MicroStrategy history: Beyond the Ticker
MicroStrategy (MSTR) and its chairman, Michael Saylor, are practically synonymous with bitcoin (BTC-USD) these days, but the business intelligence company has been around since 1989. Beyond the Ticker takes a deep dive into the company’s biggest moments. 1989 Back then, it was all about data analytics, and Saylor – fresh out of MIT – was a rising tech star. 1998 With the dot-com boom well underway, MicroStrategy went public under the familiar MSTR ticker at $12 per share. It rocketed to $333 as the dot-com boom peaked. Saylor became a paper billionaire practically overnight and wasn’t afraid to spend his wealth on legendary parties and a yacht, capturing the flashy spirit of the era. 2000 But when the dot-com bubble burst, MicroStrategy’s stock plummeted to just 42 cents, a stunning 99.9% drop. The company had to restate its financials, and the SEC slapped the company with fines. Still, Saylor held on, shifting MicroStrategy’s focus back to enterprise software and slowly dug the company out of its hole. 2010 MicroStrategy was moving into mobile analytics, and Saylor wrote a prescient book about the coming smartphone revolution called, “The Mobile Wave.” 2014 Facing stiff competition, MicroStrategy laid off more than 700 workers, and Saylor cut his own salary to just one dollar. 2020 The pandemic, however, would bring new opportunities. Saylor pivoted MicroStrategy again – this time into bitcoin – arguing that it was a better store of value than cash. 2024 He poured billions of corporate dollars into it. And today, MicroStrategy holds around 439,000 bitcoin with an average purchase price just over $60,000. With bitcoin trading around $100,000 per coin, MicroStrategy’s crypto stash is worth $44 billion. Investors, however, are placing a significant premium on the company, pushing its market capitalization to $89 billion – enough to secure its admission to the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) on December 23, replacing Super Micro Computer (SMCI.NE). From tech giants to retail titans, Beyond the Ticker is a historical series that takes a deep dive into some of Wall Street's trending companies and how they transformed into the financial icons they are today. Check out more of our Beyond the Ticker series, and be sure to tune in to Yahoo Finance. Editor's note: This video was produced by Zach Faulds.
