EEM Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money EEM call expiring Sep 30, 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 $68.00 strike at 0.6% over 13 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
EEM covered call candidates — Sep 30, 2026, 13 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $65.72 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 — 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68.00 | 3.5% | $0.38 | 0.6% | 16.2% | $65.34 | 4.0% | 268 |
| $69.00 | 5.0% | $0.21 | 0.3% | 9.0% | $65.51 | 5.3% | 40 |
| $70.00 | 6.5% | $0.13 | 0.2% | 5.6% | $65.59 | 6.7% | 292 |
What the $68.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $65.72. Profit caps at $266.00 if EEM finishes above $68.00; below $65.34 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $49.29 | $-16.05 | $-1,605.00 |
| $53.40 | $-11.94 | $-1,194.25 |
| $57.51 | $-7.83 | $-783.50 |
| $61.61 | $-3.73 | $-372.75 |
| $65.72 | +$0.38 | +$38.00 |
| $69.83 | +$2.66 | +$266.00 |
| $73.94 | +$2.66 | +$266.00 |
| $78.04 | +$2.66 | +$266.00 |
| $82.15 | +$2.66 | +$266.00 |
When a covered call fits EEM
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 EEM 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 EEM loaded.
Questions
- What does a EEM covered call pay right now?
- The $68.00 call expiring Sep 30, 2026 (13 days out) collects $0.38 per share, 0.6% of the $65.72 share price, or 16.2% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a EEM covered call?
- Selling the $68.00 call against stock bought at $65.72 breaks even at $65.34 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if EEM closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $68.00. Total return is 4.0%: the premium plus the move from $65.72 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on EEM
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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.