Strategy to “sell some Bitcoin” after posting $12.7 billion Q1 loss as Saylor points to $5 billion Bitcoin gain

Strategy reported a massive first-quarter loss after Bitcoin’s early-year drawdown overwhelmed its software revenue, even as Michael Saylor pointed to internal Bitcoin metrics showing continued gains in shareholder exposure. The company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $12.77 billion, or $38.25 per diluted share, for the first quarter. Revenue rose 11.9% year over year to $124.3 million, but the result was dominated by a $14.46 billion unrealized loss on digital assets under fair-value accounting. That outcome confirms the central tension around Strategy’s model. The company can show rising Bitcoin-per-share metrics while its reported earnings are reshaped by the market price of a single volatile asset. Saylor’s preferred scorecard shows a company accumulating Bitcoin faster than dilution erodes shareholder exposure. Traditional accounting shows a business whose bottom line can swing by billions of dollars in a single quarter. Bitcoin yield becomes Saylor’s main scorecard Strategy said its BTC Yield reached 9.4% year to date. The metric measures the change in Bitcoin holdings per diluted share, providing a way to assess whether the company is increasing Bitcoin exposure for shareholders even as it issues securities to fund purchases. He also said, We'll probably sell some Bitcoin just to inoculate the market. Michael Saylor Executive Chairman • Strategy Share on View Profile BTC Gain takes that percentage and turns it into a Bitcoin number. By Strategy’s calculation, the year-to-date increase equals 63,410 BTC. The company also reported BTC $ Gain of $4.97 billion, a dollar-denominated version of the same internal measure. Strategy's Bitcoin Holdings Key Metrics (Source: Strategy) For Saylor and his supporters, the figures are evidence that the company’s capital markets strategy is still producing incremental Bitcoin exposure for shareholders. However, the measure is narrower than earnings, cash flow, or net income. It does not show whether Strategy’s software business is improving, whether dividend obligations are becoming harder to service, or whether the company’s financing costs are rising. Instead, it answers one specific question: whether the company has increased Bitcoin per share over a selected period. That distinction now frames the Q1 result. Strategy’s revenue came in at $124.3 million, up from $111.1 million a year earlier, leaving the legacy software unit in the background. The bottom line was driven by Bitcoin accounting rather than product sales. Strategy reported an operating loss of $14.47 billion, almost entirely due to the unrealized digital asset loss recorded during the quarter. That creates a split between economic exposure and reported earnings. Strategy’s Bitcoin metrics improved, but common shareholders absorbed a GAAP loss far deeper than pre-earnings consensus estimates. Bitcoin buying continued through the drawdown The first quarter was a stress test for Strategy’s playbook. Bitcoin fell sharply during the period, yet the company continued to buy Bitcoin. Strategy ended the period with 818,334 BTC as of May 3, representing a 22% year-to-date increase in holdings. The company said its Bitcoin position had a market value of $64.14 billion as of May 1, based on a Bitcoin price of $78,374. Its average purchase price was $75,537 per coin, leaving the position modestly above cost at that reference price. The holdings amount to about 3.9% of Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million token supply, giving Strategy a scale unmatched by any other public company. That concentration is the source of both the appeal and the risk. When Bitcoin rises, Strategy’s balance sheet expands quickly, and its stock can move with greater force than the token itself. When Bitcoin falls, the same leverage becomes a liability, creating accounting losses, pressure on the share price, and questions about whether the company should continue raising capital. The stock’s history shows the size of that swing. Since Strategy began its Bitcoin transformation in 2020, MSTR shares have risen to as high as $500 in 2024, thanks to BTC's rapid rise during the period, but have fallen to as low as $100 earlier this year amid the top crypto's price struggles. The post-earnings reaction showed how sensitive the equity remains to that balance. Strategy shares slipped after the results, even though the company continued to report growth in Bitcoin exposure. That market response matters for Strategy’s model. A stronger share price can make equity issuance more attractive, while tighter credit markets or a falling stock can make capital raising more expensive. Saylor’s strategy depends on Bitcoin’s long-term price and the market’s willingness to keep funding the company along the way. Preferred stock becomes the new funding channel Strategy’s financing structure has grown more complex as its Bitcoin holdings have expanded. The company has used convertible debt and common stock for ye