XLK Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XLK 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 $189.00 strike at 2.0% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XLK covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $183.93 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 — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $189.00 | 2.8% | $3.61 | 2.0% | 19.9% | $180.33 | 4.7% | 2 |
| $193.00 | 4.9% | $2.76 | 1.5% | 15.2% | $181.18 | 6.4% | 1 |
What the $189.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $183.93. Profit caps at $867.50 if XLK finishes above $189.00; below $180.33 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $137.95 | $-42.38 | $-4,237.75 |
| $149.44 | $-30.88 | $-3,088.19 |
| $160.94 | $-19.39 | $-1,938.63 |
| $172.43 | $-7.89 | $-789.06 |
| $183.93 | +$3.61 | +$360.50 |
| $195.43 | +$8.67 | +$867.50 |
| $206.92 | +$8.67 | +$867.50 |
| $218.42 | +$8.67 | +$867.50 |
| $229.91 | +$8.67 | +$867.50 |
When a covered call fits XLK
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 XLK 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 XLK loaded.
Questions
- What does a XLK covered call pay right now?
- The $189.00 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $3.61 per share, 2.0% of the $183.93 share price, or 19.9% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XLK covered call?
- Selling the $189.00 call against stock bought at $183.93 breaks even at $180.33 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XLK closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $189.00. Total return is 4.7%: the premium plus the move from $183.93 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XLK
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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.