XLU Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XLU 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 $42.50 strike at 6.1% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XLU covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $41.32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $42.50 | 2.9% | $2.50 | 6.1% | 61.3% | $38.82 | 8.9% | 19 |
| $43.50 | 5.3% | $0.17 | 0.4% | 4.2% | $41.15 | 5.7% | 109 |
What the $42.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $41.32. Profit caps at $368.00 if XLU finishes above $42.50; below $38.82 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $30.99 | $-7.83 | $-783.00 |
| $33.57 | $-5.25 | $-524.75 |
| $36.16 | $-2.66 | $-266.50 |
| $38.74 | $-0.08 | $-8.25 |
| $41.32 | +$2.50 | +$250.00 |
| $43.90 | +$3.68 | +$368.00 |
| $46.49 | +$3.68 | +$368.00 |
| $49.07 | +$3.68 | +$368.00 |
| $51.65 | +$3.68 | +$368.00 |
When a covered call fits XLU
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 XLU 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 XLU loaded.
Questions
- What does a XLU covered call pay right now?
- The $42.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $2.50 per share, 6.1% of the $41.32 share price, or 61.3% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XLU covered call?
- Selling the $42.50 call against stock bought at $41.32 breaks even at $38.82 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XLU closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $42.50. Total return is 8.9%: the premium plus the move from $41.32 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XLU
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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.