bullish

Bitcoin

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Michael Saylor's Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) announced its first quarter 2026 earnings on May 5, and the numbers told the story of a company whose balance sheet now moves almost entirely with <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a> (BTC).
Strategy reported a net loss of <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/michael-saylors-strategy-reports-12-54b-net-loss-in-q1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$12.54 billion</a> for the quarter. It&nbsp;was almost entirely driven by a $14.46 billion unrealized decline in Bitcoin's fair value, as prices crashed below $62,000 during the February sell-off.
That single line item drove an operating loss of $14.47 billion, compared to $5.92 billion in the same time period a year earlier.&nbsp;
But despite the losses, analysts across Wall Street still have their hopes high for the Bitcoin treasury giant.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/michael-saylor-finally-wants-to-sell-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Michael Saylor finally wants to sell Bitcoin</a>
<h2 id="what-the-analysts-are-saying">What the analysts are saying</h2>
Lance Vitanza from TD Cowen raised his price target from $385 to $395 on May 7, maintaining his Buy rating, with the firm seeing 111.43% upside from current levels.&nbsp;
The core of Vitanza's updated thesis is a capital structure pivot. Strategy has been leaning more heavily on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/trading/michael-saylor-reveals-new-42b-business-strategy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">&nbsp;STRC to fund Bitcoin purchases</a> while pulling back on common equity issuance.
TD Cowen <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/400393/td-cowen-raises-strategy-price-target-to-395-on-shift-toward-strc-issuance-and-improved-btc-yield-outlook?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">argued</a> the market underestimates how much that shift can expand the company's BTC Yield over time, revising its estimate to 18.2% for fiscal 2026 from an earlier forecast of 16.7%. Their estimated BTC dollar gains for 2026 also rose to $13.9 billion from $12.7 billion.
The firm's base case is that Bitcoin will reach approximately $140,000 by the end of 2026, with an upside scenario that puts Bitcoin at $175,000.
Meanwhile,&nbsp;Joseph Vafi from Canaccord Genuity <a href="https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/mstr/forecast" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">reiterated</a> his Buy rating on May 7, raising his price target from $185 to $224.&nbsp;
The firm noted that since Bitcoin has moved up to over $80,000 from its $62,000 low, Strategy has weathered another perceived storm.&nbsp;
Canaccord noted that as Strategy shifts more toward issuing preferred stock instead of common equity, it is able to accumulate more Bitcoin per share without diluting existing shareholders.
Brian Dobson from Clear Street also reiterated his Buy rating on May 6, pushing up his price target from $233 to $240, hinting at a 28.47% upside from current levels.
Andrew Harte from BTIG initiated coverage on May 6 with a Buy rating and a $350 price target, suggesting 87.35% upside.
The only analyst who was not so confident was Mark Palmer from Benchmark Co. He cut his price target by over 19% from $705 to $570, although he maintained his Buy rating.
<h3 id="popular-on-thestreet-roundtable">Popular on TheStreet Roundtable:</h3>
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/michael-saylors-strategy-reports-12-54b-net-loss-in-q1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Michael Saylor's Strategy reports $12.54B net loss in Q1</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/eric-trump-unveils-new-logo-as-his-fathers-brand-takes-over-u-s-government" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Eric Trump unveils new logo as his father's brand takes over U.S. Government</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/blackrock-reveals-surprising-new-asset-class" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BlackRock reveals surprising new asset class</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="the-strc-engine-and-what-comes-next">The STRC engine and what comes next</h2>
Central to the bull case is STRC, which is Strategy's variable-rate perpetual preferred stock currently yielding 11.5%.&nbsp;
With more than $8.5 billion in face value outstanding, it has become the dominant engine of Saylor's 42/42 plan, revealed back in 2025. It is&nbsp;a three-year capital-raising roadmap targeting $21 billion through equity and an equal amount through fixed-income instruments.
Strategy held 818,334 Bitcoin as of May 3, at an average cost of $75,537 per coin, with a total cost basis of $61.81 billion.
<figure><a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/BTC-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a>
 <figcaption>
 Bitcoin price at the time of writing. Source: <a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/BTC-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Decibel</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
At press time, MSTR was trading 1.73% lower at $183.57. Bitcoin, meanwhile, has dropped by 1.4% in the past 24 hours and was trading at $80,521.43.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/wall-street-veteran-uses-ai-to-imagine-microstrategys-chapter-11-bankruptcy-in-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Wall Street veteran uses AI to imagine MicroStrategy’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2026</a>

Analysts see 111% upside for MicroStrategy despite Q1 loss

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