HPQ Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money HPQ 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 $33.50 strike at 5.6% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
HPQ covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $32.70 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $33.50 | 2.4% | $1.82 | 5.6% | 56.4% | $30.88 | 8.0% | 21 |
| $34.50 | 5.5% | $1.44 | 4.4% | 44.6% | $31.26 | 9.9% | 22 |
| $36.00 | 10.1% | $1.07 | 3.3% | 33.0% | $31.64 | 13.3% | 29 |
What the $33.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $32.70. Profit caps at $262.00 if HPQ finishes above $33.50; below $30.88 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $24.53 | $-6.36 | $-635.50 |
| $26.57 | $-4.31 | $-431.13 |
| $28.61 | $-2.27 | $-226.75 |
| $30.66 | $-0.22 | $-22.38 |
| $32.70 | +$1.82 | +$182.00 |
| $34.74 | +$2.62 | +$262.00 |
| $36.79 | +$2.62 | +$262.00 |
| $38.83 | +$2.62 | +$262.00 |
| $40.88 | +$2.62 | +$262.00 |
When a covered call fits HPQ
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 HPQ 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 HPQ loaded.
Questions
- What does a HPQ covered call pay right now?
- The $33.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $1.82 per share, 5.6% of the $32.70 share price, or 56.4% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a HPQ covered call?
- Selling the $33.50 call against stock bought at $32.70 breaks even at $30.88 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if HPQ closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $33.50. Total return is 8.0%: the premium plus the move from $32.70 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on HPQ
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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.