WDC Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money WDC 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 $430.00 strike at 7.0% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
WDC covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $416.97 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $430.00 | 3.1% | $29.30 | 7.0% | 71.2% | $387.67 | 10.2% | 57 |
| $440.00 | 5.5% | $25.98 | 6.2% | 63.2% | $391.00 | 11.8% | 9 |
| $460.00 | 10.3% | $19.58 | 4.7% | 47.6% | $397.40 | 15.0% | 17 |
What the $430.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $416.97. Profit caps at $4,233.00 if WDC finishes above $430.00; below $387.67 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $312.73 | $-74.94 | $-7,494.25 |
| $338.79 | $-48.88 | $-4,888.19 |
| $364.85 | $-22.82 | $-2,282.12 |
| $390.91 | +$3.24 | +$323.94 |
| $416.97 | +$29.30 | +$2,930.00 |
| $443.03 | +$42.33 | +$4,233.00 |
| $469.09 | +$42.33 | +$4,233.00 |
| $495.15 | +$42.33 | +$4,233.00 |
| $521.21 | +$42.33 | +$4,233.00 |
When a covered call fits WDC
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 WDC 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 WDC loaded.
Questions
- What does a WDC covered call pay right now?
- The $430.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $29.30 per share, 7.0% of the $416.97 share price, or 71.2% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a WDC covered call?
- Selling the $430.00 call against stock bought at $416.97 breaks even at $387.67 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if WDC closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $430.00. Total return is 10.2%: the premium plus the move from $416.97 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.