MSFT Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money MSFT call expiring Sep 30, 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 $505.00 strike at 0.8% over 13 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
MSFT covered call candidates — Sep 30, 2026, 13 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $490.30 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 — 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $505.00 | 3.0% | $4.00 | 0.8% | 22.9% | $486.30 | 3.8% | 48 |
| $515.00 | 5.0% | $2.08 | 0.4% | 11.9% | $488.23 | 5.5% | 5 |
| $540.00 | 10.1% | $0.37 | 0.1% | 2.1% | $489.93 | 10.2% | 2 |
What the $505.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $490.30. Profit caps at $1,870.00 if MSFT finishes above $505.00; below $486.30 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $367.73 | $-118.57 | $-11,857.50 |
| $398.37 | $-87.93 | $-8,793.12 |
| $429.01 | $-57.29 | $-5,728.75 |
| $459.66 | $-26.64 | $-2,664.38 |
| $490.30 | +$4.00 | +$400.00 |
| $520.94 | +$18.70 | +$1,870.00 |
| $551.59 | +$18.70 | +$1,870.00 |
| $582.23 | +$18.70 | +$1,870.00 |
| $612.88 | +$18.70 | +$1,870.00 |
When a covered call fits MSFT
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 MSFT 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 MSFT loaded.
Questions
- What does a MSFT covered call pay right now?
- The $505.00 call expiring Sep 30, 2026 (13 days out) collects $4.00 per share, 0.8% of the $490.30 share price, or 22.9% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a MSFT covered call?
- Selling the $505.00 call against stock bought at $490.30 breaks even at $486.30 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if MSFT closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $505.00. Total return is 3.8%: the premium plus the move from $490.30 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.