XOP Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XOP 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 $197.50 strike at 3.1% over 36 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XOP covered call candidates — Oct 23, 2026, 36 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $191.80 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $197.50 | 3.0% | $6.00 | 3.1% | 31.7% | $185.80 | 6.1% | 3 |
| $202.50 | 5.6% | $4.70 | 2.5% | 24.8% | $187.10 | 8.0% | 2 |
| $210.00 | 9.5% | $2.73 | 1.4% | 14.4% | $189.08 | 10.9% | 15 |
What the $197.50 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $191.80. Profit caps at $1,170.00 if XOP finishes above $197.50; below $185.80 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $143.85 | $-41.95 | $-4,195.00 |
| $155.84 | $-29.96 | $-2,996.25 |
| $167.83 | $-17.97 | $-1,797.50 |
| $179.81 | $-5.99 | $-598.75 |
| $191.80 | +$6.00 | +$600.00 |
| $203.79 | +$11.70 | +$1,170.00 |
| $215.78 | +$11.70 | +$1,170.00 |
| $227.76 | +$11.70 | +$1,170.00 |
| $239.75 | +$11.70 | +$1,170.00 |
When a covered call fits XOP
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 XOP 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 XOP loaded.
Questions
- What does a XOP covered call pay right now?
- The $197.50 call expiring Oct 23, 2026 (36 days out) collects $6.00 per share, 3.1% of the $191.80 share price, or 31.7% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XOP covered call?
- Selling the $197.50 call against stock bought at $191.80 breaks even at $185.80 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XOP closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $197.50. Total return is 6.1%: the premium plus the move from $191.80 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XOP
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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.