead of MSTR common shareholders but give up conversion rights into MSTR stock, capping their upside if Strategy’s common shares rally.

The next checkpoint arrives with November’s rate decision. Investors will also watch whether the daily accrual proposal wins shareholder approval.