STM Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money STM 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 $50.00 strike at 4.7% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
STM covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $48.06 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50.00 | 4.0% | $2.25 | 4.7% | 47.5% | $45.81 | 8.7% | 1 |
| $53.00 | 10.3% | $1.40 | 2.9% | 29.5% | $46.66 | 13.2% | 46 |
What the $50.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $48.06. Profit caps at $419.00 if STM finishes above $50.00; below $45.81 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $36.05 | $-9.77 | $-976.50 |
| $39.05 | $-6.76 | $-676.13 |
| $42.05 | $-3.76 | $-375.75 |
| $45.06 | $-0.75 | $-75.37 |
| $48.06 | +$2.25 | +$225.00 |
| $51.06 | +$4.19 | +$419.00 |
| $54.07 | +$4.19 | +$419.00 |
| $57.07 | +$4.19 | +$419.00 |
| $60.08 | +$4.19 | +$419.00 |
When a covered call fits STM
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 STM 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 STM loaded.
Questions
- What does a STM covered call pay right now?
- The $50.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $2.25 per share, 4.7% of the $48.06 share price, or 47.5% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a STM covered call?
- Selling the $50.00 call against stock bought at $48.06 breaks even at $45.81 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if STM closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $50.00. Total return is 8.7%: the premium plus the move from $48.06 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on STM
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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.