MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has announced a 10-for-1 stock split. This move aims to make MicroStrategy’s stock more accessible to investors and employees. The company’s shares rose about 6% following the announcement, but are currently about 34% off an all-time high reached in March.
MicroStrategy plans to pay a dividend to shareholders on Aug. 1, giving them an additional 9 shares for every 1 they hold. The dividend will be distributed after trading closes on Aug. 7, and the stock will begin trading on a post-split basis on Aug. 8.
Originally a provider of enterprise software, MicroStrategy shifted its focus to bitcoin in 2020. The company has since primarily traded as a proxy for the price of bitcoin. Bernstein has stated that MicroStrategy is “building the world’s largest bitcoin company” and has about 80% upside potential.
In terms of performance, MicroStrategy stock is up 106% this year compared to bitcoin’s 38% gain. Over the past 12 months, MicroStrategy stock has surged 216% while bitcoin has advanced 91%.