Strategy Reports $20.91 Billion in Operating Income, Sets CFO Transition
Key Facts
Strategy reported operating income of $20.91 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2026, compared with $3.89 billion in the same period of 2025, while also announcing a transition in its chief financial officer role. The company said quarterly income included a $20.91 billion gain on its digital assets, making changes in the value of its bitcoin holdings a key driver of the reported result. In its earnings statement, Strategy described the period as the third quarter of its fiscal 2026. It also announced that Andrew Kang will leave his role as executive vice president and chief financial officer effective November 5. The results come as the company continues to expand its bitcoin holdings, while quarterly figures include gains tied to the measurement of those assets.
Net income was $19.53 billion, or $44.75 per diluted share, compared with $2.79 billion and diluted earnings of $8.42 per share in the third quarter of 2025, according to the company statement. The increase coincided with revenue falling to $125.4 million from $128.7 million a year earlier, a 3% year-over-year decline. The comparison between operating income and revenue shows a clear divergence in the two measures during the quarter. The reported $20.91 billion gain on digital assets reflected changes in their recorded value, rather than the revenue line reported by the company. In the third quarter of 2025, Strategy reported operating income of $3.9 billion, which included an unrealized fair-value gain on digital assets of the same amount. Operating income comparisons between the two quarters were therefore linked to digital-asset valuation gains in both periods.
Strategy said accounting standard ASU 2023-08 requires bitcoin to be measured at fair value on the balance sheet, with gains or losses from changes in value recognized in net income. This means changes in bitcoin's price flow through the company's accounting results, explaining the presence of the digital-asset gain in the quarterly figures. As of October 25, 2026, Strategy held 848,517 bitcoin, up 26% since the start of the year. The company said it had purchased $14.33 billion worth of bitcoin from the start of 2026 through that date. These holdings put the scale of its digital-asset exposure in the context of quarterly results, which included a gain of roughly the same amount as reported operating income. The comparison with the third quarter of 2025 also includes an unrealized gain tied to the fair value of digital assets.
Strategy said Kang informed the company on October 26 of his intention to resign for personal reasons, and that the decision was not related to any disagreement with the company over its operations, policies or practices. His departure as executive vice president and chief financial officer will take effect on November 5, and he will remain with the company in an advisory role through December 31. During the transition, Chief Executive Officer Phong Le will assume the duties of principal financial officer and responsibility for financial management. Reza Verasteh is set to become executive vice president and chief financial officer on January 1, 2027, sharing the principal financial officer role with Le. The timeline sets out a transition from Kang to interim arrangements led by Le, followed by Verasteh early next year.
The financial announcements also included new dates for distributions on some of the company's securities. Strategy said STRC distributions will become daily starting November 1, 2026. Distributions on STRF, STRK and STRD are scheduled to become daily from January 1, 2027. The dates put the change for STRC about two months ahead of daily distributions for the other three securities. In the stock market, MSTR shares closed at $141.62 on October 29, 2026, according to data provided by EL7. The closing price came on the day Strategy announced its third-quarter results and changes related to the finance role.