MicroStrategy Adds Almost 9,000 Bitcoins to Its Holdings in Third Quarter

MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR), the business-intelligence software company that holds so much bitcoin on its balance sheet that it has become something of a proxy for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, said it added almost 9,000 bitcoins to its holdings in the the third quarter, bringing its total to 114,042.

The company said it purchased the bitcoin by “successfully raising capital in the quarter through our at-the-market equity offering.”
At current prices, the value of its bitcoin holdings is just over $7 billion; MicroStrategy’s entire market capitalization is roughly $7.4 billion.
The carrying value of MicroStrategy’s bitcoin was $2.406 billion, which reflects cumulative impairment losses of $754.7 million. Under accounting rules for digital assets, companies must report an impairment if the asset’s price goes below the company’s purchase price at any time during the quarter.
The company said it will “continue to evaluate opportunities to raise additional capital to execute on our bitcoin strategy.”
CEO Michael Saylor said on MicroStrategy’s earnings conference call that the company is committed to buying bitcoin and doesn’t have plans to sell. Saylor called bitcoin a “great” long-term investment for shareholders.
Saylor is open to partnerships that may allow MicroStrategy to buy more bitcoin.
Saylor said that the last three months have displayed “extremely dramatic” developments for bitcoin, including more institutional adoption and continuing regulatory discussions. Bitcoin-linked ETF’s are another “checkbox” for institutional investors, Saylor said.
Saylor added there’s a “profound game-changing dynamic here with big tech and bitcoin,” touting such examples as Square’s Cash App and Twitter’s tip option.
Overall, MicroStrategy reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.86 on revenues of $128.0 million for the quarter, beating analyst estimates for adjusted EPS of $0.64 and revenues of $127.5 million, according to FactSet.
Shares of MicroStrategy were rising 1.3% postmarket to about $727 on Thursday.
On Thursday, Saylor also retweeted a previous tweet of his from Oct. 28, 2020, revealing that he personally owned 17,732 bitcoin that he purchased for an average price of just under $10,000. He added the comment that “you do not sell your #bitcoin,” implying that he still owned all those coins. At current prices, they would be worth roughly $1.1 billion.

UPDATE (Oct. 28, 22:23 UTC): Adds commentary from earnings conference call.

UPDATE (Oct. 29, 12:42 UTC): Adds information about Saylor’s bitcoin holdings.

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Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

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