U Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money U 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 $43.00 strike at 6.5% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
U covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $42.13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $43.00 | 2.1% | $2.75 | 6.5% | 66.2% | $39.38 | 8.6% | 7 |
| $44.00 | 4.4% | $2.26 | 5.4% | 54.3% | $39.88 | 9.8% | 22 |
| $46.00 | 9.2% | $1.60 | 3.8% | 38.4% | $40.54 | 13.0% | 3 |
What the $43.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $42.13. Profit caps at $362.00 if U finishes above $43.00; below $39.38 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $31.60 | $-7.78 | $-778.25 |
| $34.23 | $-5.15 | $-514.94 |
| $36.86 | $-2.52 | $-251.62 |
| $39.50 | +$0.12 | +$11.69 |
| $42.13 | +$2.75 | +$275.00 |
| $44.76 | +$3.62 | +$362.00 |
| $47.40 | +$3.62 | +$362.00 |
| $50.03 | +$3.62 | +$362.00 |
| $52.66 | +$3.62 | +$362.00 |
When a covered call fits U
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 U 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 U loaded.
Questions
- What does a U covered call pay right now?
- The $43.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $2.75 per share, 6.5% of the $42.13 share price, or 66.2% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a U covered call?
- Selling the $43.00 call against stock bought at $42.13 breaks even at $39.38 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if U closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $43.00. Total return is 8.6%: the premium plus the move from $42.13 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on U
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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.