MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Gambit Is Poised to Become More Volatile

MicroStrategy Inc. is likely to show a return to profitability when reporting third-quarter results after co-founder Michael Saylor turned the enterprise-software maker into a Bitcoin investment vehicle.

That’s a marked change from the loss of more than $1 billion posted in the prior three-month period, when an almost 60% plunge in the cryptocurrency required MicroStrategy to write down the value of its holdings. Bitcoin rose 3.7% in the most recent quarter.

The respite may prove to be short. In coming quarters, MicroStrategy will most likely be reporting more volatile results under a proposed accounting rule change that would require ...