FCX Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money FCX 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 $71.00 strike at 4.9% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
FCX covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $69.24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $71.00 | 2.5% | $3.37 | 4.9% | 49.3% | $65.88 | 7.4% | 20 |
| $73.00 | 5.4% | $2.82 | 4.1% | 41.3% | $66.42 | 9.5% | 34 |
| $76.00 | 9.8% | $1.76 | 2.5% | 25.7% | $67.49 | 12.3% | 7 |
What the $71.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $69.24. Profit caps at $512.50 if FCX finishes above $71.00; below $65.88 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $51.93 | $-13.95 | $-1,394.50 |
| $56.26 | $-9.62 | $-961.75 |
| $60.58 | $-5.29 | $-529.00 |
| $64.91 | $-0.96 | $-96.25 |
| $69.24 | +$3.37 | +$336.50 |
| $73.57 | +$5.13 | +$512.50 |
| $77.90 | +$5.13 | +$512.50 |
| $82.22 | +$5.13 | +$512.50 |
| $86.55 | +$5.13 | +$512.50 |
When a covered call fits FCX
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 FCX 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 FCX loaded.
Questions
- What does a FCX covered call pay right now?
- The $71.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $3.37 per share, 4.9% of the $69.24 share price, or 49.3% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a FCX covered call?
- Selling the $71.00 call against stock bought at $69.24 breaks even at $65.88 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if FCX closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $71.00. Total return is 7.4%: the premium plus the move from $69.24 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on FCX
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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.