XLI Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XLI 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 $174.00 strike at 1.5% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XLI covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $168.71 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $174.00 | 3.1% | $2.50 | 1.5% | 15.0% | $166.21 | 4.6% | 0 |
| $177.00 | 4.9% | $2.48 | 1.5% | 14.9% | $166.23 | 6.4% | 2 |
| $185.00 | 9.7% | $2.48 | 1.5% | 14.9% | $166.23 | 11.1% | 5 |
What the $174.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $168.71. Profit caps at $779.00 if XLI finishes above $174.00; below $166.21 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $126.53 | $-39.68 | $-3,967.75 |
| $137.08 | $-29.13 | $-2,913.31 |
| $147.62 | $-18.59 | $-1,858.88 |
| $158.17 | $-8.04 | $-804.44 |
| $168.71 | +$2.50 | +$250.00 |
| $179.25 | +$7.79 | +$779.00 |
| $189.80 | +$7.79 | +$779.00 |
| $200.34 | +$7.79 | +$779.00 |
| $210.89 | +$7.79 | +$779.00 |
When a covered call fits XLI
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 XLI 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 XLI loaded.
Questions
- What does a XLI covered call pay right now?
- The $174.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $2.50 per share, 1.5% of the $168.71 share price, or 15.0% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XLI covered call?
- Selling the $174.00 call against stock bought at $168.71 breaks even at $166.21 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XLI closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $174.00. Total return is 4.6%: the premium plus the move from $168.71 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XLI
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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.