Guide · btccalcs.com
What is BTC Yield, and is it a real return?
Published 2026-06-23
BTC Yield is a non-GAAP metric coined by Strategy that measures the percentage change in BTC per diluted share over a period. It is a real measure of BTC-per-share accretion, but it is not a yield in the financial sense because no BTC is distributed to shareholders and the metric is silent on what the accretion cost.
Mechanism
Formula: BTC Yield = (BTC per diluted share at end of period − BTC per diluted share at start of period) / BTC per diluted share at start of period × 100%. It captures accretion delivered by issuing equity at mNAV > 1× and using the proceeds to buy BTC. It omits the cost of that accretion: the dilution incurred, the convertible note interest paid, the operating expenses, and the mNAV at which shares were issued. Worked example: if BTC per share goes from 0.001 to 0.0012 over a quarter, BTC Yield = 20%. The same 20% is cheap if those shares were issued at 3× mNAV (each new share bought 3× its NAV in BTC) and expensive if issued at 1.1× mNAV (each new share barely covered itself).
Detail
Why Strategy introduced the metric. BTC Yield was framed by Michael Saylor as a way to measure the value of the accretion strategy independent of BTC price movements. Earnings per share is the wrong unit when the operating business is incidental to a BTC accumulation thesis. BTC per share is the right unit, and BTC Yield is its rate of change.
The skeptical read. A company issuing shares at 3× mNAV to buy BTC will show a high BTC Yield, but if mNAV later compresses to 1×, shareholders effectively paid 3× for BTC they could have bought directly. The metric does not flag this. A high BTC Yield earned at a fat premium is borrowed against future premium compression.
When BTC Yield is a genuinely useful signal. Rising BTC Yield alongside stable or rising mNAV is a confirmation that the strategy is working: the market is funding the accretion at terms the market still endorses. BTC Yield rising while mNAV falls is a warning, because issuance is happening into a closing window.
How it compares to CEBE and BPS as a completeness check. BPS is the level, BTC Yield is the rate of change of that level, and CEBE is the operating-business read that tells you whether the accretion engine can survive a BTC drawdown without forced selling. Reading BTC Yield alone is incomplete in the same way reading any single metric is incomplete.
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What this leaves out. Educational content based on public filings and market data as of the published date. Not investment, accounting, tax, or legal advice. Verify all figures against primary sources before acting.