SPX Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money SPX call expiring Oct 16, 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 $7,780.00 strike at 0.4% over 29 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
SPX covered call candidates — Oct 16, 2026, 29 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $7,551.81 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 — 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $7,780.00 | 3.0% | $31.30 | 0.4% | 5.2% | $7,520.51 | 3.4% | 591 |
| $7,930.00 | 5.0% | $8.20 | 0.1% | 1.4% | $7,543.61 | 5.1% | 553 |
| $8,310.00 | 10.0% | $0.75 | 0.0% | 0.1% | $7,551.06 | 10.0% | 500 |
What the $7,780.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $7,551.81. Profit caps at $25,949.00 if SPX finishes above $7,780.00; below $7,520.51 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $5,663.86 | $-1,856.65 | $-185,665.25 |
| $6,135.85 | $-1,384.66 | $-138,466.44 |
| $6,607.83 | $-912.68 | $-91,267.63 |
| $7,079.82 | $-440.69 | $-44,068.81 |
| $7,551.81 | +$31.30 | +$3,130.00 |
| $8,023.80 | +$259.49 | +$25,949.00 |
| $8,495.79 | +$259.49 | +$25,949.00 |
| $8,967.77 | +$259.49 | +$25,949.00 |
| $9,439.76 | +$259.49 | +$25,949.00 |
When a covered call fits SPX
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 SPX 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 SPX loaded.
Questions
- What does a SPX covered call pay right now?
- The $7,780.00 call expiring Oct 16, 2026 (29 days out) collects $31.30 per share, 0.4% of the $7,551.81 share price, or 5.2% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a SPX covered call?
- Selling the $7,780.00 call against stock bought at $7,551.81 breaks even at $7,520.51 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if SPX closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $7,780.00. Total return is 3.4%: the premium plus the move from $7,551.81 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.