SCHW Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money SCHW 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 $108.00 strike at 2.7% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
SCHW covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $105.16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $108.00 | 2.7% | $2.84 | 2.7% | 27.3% | $102.33 | 5.4% | 7 |
| $110.00 | 4.6% | $1.96 | 1.9% | 18.8% | $103.21 | 6.5% | 18 |
| $116.00 | 10.3% | $0.83 | 0.8% | 8.0% | $104.34 | 11.1% | 2 |
What the $108.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $105.16. Profit caps at $567.50 if SCHW finishes above $108.00; below $102.33 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $78.87 | $-23.45 | $-2,345.50 |
| $85.44 | $-16.88 | $-1,688.25 |
| $92.02 | $-10.31 | $-1,031.00 |
| $98.59 | $-3.74 | $-373.75 |
| $105.16 | +$2.84 | +$283.50 |
| $111.73 | +$5.68 | +$567.50 |
| $118.30 | +$5.68 | +$567.50 |
| $124.88 | +$5.68 | +$567.50 |
| $131.45 | +$5.68 | +$567.50 |
When a covered call fits SCHW
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 SCHW 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 SCHW loaded.
Questions
- What does a SCHW covered call pay right now?
- The $108.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $2.84 per share, 2.7% of the $105.16 share price, or 27.3% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a SCHW covered call?
- Selling the $108.00 call against stock bought at $105.16 breaks even at $102.33 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if SCHW closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $108.00. Total return is 5.4%: the premium plus the move from $105.16 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on SCHW
Run the numbers
Weekly options-market digest
Sundays. What moved this week, what catalysts and earnings drive next week, and which 5-pillar setups stand out.
Free. One email per week. Unsubscribe with one click.
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.