Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest public holder of Bitcoin, is again making headlines—this time for potentially qualifying for inclusion in the prestigious S&P 500 index.

On July 1, Jeff Walton, founder of MSTR True North, revealed that the company will likely report an $11 billion net income for the just-concluded second quarter of the year.

Separately, Bloomberg estimated the figure could be even higher—up to $14 billion in unrealized profit—thanks to fair-value accounting standards applied to its Bitcoin holdings. This places the company in the same earnings bracket as tech giants like Apple and Microsoft.

Walton emphasized that this milestone clears the final hurdle for inclusion in the S&P 500, as it fulfills the profitability criterion based on a four-quarter cumulative positive income. However, the final decision rests with the S&P Index Committee, where debate is expected.

The S&P 500 comprises 500 top-performing US public companies by market capitalization, collectively representing around 80% of the total market cap of US equities. Entry into this index requires meeting several standards, including US domicile, sufficient liquidity, and positive earnings over the last four quarters.

Last year, Strategy was added to several top stock indexes like the Nasdaq 100 and MSCI World Index.

However, analysts like Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas have long viewed an S&P 500 inclusion as the firm’s “holy grail.” Such a move would significantly validate the firm’s unconventional Bitcoin-centric approach and raise its stature in mainstream finance.

The company’s stock trades well above the net asset value of its Bitcoin holdings, mainly due to investor demand for indirect crypto exposure.

This premium allows the firm to issue shares, raise capital, and acquire more Bitcoin. Though this dilutes existing shareholders’ equity, it increases the Bitcoin-per-share ratio, which helps boost the intrinsic value of each investor’s stake.

The strategy has also contributed to elevated share prices that have outperformed all those in the S&P 500 index since the firm adopted the Bitcoin standard in 2020.

So far, Strategy has acquired 597,325 BTC, valued at over $63.9 billion, with an unrealized gain exceeding $21 billion.

Interestingly, news of a potential inclusion in the S&P Index did not help boost market sentiment, with Strategy shares down 6% in early trading on July 1 to $379.20 as of press time.

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Tokyo-listed Metaplanet Inc. has slipped past Tesla in the public-company Bitcoin league table after revealing a fresh purchase of 1,234 BTC that lifts its treasury to 12,345 BTC. The move is set out in a filing dated 26 June 2025, in which the company “announces the acquisition of additional BTC as part of its ongoing Bitcoin Treasury Operations,” adding that the latest tranche was acquired at an average ¥15.62 million per coin for an aggregate ¥19.27 billion outlay. The disclosure places the group’s cumulative cost basis at ¥175.68 billion, or roughly $1.11 billion at current exchange rates.

Metaplanet Surpasses Tesla In Bitcoin Ranking

Using BitcoinTreasuries.net’s spot price of about $107,400, Metaplanet’s stack is now valued near $1.33 billion, slotting the company into seventh place on the site’s real-time ranking of publicly traded holders. Ahead of it sit CleanSpark (12,502 BTC), Galaxy Digital (12,830 BTC), Riot Platforms (19,225 BTC), XXI (37,230 BTC), Marathon Digital (49,678 BTC) and the sector’s runaway leader MicroStrategy (592,345 BTC). Tesla, whose last reported balance stands at 11,509 BTC, falls to eighth.

Metaplanet’s accumulation curve has been steep. The treasury held 398 BTC on 30 September 2024, 1,762 BTC at year-end, 4,046 BTC on 31 March 2025 and 10,000 BTC by mid-June; yesterday’s purchase pushes the figure still higher. Crucially, the company has sketched far more ambitious horizons: in recent investor materials it reiterated an “objective to accumulate up to 210,000 BTC—around one per cent of the maximum supply—by the end of 2027,” implying the need to add more than 200,000 BTC over the next 30 months.

Financing remains aggressive. Since January the firm has issued a rolling series of zero-coupon yen- and dollar-denominated bonds as well as 0 %-discount “moving-strike” warrants, repeatedly redeeming each tranche early with proceeds from the next. This revolving-door structure, dubbed the “210 Million Plan,” has already recycled more than ¥35 billion into spot Bitcoin while limiting interest expense.

Management highlights a treasury metric it calls “BTC Yield,” defined as the percentage change in BTC per fully diluted share outstanding; on a quarter-to-date basis the yield has reached 112.2 percent. “By isolating the impact of dilution, BTC Gain highlights the net Bitcoin accretion driven purely by the Company’s Bitcoin Treasury Operations,” the latest document states.

Tesla, meanwhile, has not bought Bitcoin since February 2021. Tesla’s balance has been frozen since it liquidated roughly 75% of its initial $1.5 billion position in the second quarter of 2022.

For Metaplanet, overtaking Tesla is more than a symbolic milestone. At 12,345 BTC the company now holds a little over 0.058 percent of Bitcoin’s 21 million-coin supply—fractionally ahead of Tesla’s 0.054 percent—and is the first Asia-based issuer to break into the top seven.

At press time, BTC traded at $107,180.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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Home Depot (HD -0.71%) is a retailer that needs no introduction. The company has over 2,300 stores across North America — making it a well-known one-stop-shop for do-it-yourself tasks, professional contractors, and a services segment that can help customers with their home improvement projects.

Home Depot’s expansion has corresponded with a strong stock performance. Its market capitalization has jumped from around $50 billion 15 years ago to over $380 billion today. As an industry leader and a component of both the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), Home Depot is about as blue chip as it gets.

Here’s why Home Depot remains a foundational dividend stock that passive income investors can build their portfolio around for 2025 and beyond.

Image source: Getty Images.

Home Depot is holding firm despite challenges

Home Depot’s updated guidance from November (when it reported third-quarter fiscal 2024 results) calls for a 2.5% comparable stores decline for the full fiscal year and diluted earnings per share (EPS) to fall by 1% when adjusted for the company’s 53-week fiscal year. So overall, weak results. Especially when factoring in relatively easy comps.

In fiscal 2023, Home Depot’s comparable sales fell 3.5% while diluted EPS fell 9.5%. Suffice to say, Home Depot is undoubtedly in a multiyear downturn, which is evident when looking at its stagnating sales growth and falling operating margins in recent years.

HD Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts

Despite the poor results, Home Depot stock hasn’t seen significant declines. It’s up around 11% over the last three years and 57% over the last five years. That said, it is underperforming the S&P 500.

Given the negative comparable sales growth, the stock has been resilient, likely because the market cares more about where a company is going than where it is today. Home Depot’s long-term investment thesis hasn’t changed. It’s just that the current macroeconomic backdrop is a major headwind for Home Depot.

Macro woes

High interest rates make it more expensive to finance home improvement projects. Elevated mortgage interest rates dissuade home purchases, which can lead to lower home sales. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which measures residential real estate prices in the U.S., is at a 10-year high. Mortgage interest rates are near a 10-year high. And U.S. credit card debt is over $1.2 trillion — a near 50% increase from pre-pandemic levels.

US Credit Card Debt data by YCharts

Meanwhile, U.S. existing home sales are near a 10-year low and down around 20% from pre-pandemic levels — suggesting fewer homes are being sold. And the U.S. fixed housing affordability index is around 100, which means that only a median household income with a 20% down payment can afford a home. Essentially, buyers looking to make a lower down payment or those with a below-median income are somewhat priced out of the market.

US Existing Home Sales data by YCharts

In a perfect world, Home Depot would prefer everyone to have a home and be able to afford home improvement projects. So a strained housing market shows just how difficult the current operating environment is. But there are always two sides to a coin.

The glass-half-empty outlook on Home Depot is that the macro backdrop is bad and shows no signs of improvement. So, near-term growth could remain stalled in the foreseeable future.

The glass-half-full perspective is that Home Depot’s results are barely going down despite so many challenges — a testament to the strength of its brand.

In other words, 2023 and 2024 have acted as a stress test on Home Depot, and the company has passed with flying colors.

Committed to dividend growth

When it comes to sizable dividend raises over the last 15 years, few companies can compete with Home Depot. The company has raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 per share in 2011 to $2.25 per share in 2024 — with consistent raises every year during that period.

Investors have been able to count on raises like clockwork. Since 2013, Home Depot has announced a dividend raise in February or March (around the same time it reports full-year fiscal earnings). So, investors can expect another raise from Home Depot when it reports earnings on Feb. 25.

Home Depot’s consistent and significant dividend raises and dividend yield of 2.3% make it a solid choice for passive income investors.

Home Depot is cheaper than it looks at first glance

In addition to its strong dividend, Home Depot sports a reasonable valuation. Its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 26.2 and its forward P/E is 24.5 compared to a 22.9 median P/E over the last 10 years. Although Home Depot looks a little overvalued at first glance, it’s important to recognize that the home improvement industry is currently in a slowdown. So, Home Depot’s stock price has been outpacing its earnings growth in recent years.

Home Depot could be a coiled spring for economic growth. The company completed its acquisition of SRS Distribution for $18.25 billion in June 2024. The acquisition gives Home Depot extra exposure to the contractor market, helping diversify the overall business. The full potential of the acquisition has yet to be realized because of the slowdown in the industry.

The ability to make a countercyclical move of this size is a testament to the strength of Home Depot’s balance sheet, management’s focus on long-term strategy rather than short-term results, and Home Depot’s willingness to make a big-time acquisition, even if it takes a while to pay off.

All told, Home Depot looks a little pricey now. But the stock could start to look really cheap during the next expansion period, especially considering the added boost from SRS.

A solid blue chip stock to buy now

Companies that operate in cyclical industries tend to see big ebbs and flows in their sales and earnings. But not Home Depot. Zoom out, and the company’s performance is like a steady climb higher and then a flat line rather than a big downturn.

With fiscal 2025 marking the first full year post-integration of SRS, we could see a slight uptick in sales and earnings, even if interest rates remain high.

Home Depot is an excellent dividend stock to buy if you have a long-term time horizon. The growing dividend provides a worthwhile incentive to hold the stock through slowdowns. And the valuation is reasonable given the factors discussed. However, expect Home Depot’s near-term results to be under pressure until the macro climate improves.

Two large corporate entities are pouring big money in cryptocurrencies, and the corporate surge into Bitcoin doesn’t appear to be slowing down. With its bold 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) Bitcoin acquisition, Japanese game producer Gumi is creating waves. Meanwhile, KULR Technology Group is also growing its already considerable cryptocurrency holdings.

The way traditional businesses perceive digital assets has changed significantly as a result of this spike in institutional interest.

Japanese Mobile Gaming Publisher Gumi (3903, mkt cap $150M) announces plan to buy 1b Yen Worth of Bitcoin.

Becomes first listed company in Japan (world?) to participate in Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon as a validator. pic.twitter.com/37nhunaIiX

— matthew sigel, recovering CFA (@matthew_sigel) February 11, 2025

Japanese Gaming Giant Makes Historic Leap In Crypto

Gumi has revealed its intentions to stake Bitcoin via the Babylon protocol, a bold move that is drawing attention in the Japanese business community. The company is using Bitcoin rather than merely purchasing it.

Gumi will systematically buy 1 billion yen worth of Bitcoin between February and May 2025, becoming the first Japanese publicly traded entity to engage in crypto staking. This calculated move demonstrates how corporate crypto efforts are becoming more complex.

Storage To Yield: Development Of Corporate Bitcoin Strategy

The days of companies simply holding Bitcoin in their treasuries are fading fast. This new strategy is best demonstrated by KULR Technology Group, which has increased its Bitcoin holdings to an astounding 610 tokens, or over $60 million.

The company’s bold plan to invest up to 90% of its excess cash reserves in Bitcoin by 2024 has paid off handsomely. The company cautions investors against using this number as a direct measure of financial performance, but its reported 167% BTC Yield year-to-date offers a compelling story of achievement.

Crypto Renaissance In Japan

One could describe the current state of affairs in the Land of the Rising Sun as a corporate crypto awakening. Following Gumi’s disclosure, Metaplanet, often known as the “Japanese MicroStrategy,” has revealed a bold mission to buy 21,000 Bitcoin by 2026.

The business isn’t thinking small; it currently has 1,761 BTC worth 27 billion yen, and intends to issue a staggering 116.65 billion yen worth of shares. This would be the biggest equity offering for Bitcoin in Asia to date.

Beyond Yield Generation

The transition from basic Bitcoin ownership to complex yield-generating schemes is what makes these developments so intriguing. Businesses are finding new ways to increase the performance of their cryptocurrency holdings using platforms like Babylon.

The straightforward “buy and hold” approach to corporate Bitcoin adoption is evolving. Businesses are currently looking into a number of strategies to increase profits while preserving their long-term exposure to the possible growth of the world’s top crypto asset.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView