TQQQ Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money TQQQ call expiring Sep 30, 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 $70.00 strike at 2.8% over 13 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
TQQQ covered call candidates — Sep 30, 2026, 13 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $67.93 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 — 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $70.00 | 3.0% | $1.88 | 2.8% | 77.7% | $66.05 | 5.8% | 10 |
| $71.00 | 4.5% | $1.50 | 2.2% | 62.0% | $66.43 | 6.7% | 5 |
| $75.00 | 10.4% | $0.46 | 0.7% | 18.8% | $67.48 | 11.1% | 133 |
What the $70.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $67.93. Profit caps at $395.00 if TQQQ finishes above $70.00; below $66.05 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $50.95 | $-15.10 | $-1,510.25 |
| $55.19 | $-10.86 | $-1,085.69 |
| $59.44 | $-6.61 | $-661.13 |
| $63.68 | $-2.37 | $-236.56 |
| $67.93 | +$1.88 | +$188.00 |
| $72.18 | +$3.95 | +$395.00 |
| $76.42 | +$3.95 | +$395.00 |
| $80.67 | +$3.95 | +$395.00 |
| $84.91 | +$3.95 | +$395.00 |
When a covered call fits TQQQ
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 TQQQ 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 TQQQ loaded.
Questions
- What does a TQQQ covered call pay right now?
- The $70.00 call expiring Sep 30, 2026 (13 days out) collects $1.88 per share, 2.8% of the $67.93 share price, or 77.7% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a TQQQ covered call?
- Selling the $70.00 call against stock bought at $67.93 breaks even at $66.05 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if TQQQ closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $70.00. Total return is 5.8%: the premium plus the move from $67.93 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on TQQQ
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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.