NEM Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money NEM 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 $125.00 strike at 4.5% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
NEM covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $121.76 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $125.00 | 2.7% | $5.50 | 4.5% | 45.8% | $116.26 | 7.2% | 0 |
| $128.00 | 5.1% | $4.65 | 3.8% | 38.7% | $117.11 | 8.9% | 7 |
| $134.00 | 10.1% | $2.76 | 2.3% | 23.0% | $119.00 | 12.3% | 2 |
What the $125.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $121.76. Profit caps at $874.00 if NEM finishes above $125.00; below $116.26 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $91.32 | $-24.94 | $-2,494.00 |
| $98.93 | $-17.33 | $-1,733.00 |
| $106.54 | $-9.72 | $-972.00 |
| $114.15 | $-2.11 | $-211.00 |
| $121.76 | +$5.50 | +$550.00 |
| $129.37 | +$8.74 | +$874.00 |
| $136.98 | +$8.74 | +$874.00 |
| $144.59 | +$8.74 | +$874.00 |
| $152.20 | +$8.74 | +$874.00 |
When a covered call fits NEM
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 NEM 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 NEM loaded.
Questions
- What does a NEM covered call pay right now?
- The $125.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $5.50 per share, 4.5% of the $121.76 share price, or 45.8% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a NEM covered call?
- Selling the $125.00 call against stock bought at $121.76 breaks even at $116.26 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if NEM closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $125.00. Total return is 7.2%: the premium plus the move from $121.76 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on NEM
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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.