MCD Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money MCD 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 $255.00 strike at 2.0% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
MCD covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $248.56 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $255.00 | 2.6% | $4.93 | 2.0% | 20.1% | $243.64 | 4.6% | 55 |
| $260.00 | 4.6% | $3.39 | 1.4% | 13.8% | $245.18 | 6.0% | 46 |
| $275.00 | 10.6% | $0.94 | 0.4% | 3.8% | $247.63 | 11.0% | 54 |
What the $255.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $248.56. Profit caps at $1,136.50 if MCD finishes above $255.00; below $243.64 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $186.42 | $-57.21 | $-5,721.50 |
| $201.96 | $-41.68 | $-4,168.00 |
| $217.49 | $-26.14 | $-2,614.50 |
| $233.03 | $-10.61 | $-1,061.00 |
| $248.56 | +$4.93 | +$492.50 |
| $264.10 | +$11.36 | +$1,136.50 |
| $279.63 | +$11.36 | +$1,136.50 |
| $295.16 | +$11.36 | +$1,136.50 |
| $310.70 | +$11.36 | +$1,136.50 |
When a covered call fits MCD
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 MCD 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 MCD loaded.
Questions
- What does a MCD covered call pay right now?
- The $255.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $4.93 per share, 2.0% of the $248.56 share price, or 20.1% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a MCD covered call?
- Selling the $255.00 call against stock bought at $248.56 breaks even at $243.64 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if MCD closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $255.00. Total return is 4.6%: the premium plus the move from $248.56 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on MCD
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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.