IWM Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money IWM 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 $292.00 strike at 0.2% over 7 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
IWM covered call candidates — Sep 24, 2026, 7 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $283.92 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $292.00 | 2.8% | $0.43 | 0.2% | 7.9% | $283.49 | 3.0% | 163 |
| $298.00 | 5.0% | $0.06 | 0.0% | 1.1% | $283.86 | 5.0% | 30 |
What the $292.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $283.92. Profit caps at $851.00 if IWM finishes above $292.00; below $283.49 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $212.94 | $-70.55 | $-7,055.00 |
| $230.69 | $-52.81 | $-5,280.50 |
| $248.43 | $-35.06 | $-3,506.00 |
| $266.18 | $-17.32 | $-1,731.50 |
| $283.92 | +$0.43 | +$43.00 |
| $301.67 | +$8.51 | +$851.00 |
| $319.41 | +$8.51 | +$851.00 |
| $337.16 | +$8.51 | +$851.00 |
| $354.90 | +$8.51 | +$851.00 |
When a covered call fits IWM
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 IWM 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 IWM loaded.
Questions
- What does a IWM covered call pay right now?
- The $292.00 call expiring Sep 24, 2026 (7 days out) collects $0.43 per share, 0.2% of the $283.92 share price, or 7.9% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a IWM covered call?
- Selling the $292.00 call against stock bought at $283.92 breaks even at $283.49 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if IWM closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $292.00. Total return is 3.0%: the premium plus the move from $283.92 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
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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.