How Long Will Strategy’s Cash Last?
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Strategy Inc. (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy, sells software and holds Bitcoin. The company spent more cash than it brought in during each of the last four quarters. That gap was $584 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2026. So take a guess: if it kept burning cash at that pace and raised nothing, how many quarters would the money it holds cover?
How Fast Is Strategy Burning Cash?
In the quarter ended September 30, 2026, Strategy burned cash equal to 465.7% of its sales, down from 3,861% in the same quarter a year earlier. Burn here means free cash flow below zero: the cash left after running the business and paying for capital spending.
| Fiscal quarter | Sales | Cash the business brought in | Cash left after capital spending, mostly Bitcoin purchases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 FY2025 (ended 2025-06-30) | $114 million | -$34.9 million | -$6,822 million |
| Q3 FY2025 (ended 2025-09-30) | $129 million | -$8.31 million | -$4,968 million |
| Q4 FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31) | $123 million | -$21.6 million | -$3,116 million |
| Q1 FY2026 (ended 2026-03-31) | $124 million | $14.0 million | -$7,238 million |
| Q2 FY2026 (ended 2026-06-30) | $122 million | -$4.14 million | -$6,427 million |
| Q3 FY2026 (ended 2026-09-30) | $125 million | $4.42 million | -$584 million |
Each row is one fiscal quarter. A negative figure is cash going out. The last column is free cash flow.
Because the day-to-day business brought in slightly more cash than it used, all of the latest burn came from capital spending. The cash burn over the last four quarters was less than half that of the four quarters before. Still, the burn has not stopped in any of the last eight quarters.
How Long Would Strategy’s Cash Last?
Strategy held $5.9 billion in cash and short-term investments on September 30, 2026. If the company kept burning cash at the average pace of the last four quarters and raised nothing, those reserves would cover about a quarter and a half. Most of that outflow was Bitcoin buying, which Strategy has paid for by raising new money.
The cash lasts under a year unless the burn stays at its latest, slower pace. At $6.78 billion, Strategy’s debt is also larger than that cash balance.
Who Has Paid For The Burn So Far?
Existing shareholders have paid for much of the burn. Strategy’s share count rose 117% in the two years to September 30, 2026: the company sold new shares, leaving each existing share with a smaller piece of the company. Debt grew about 59% over the same two years, though it is lower than a year ago.
Management said on the October 29 call that Strategy raised about $5.4 billion in the September quarter alone, and $21.2 billion so far in 2026. The company has paid for its spending with this new money rather than with cash it already had.
What Has To Change At Strategy
Management said on that call that the company’s cash covers its interest and dividend payments and its Bitcoin treasury needs, and that Strategy now holds 848,517 Bitcoin. Strategy’s US dollar assets cover 3.4 years of interest and dividends, management said. That measures payments, not the burn. Sales are no help either, falling 2.5% from the same quarter a year earlier.
So the burn depends on how much Bitcoin Strategy chooses to buy. In the latest quarter, all of it went to capital spending, which at Strategy is mainly Bitcoin buying. The cash Strategy burns each quarter, $584 million in the latest one, is the figure to watch when the company next reports, expected in February 2027.
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