XOM Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XOM 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 $167.50 strike at 2.8% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XOM covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $163.32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $167.50 | 2.6% | $4.60 | 2.8% | 28.6% | $158.72 | 5.4% | 49 |
| $172.50 | 5.6% | $3.07 | 1.9% | 19.0% | $160.26 | 7.5% | 12 |
| $180.00 | 10.2% | $1.44 | 0.9% | 8.9% | $161.89 | 11.1% | 508 |
What the $167.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $163.32. Profit caps at $878.00 if XOM finishes above $167.50; below $158.72 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $122.49 | $-36.23 | $-3,623.00 |
| $132.70 | $-26.02 | $-2,602.25 |
| $142.91 | $-15.81 | $-1,581.50 |
| $153.11 | $-5.61 | $-560.75 |
| $163.32 | +$4.60 | +$460.00 |
| $173.53 | +$8.78 | +$878.00 |
| $183.73 | +$8.78 | +$878.00 |
| $193.94 | +$8.78 | +$878.00 |
| $204.15 | +$8.78 | +$878.00 |
When a covered call fits XOM
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 XOM 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 XOM loaded.
Questions
- What does a XOM covered call pay right now?
- The $167.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $4.60 per share, 2.8% of the $163.32 share price, or 28.6% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XOM covered call?
- Selling the $167.50 call against stock bought at $163.32 breaks even at $158.72 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XOM closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $167.50. Total return is 5.4%: the premium plus the move from $163.32 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XOM
Run the numbers
Weekly options-market digest
Sundays. What moved this week, what catalysts and earnings drive next week, and which 5-pillar setups stand out.
Free. One email per week. Unsubscribe with one click.
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.