IEF Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money IEF 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 $93.50 strike at 0.1% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
IEF covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $90.73 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $93.50 | 3.1% | $0.11 | 0.1% | 1.2% | $90.63 | 3.2% | 105 |
| $95.50 | 5.3% | $0.05 | 0.0% | 0.5% | $90.69 | 5.3% | 6 |
| $96.00 | 5.8% | $0.04 | 0.0% | 0.4% | $90.69 | 5.9% | 6 |
What the $93.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $90.73. Profit caps at $287.50 if IEF finishes above $93.50; below $90.63 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $68.05 | $-22.58 | $-2,257.75 |
| $73.72 | $-16.91 | $-1,690.69 |
| $79.39 | $-11.24 | $-1,123.63 |
| $85.06 | $-5.57 | $-556.56 |
| $90.73 | +$0.11 | +$10.50 |
| $96.40 | +$2.87 | +$287.50 |
| $102.07 | +$2.87 | +$287.50 |
| $107.74 | +$2.87 | +$287.50 |
| $113.41 | +$2.87 | +$287.50 |
When a covered call fits IEF
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 IEF 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 IEF loaded.
Questions
- What does a IEF covered call pay right now?
- The $93.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $0.11 per share, 0.1% of the $90.73 share price, or 1.2% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a IEF covered call?
- Selling the $93.50 call against stock bought at $90.73 breaks even at $90.63 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if IEF closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $93.50. Total return is 3.2%: the premium plus the move from $90.73 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on IEF
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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.