SOXX Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money SOXX 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 $517.50 strike at 3.5% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
SOXX covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $502.06 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $517.50 | 3.1% | $17.75 | 3.5% | 35.8% | $484.31 | 6.6% | 0 |
| $527.50 | 5.1% | $14.15 | 2.8% | 28.6% | $487.91 | 7.9% | 0 |
| $550.00 | 9.5% | $7.85 | 1.6% | 15.9% | $494.21 | 11.1% | 3 |
What the $517.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $502.06. Profit caps at $3,319.00 if SOXX finishes above $517.50; below $484.31 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $376.55 | $-107.76 | $-10,776.50 |
| $407.92 | $-76.39 | $-7,638.62 |
| $439.30 | $-45.01 | $-4,500.75 |
| $470.68 | $-13.63 | $-1,362.87 |
| $502.06 | +$17.75 | +$1,775.00 |
| $533.44 | +$33.19 | +$3,319.00 |
| $564.82 | +$33.19 | +$3,319.00 |
| $596.20 | +$33.19 | +$3,319.00 |
| $627.58 | +$33.19 | +$3,319.00 |
When a covered call fits SOXX
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 SOXX 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 SOXX loaded.
Questions
- What does a SOXX covered call pay right now?
- The $517.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $17.75 per share, 3.5% of the $502.06 share price, or 35.8% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a SOXX covered call?
- Selling the $517.50 call against stock bought at $502.06 breaks even at $484.31 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if SOXX closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $517.50. Total return is 6.6%: the premium plus the move from $502.06 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on SOXX
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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.