XSP Covered Call
Every out-of-the-money XSP call expiring Sep 24, 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 $778.00 strike at 0.0% over 7 days.
Open interest and pricing as of the close on 2026-09-16. Recomputed every morning before the open.
XSP covered call candidates — Sep 24, 2026, 7 days out
Strikes are picked by distance from the $755.18 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 — 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $778.00 | 3.0% | $0.22 | 0.0% | 1.6% | $754.95 | 3.1% | 71 |
| $793.00 | 5.0% | $0.05 | 0.0% | 0.3% | $755.13 | 5.0% | 1 |
What the $778.00 call pays at expiration
One illustrative strike — the richest premium in the table — against 100 shares bought at $755.18. Profit caps at $2,304.50 if XSP finishes above $778.00; below $754.95 the premium stops covering the loss on the stock.
| Stock at expiration | Profit / loss per share | On 100 shares |
|---|---|---|
| $566.39 | $-188.57 | $-18,857.00 |
| $613.58 | $-141.37 | $-14,137.12 |
| $660.78 | $-94.17 | $-9,417.25 |
| $707.98 | $-46.97 | $-4,697.38 |
| $755.18 | +$0.22 | +$22.50 |
| $802.38 | +$23.05 | +$2,304.50 |
| $849.58 | +$23.05 | +$2,304.50 |
| $896.78 | +$23.05 | +$2,304.50 |
| $943.97 | +$23.05 | +$2,304.50 |
When a covered call fits XSP
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 XSP 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 XSP loaded.
Questions
- What does a XSP covered call pay right now?
- The $778.00 call expiring Sep 24, 2026 (7 days out) collects $0.22 per share, 0.0% of the $755.18 share price, or 1.6% annualised if you repeat it.
- What is the break-even on a XSP covered call?
- Selling the $778.00 call against stock bought at $755.18 breaks even at $754.95 — the share price less the premium. Below that the premium no longer covers the loss on the shares.
- What happens if XSP closes above the strike?
- The shares are called away at $778.00. Total return is 3.1%: the premium plus the move from $755.18 up to the strike. Gains above the strike belong to the buyer.
More on XSP
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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.