GOOGL Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money GOOGL 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 $352.50 strike at 1.2% over 13 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
GOOGL covered call candidates — Sep 30, 2026, 13 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $342.87 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $352.50 | 2.8% | $4.23 | 1.2% | 34.6% | $338.65 | 4.0% | 0 |
| $360.00 | 5.0% | $2.43 | 0.7% | 19.9% | $340.44 | 5.7% | 8 |
| $375.00 | 9.4% | $0.73 | 0.2% | 6.0% | $342.14 | 9.6% | 69 |
What the $352.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $342.87. Profit caps at $1,385.50 if GOOGL finishes above $352.50; below $338.65 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $257.15 | $-81.49 | $-8,149.25 |
| $278.58 | $-60.06 | $-6,006.31 |
| $300.01 | $-38.63 | $-3,863.37 |
| $321.44 | $-17.20 | $-1,720.44 |
| $342.87 | +$4.23 | +$422.50 |
| $364.30 | +$13.85 | +$1,385.50 |
| $385.73 | +$13.85 | +$1,385.50 |
| $407.16 | +$13.85 | +$1,385.50 |
| $428.59 | +$13.85 | +$1,385.50 |
When a covered call fits GOOGL
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 GOOGL 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 GOOGL loaded.
Questions
- What does a GOOGL covered call pay right now?
- The $352.50 call expiring Sep 30, 2026 (13 days out) collects $4.23 per share, 1.2% of the $342.87 share price, or 34.6% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a GOOGL covered call?
- Selling the $352.50 call against stock bought at $342.87 breaks even at $338.65 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if GOOGL closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $352.50. Total return is 4.0%: the premium plus the move from $342.87 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on GOOGL
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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.