IONQ Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money IONQ 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 $38.00 strike at 7.8% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
IONQ covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $36.84 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $38.00 | 3.1% | $2.87 | 7.8% | 78.8% | $33.98 | 10.9% | 133 |
| $39.00 | 5.9% | $2.50 | 6.8% | 68.7% | $34.35 | 12.6% | 14 |
| $41.00 | 11.3% | $1.79 | 4.9% | 49.3% | $35.05 | 16.2% | 13 |
What the $38.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $36.84. Profit caps at $402.50 if IONQ finishes above $38.00; below $33.98 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $27.63 | $-6.35 | $-634.50 |
| $29.93 | $-4.04 | $-404.25 |
| $32.24 | $-1.74 | $-174.00 |
| $34.54 | +$0.56 | +$56.25 |
| $36.84 | +$2.87 | +$286.50 |
| $39.14 | +$4.02 | +$402.50 |
| $41.45 | +$4.02 | +$402.50 |
| $43.75 | +$4.02 | +$402.50 |
| $46.05 | +$4.02 | +$402.50 |
When a covered call fits IONQ
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 IONQ 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 IONQ loaded.
Questions
- What does a IONQ covered call pay right now?
- The $38.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $2.87 per share, 7.8% of the $36.84 share price, or 78.8% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a IONQ covered call?
- Selling the $38.00 call against stock bought at $36.84 breaks even at $33.98 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if IONQ closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $38.00. Total return is 10.9%: the premium plus the move from $36.84 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on IONQ
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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.