Strive, Inc. reported GAAP net income of $509.0 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, almost entirely from mark-to-market moves on digital assets. According to the company’s GlobeNewswire release, also furnished in an SEC Form 8-K filed Friday, net unrealized gains on digital assets at fair value were $533.7 million, while total operating revenue was only $2.7 million. Net income attributable to common stockholders after preferred dividends was $474.8 million, or $5.24 per diluted share.
The same release shows a GAAP net loss of $14.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, with a nine-month unrealized digital-asset gain of just $9.9 million. The quarterly paper profit therefore largely reversed earlier fair-value losses rather than adding half a billion dollars of year-to-date bitcoin gains.
What the income statement shows
Q3 revenue was $2.696 million: $1.559 million of investment advisory fees, $1.133 million of medical device revenues and $4,000 of other revenue. Operating expenses were $38.699 million, including a $14.65 million impairment of a medical-device research-and-development intangible. Investment gains totaled $544.027 million, of which $533.697 million was the unrealized digital-asset line and $8.833 million was an unrealized gain on preferred-equity investments.
That structure is the point of ASU 2023-08 fair-value accounting for crypto assets, which Strive says it has adopted. Bitcoin held on the balance sheet is marked to market each period, with unrealized gains and losses running through net income. A large quarterly GAAP profit can appear even when operating revenue is thin, and it can reverse in a later quarter if bitcoin falls. Diluted EPS of $5.24 and non-GAAP adjusted net income attributable to common stockholders of $494.6 million, or $5.46 per diluted share, still sit downstream of that fair-value line.
Bitcoin bought, not a stated total stack
Strive said it acquired 8,136 bitcoin in the third quarter and 20,373 bitcoin in the nine months ended September 30, 2026. It acquired another 15,124 bitcoin from October 1 through October 30, 2026. The release does not state a total bitcoin holding. As of September 30, digital assets at fair value were carried at $2.340 billion on the balance sheet — a dollar amount, not a coin count.
Company-defined “Bitcoin Yield” — the percentage change in bitcoin per share over a period — was 18.5% in Q3, 63.2% year-to-date through Q3, and 19.3% from October 1 through October 30. Strive warns that Bitcoin Yield is not a traditional yield, return or fair-value-gain measure and can be positive in periods when the company has fair-value losses on bitcoin.
On Binance BTCUSDT daily candles, bitcoin opened July 1, 2026 near $58,625 and closed September 30 near $83,624, a gain of about 42.6% over the quarter. That spot move helps explain why a treasury that marks bitcoin at fair value could book a large unrealized gain in Q3 even while nine-month unrealized gains stayed small. Spot prices and Strive’s accounting lots will not match dollar for dollar.
September 30 versus October 30
Readers should keep the dates apart. At September 30, cash and cash equivalents were $285.4 million, Class A common shares outstanding were 88.8 million, and digital assets were $2.340 billion. As of October 30 — after the quarter closed — Strive said cash was $490.4 million and its position in Strategy Inc.’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock (STRC) had a fair value of $50.1 million. Class A common shares outstanding by then were 118.1 million.
On October 20, Strive completed a registered public offering of 7,000,000 shares of 15.00% Series A Perpetual SATS Preferred Stock for about $609.0 million of net proceeds. SATS trades on Nasdaq under “SATS.” Strive also holds STRC, which AltcoinReporter has covered in Strategy’s recent bitcoin purchases and STRC buyback and in STRC’s daily dividend schedule.
Matthew Cole, chairman and CEO, said: “Strive has continued to successfully execute on its treasury management strategy, delivering a strong bitcoin yield year to date in 2026, which I believe is the primary driver of our common equity’s outperformance relative to Bitcoin so far this year.” “With the recent issuance of SATS, we believe Strive has never been in a better position to generate long-term returns in excess of Bitcoin for our common equity shareholders.” The release does not independently prove that outperformance claim.
What to watch next
Strive said it is evaluating ways to leverage its balance sheet, including banking, brokerage, decentralized finance, reinsurance, structured ABS and tokenization, subject to underwriting, tax and regulatory factors. Near-term, watch the next quarter’s unrealized digital-asset line as bitcoin prices move, preferred-dividend cash costs after the SATS raise, and whether later filings state a total bitcoin stack the Q3 release omitted. No forecast is implied here: fair-value gains can swing either way.
FAQ
Did Strive earn $509 million from operations? No. GAAP net income was $509.0 million, driven mainly by a $533.7 million unrealized fair-value gain on digital assets. Operating revenue was $2.7 million against $38.7 million of operating expenses.
Is $509 million what common shareholders keep? Net income attributable to common stockholders after $34.2 million of preferred dividends was $474.8 million.
How many bitcoin does Strive hold? The Q3 release states bitcoin acquired in the periods above and a $2.340 billion fair-value carrying amount for digital assets at September 30. It does not disclose a total coin count.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
