ARM Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money ARM 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 $250.00 strike at 7.1% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
ARM covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $243.98 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250.00 | 2.5% | $17.38 | 7.1% | 72.2% | $226.61 | 9.6% | 33 |
| $255.00 | 4.5% | $15.40 | 6.3% | 64.0% | $228.58 | 10.8% | 33 |
| $270.00 | 10.7% | $11.70 | 4.8% | 48.6% | $232.28 | 15.5% | 13 |
What the $250.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $243.98. Profit caps at $2,339.50 if ARM finishes above $250.00; below $226.61 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $182.98 | $-43.62 | $-4,362.00 |
| $198.23 | $-28.37 | $-2,837.13 |
| $213.48 | $-13.12 | $-1,312.25 |
| $228.73 | +$2.13 | +$212.62 |
| $243.98 | +$17.37 | +$1,737.50 |
| $259.23 | +$23.40 | +$2,339.50 |
| $274.48 | +$23.40 | +$2,339.50 |
| $289.73 | +$23.40 | +$2,339.50 |
| $304.97 | +$23.40 | +$2,339.50 |
When a covered call fits ARM
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 ARM 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 ARM loaded.
Questions
- What does a ARM covered call pay right now?
- The $250.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $17.38 per share, 7.1% of the $243.98 share price, or 72.2% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a ARM covered call?
- Selling the $250.00 call against stock bought at $243.98 breaks even at $226.61 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if ARM closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $250.00. Total return is 9.6%: the premium plus the move from $243.98 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on ARM
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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.