AI Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money AI call expiring Oct 23, 2026, priced from the settled chain: what it pays, what it yields, and where the trade stops making money. The richest right now is the $11.00 strike at 5.8% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
AI covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $10.56 share price, not by delta — the published chain carries premiums and open interest, not greeks, and inventing a delta here would be inventing data. Premium is the bid/ask midpoint where both sides quote, otherwise the last trade. The chain artifact publishes the six nearest expirations, so this is the longest one listed — 36 days out. Annualising anything shorter than a week says more about compounding arithmetic than about the trade, so those cells stay blank.
| Strike | % OTM | Premium | Yield | Annualised | Break-even | If assigned | OI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $11.00 | 4.2% | $0.61 | 5.8% | 58.6% | $9.95 | 9.9% | 1,471 |
| $11.50 | 8.9% | $0.40 | 3.7% | 37.9% | $10.17 | 12.6% | 103 |
What the $11.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $10.56. Profit caps at $105.00 if AI finishes above $11.00; below $9.95 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $7.92 | $-2.03 | $-203.00 |
| $8.58 | $-1.37 | $-137.00 |
| $9.24 | $-0.71 | $-71.00 |
| $9.90 | $-0.05 | $-5.00 |
| $10.56 | +$0.61 | +$61.00 |
| $11.22 | +$1.05 | +$105.00 |
| $11.88 | +$1.05 | +$105.00 |
| $12.54 | +$1.05 | +$105.00 |
| $13.20 | +$1.05 | +$105.00 |
When a covered call fits AI
A covered call sells someone else the right to buy your shares at the strike. It pays you today and caps your upside there, so it suits a holding you are content to own flat and content to sell at the strike — not one you expect to run.
The premium is compensation for implied volatility. Rich implied volatility pays more, and usually pays more because the market expects a move; a high annualised number on a name about to report earnings is a warning as often as an opportunity. Check the AI expected move and the open-interest walls before assuming the strike is far enough away.
Full mechanics, assignment and rolling are in the covered call guide; to model a different strike or a multi-leg version, open the profit calculator with AI loaded.
Questions
- What does a AI covered call pay right now?
- The $11.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $0.61 per share, 5.8% of the $10.56 share price, or 58.6% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a AI covered call?
- Selling the $11.00 call against stock bought at $10.56 breaks even at $9.95 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if AI closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $11.00. Total return is 9.9%: the premium plus the move from $10.56 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
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Educational, not investment advice. Options involve risk. Open interest is reported with a one-session lag by OCC, so these levels describe positioning as of the last settled session, not live intraday flow.