GLD Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money GLD call expiring Sep 24, 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 $403.00 strike at 0.4% over 7 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
GLD covered call candidates — Sep 24, 2026, 7 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $391.74 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 — 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $403.00 | 2.9% | $1.73 | 0.4% | 23.0% | $390.01 | 3.3% | 18 |
| $411.00 | 4.9% | $0.79 | 0.2% | 10.5% | $390.95 | 5.1% | 23 |
| $430.00 | 9.8% | $0.24 | 0.1% | 3.1% | $391.51 | 9.8% | 42 |
What the $403.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $391.74. Profit caps at $1,299.00 if GLD finishes above $403.00; below $390.01 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $293.81 | $-96.21 | $-9,620.50 |
| $318.29 | $-71.72 | $-7,172.13 |
| $342.77 | $-47.24 | $-4,723.75 |
| $367.26 | $-22.75 | $-2,275.37 |
| $391.74 | +$1.73 | +$173.00 |
| $416.22 | +$12.99 | +$1,299.00 |
| $440.71 | +$12.99 | +$1,299.00 |
| $465.19 | +$12.99 | +$1,299.00 |
| $489.68 | +$12.99 | +$1,299.00 |
When a covered call fits GLD
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 GLD 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 GLD loaded.
Questions
- What does a GLD covered call pay right now?
- The $403.00 call expiring Sep 24, 2026 (7 days out) collects $1.73 per share, 0.4% of the $391.74 share price, or 23.0% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a GLD covered call?
- Selling the $403.00 call against stock bought at $391.74 breaks even at $390.01 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if GLD closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $403.00. Total return is 3.3%: the premium plus the move from $391.74 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on GLD
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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.