Covered Call Position Established in Insulet Corporation

Today a short-term Covered Call position in Insulet Corporation (PODD) was established when one hundred shares were purchased at $153.06 and one May 15th, 2026 Call option was sold at $10.30 per share at the $145.00 strike price.  The buy/write net debit limit order at $142.76 was executed, so the time value was $2.24 per share [$10.30 Call option premium - ($153.06 stock purchase price - $145.00 strike price)].  Insulet's first quarter earnings were reported after market close yesterday, so there is no earnings report prior to the May 15th options expiration date.  I consider today's very negative stock price decline of over 8% after a beat-and-raise quarter (that also included an increase to their 2026 guidance) to be an unjustified overreaction. But given my current cautious market outlook, an in-the-money Covered Calls position was established with a 73.4% probability of assignment on the options expiration date when this buy/write limit order was executed. 

Insulet Corporation makes, sells, and develops its proprietary Omnipod System, an automated insulin pump for insulin-dependent diabetics in the U.S. and Internationally.  Their business operates on a razor-and-blade model centered on its Omnipod system, pairing its low-cost controller (the razor hardware) with its disposable (replaced every 3 days) insulin pods (the consumable blades) that generate recurring, high-margin revenue and strong cash flow visibility. Financially, the company has delivered a decade of consistent high growth, with revenue expanding from under $1B in 2020 to ~$2.7B in 2025 (roughly a 25–30% annual growth rate in recent years), including its 10th consecutive year of 20%+ growth and accelerating ~30% growth in 2025. Profitability has scaled alongside revenue, with gross margins around ~70%+ and operating leverage improving as volumes increase, though near-term earnings can fluctuate due to reinvestment in sales and R&D. Looking forward, management continues to guide to ~20%+ revenue growth with even faster EPS expansion, driven by international expansion, penetration of the large Type 2 diabetes market, and deeper integration with leading automated insulin delivery ecosystems such as Dexcom's G7 and Abbott's FreeStyle Libre. Overall, Insulet offers investors a rare combination of durable recurring revenue, strong historical execution, and a long runway for growth in an underpenetrated global market.

Insulet is highly rated by analysts.  The average target price of the 25 analysts currently covering the company is +120.5% above today's stock purchase price.  In addtion, Morningstar has a 5-star strong buy rating and CFRA a 4-star buy rating.

As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result is +1.6% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +63.4% annualized return-on-investment over the next 9 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date.

Insulet Corporation (PODD) -- New Covered Call Position
The simultaneous buy/write transaction today was as follows:
5/6/2026 Bought 100 Insulet Corp. shares @ $153.06
5/6/2026 Sold 1 PODD 5/15/2026 $145.00 Call option @ $10.30 per share
Note: the Implied Volatility of the Call was 54.0 when this transaction was executed.  As I prefer, this value exceeds that of the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) which is currently at 17.2.

A possible overall performance result (including commission) for this Insulet Covered Call position if assigned on the options expiration date is as follows:
Covered Call Cost Basis: $14,276.67
= ($153.06 - $10.30) * 100 shares + $.67 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Option Income: +$1,029.33
= ($10.30 * 100 shares) - $.67 commission
(b) Dividend Income $0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If Insulet shares assigned at the $145.00 strike price on the options expiration date): -$806.00
+($145.00 strike price - $153.06 stock purchase price) * 100 shares

Total Net Profit (If Insulet shares assigned at the $145.00 strike price at the 5/15/2026 expiration date): +$223.33

= (+$1,029.33 option income + $0.00 - $806.00 capital appreciation)

Absolute Return-on-Investment (If PODD shares assigned at the $145.00 strike price on the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date): +1.6%

= +$223.33/$14,276.67

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If Insulet stock assigned at the $145.00 strike at the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +63.4%

= (+$223.33/$14,276.67) * (365/9 days)

Established Covered Calls Position in Wells Fargo & Company

A Covered Calls position was established in Wells Fargo & Company (ticker symbol WFC) yesterday when my buy/write limit order was executed -- 300 shares were purchased at $80.07 and 3 May 15th, 2026 Call options were sold at $2.71 at the $78.00 strike price.  The corresponding extrinsic value (i.e. time value) was $.64 per share [$2.71 Call options premium - ($80.07 stock purchase price - $78.00 strike price)], all of which will be profit if the stock is assigned (either by early assignment on the day prior to the May 8th ex-dividend date or at the May 15th options expiration date). The Implied Volatility of the Call options was 25.7 and also, as preferred, the next earnings report on July 14th, 2026 is well after the May 15th options expiration date.

At today's purchase price, the upcoming ex-dividend of $.45 has a 2.2% annualized dividend yield.  So, this short-term (only 11 days until options expiration) position was established to take advantage of the potential to achieve a satisfactory annualized return-on-investment in a position that meets all nine criteria of the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy (see table at end of this post).      

Most companies in the Financial Sector (such as Wells Fargo) provide only modest growth prospects, but they often provide good annual dividend yields.  Consequently, the Covered Calls Advisor targets opportunities to use the Dividend Capture Strategy in all Financial Sector Covered Calls positions.  This new Wells Fargo Covered Calls position continues the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy of often selling in-the-money monthly Covered Calls for one of six mega-cap U.S. banks (Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo) for each options expiration month: (JPMorgan Chase quarterly for Jan, Apr, July, and Oct options expirations; Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and/or Wells Fargo for Feb, May, Aug, and Nov options expirations; and Bank of America and/or Goldman Sachs for Mar, Jun, Sep, and Dec options expirations).

The goal of these monthly Covered Calls in these banks is to both provide an opportunity to either: (1) potentially capture the quarterly dividend payment and if the stock price remains above the strike price at options expiration, in which case the maximum possible return-on-investment result on the options expiration date for the position would be achieved; or (2) have the stock assigned early on the day prior to the ex-dividend date in which case the Covered Calls Advisor is often very pleased since the Dividend Capture Strategy criteria are designed such that the annualized return-on-investment for early assignment normally exceeds the Covered Calls Advisor's minimum threshold (as is the case with this Wells Fargo position).  So far, applying this approach has provided attractive annualized return results -- better than would be achieved if Covered Calls positions for these bank stocks were held in the Covered Calls Advisor Portfolio during the other two non-dividend paying months each quarter.  

Two potential return-on-investment results for this position are highlighted below (including the possibility of early assignment since the ex-dividend is prior to the May 15 options expiration date).  Given the Covered Calls Advisor's current Neutral overall market sentiment, a moderately in-the-money Covered Calls position was established with a probability of 71.2% that the stock will be in-the-money, and therefore assigned (i.e. sold), on the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date.  

As detailed below, two potential return-on-investment results are: 

•  +0.8% absolute return (equivalent to +74.7% annualized return-on-investment for the next 4 days) in the event that the stock is assigned early (business day prior to its May 8th, 2026 ex-dividend date); OR 

• +1.4% absolute return (equivalent to +46.5% annualized return-on-investment over the next 11 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 15th options expiration date.

Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) -- New Covered Calls Position
The buy/write transaction was:
5/4/2026 Bought 300 Wells Fargo shares @ $80.07
5/4/2026 Sold 3 Wells Fargo 2/13/2026 $84.00 Call options @ $3.82
5/8/2026 Upcoming quarterly ex-dividend of $.45 per share

Two possible overall performance results (including commissions) for this Wells Fargo Covered Calls position are as follows:
Covered Calls Net Investment: $23,210.01
= ($80.07 - $2.71) * 300 shares + $2.01 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Options Income: +$810.99
= ($2.71 * 300 shares) - $2.01 commission
(b) Dividend Income (If option exercised early on May 7th, the day prior to the May 8th ex-div date): +$0.00; or
(b) Dividend Income (If Wells Fargo stock assigned at the May 15th, 2026 options expiration; so the $.45 dividend is captured): +$135.00
= ($.45 dividend per share x 300 shares)

(c) Capital Appreciation (If Wells Fargo Call options assigned early on May 8th, 2026): -$621.00
+($78.00 strike price - $80.07 stock purchase price) * 300 shares; or
(c) Capital Appreciation (If shares assigned at $78.00 strike price at options expiration): -$621.00
+($78.00 - $80.07) * 300 shares

1. Total Net Profit [If option exercised on 5/7/2026 (business day prior to the 5/8/2026 ex-dividend date)]: +$189.99

= (+$810.99 options income + $0.00 dividend income - $621.00 capital appreciation); or

2. Total Net Profit (If Wells Fargo shares assigned at $78.00 at the 5/15/2026 expiration): +$324.99

= (+$810.99 options income + $135.00 dividend income - $621.00 capital appreciation)

1. Absolute Return-on-Investment [If option exercised early on 2/6/2026]: +0.8%

= +$189.99/$23,210.01

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If option exercised early): +74.7%

= (+$189.99/$23,210.01) * (365/4 days); or

2. Absolute Return-on-Investment (If Wells Fargo shares assigned at $78.00 at the 5/15/2026 options expiration): +1.4%

= +$324.99/$23,210.01

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If Wells Fargo shares assigned at $78.00 at the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +46.5%

= (+$324.99/$23,210.01) * (365/11 days)

Either outcome provides a good return-on-investment result for this Wells Fargo investment.  These returns will be achieved as long as the stock is above the $78.00 strike price at assignment.  If the stock declines below the strike price, the breakeven price of $76.91 ($80.07 - $2.71 - $.45) provides a 3.9% downside protection below today's stock purchase price.

At least eight of the nine metrics used in the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy spreadsheet must be 'YES' prior to establishing a position.  As shown below with this Wells Fargo position, all nine criteria are met.

Established Covered Calls in NVIDIA Corporation

Today I established a 10-day Covered Calls position in NVIDIA Corporation (ticker NVDA).  My buy/write net debit limit order at $187.66 was executed and the time value was $2.34 per share [$10.33 Call options premium - ($197.99 stock purchase price - $190.00 strike price)].  An in-the-money strike price was established with the probability that NVIDIA's stock will close in-the-money (i.e. above the $190.00 strike price) on the 5/15/2026 options expiration date was 72.2% when this transaction was executed.  Importantly, this expiration date is prior to the next quarterly earnings report which is on May 20th, 2026. 

The current average target price of Wall Street analysts is now $264.95 (+33.8% above today's purchase price).  Today's position continues my recent history of establishing NVIDIA Covered Call positions with expiration dates every week.  

As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result if NVIDIA's share price is in-the-money (i.e. above the $190.00 strike price) and therefore assigned on its May 15th, 2026 options expiration date is +1.2% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +45.4% annualized return-on-investment for the next 10 days).

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) -- New Covered Calls Position

Today's buy/write net limit order transaction was as follows:
5/5/2026 Bought 200 NVIDIA Corporation shares at $197.99.

5/5/2026 Sold 2 NVIDIA 5/15/2026 $190.00 Call options @ $10.33 per share.  The Implied Volatility of these Calls was 40.8 when this position was established, which is well above (as preferred) the VIX which was 17.4.  

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) for this NVIDIA Corporation Covered Calls position is as follows:
Covered Calls Net Investment: $37,533.34
= ($197.99 - $10.33) * 200 shares + $1.34 commission

Net Profit:
(a) Options Income: +$2,064.66
= ($10.33 * 200 shares) - $1.34 commission
(b) Dividend Income: +$0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned (i.e. above the $190.00 strike price) on the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): -$1,598.00
+($190.00 strike price - $197.99 stock purchase price) * 200 shares

Total Net Profit Potential (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned at the $190.00 strike price on the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +$466.66

= (+$2,064.66 options income + $0.00 dividend income - $1,598.00 capital appreciation)

Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned (i.e. sold) at the $190.00 strike price on the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +1.2%

= (+$466.66/$37,533.34)

Potential Annualized Return-on-Investment (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned at the $190.00 strike price on the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +45.4%
= (+$466.66/$37,533.34) * (365/10 days)

Established Covered Calls Position in IBM Corporation

Today a short-term Covered Calls position was established in IBM Corp. (ticker symbol IBM) when the Covered Calls Advisor's buy/write limit order was executed -- 200 shares were purchased at $231.90 and two May 15th, 2026 Call options were sold at $9.00 per share at the $225.00 strike price.  Therefore, a net debit price of $222.90 which is a time value of $2.10 per share [$9.00 Call options price - ($231.90 stock price - $225.00 strike price)].  This is a moderately in-the-money position since its probability of closing in-the-money on the 5/15 options expiration date was 69.2% when this position was established.  

Two potential return-on-investment results for this position are highlighted below and includes the possibility of early assignment since a quarterly ex-dividend of $1.69 per share (2.9% annualized dividend yield) goes ex-dividend this Friday (May 8th), which is prior to the May 15th options expiration date.  Either result would be attractive since they both substantially exceed my preferred minimum annualized return-on-investment criteria (see criteria #8 and #9 at the bottom of this post) when using my Dividend Capture Strategy.  Also, as I prefer, there is no intervening quarterly earnings report since IBM's next quarterly earnings report on July 22nd, 2026 is after this month's options expiration date.

IBM passed every criterion in my "Sustainable Competitive Advantage" stock screener, which places it in the top 2% of the 1,377 major U.S. companies considered in this stock screener.  The average target price of the 20 analysts following IBM is $294.90 which is +27.2% above today's stock purchase price.  The stock screener criteria and the actual numbers for IBM are shown in the filter breakdown in the table below:  

As detailed below, two potential return-on-investment results are: 

•  +0.9% absolute return (equivalent to +85.9% annualized return for the next 4 days) if the stock is assigned early (business day prior to the May 8th ex-dividend date); OR 

• +1.7% absolute return (equivalent to +56.4% annualized return over the next 11 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date.

IBM Corporation (IBM) -- New Covered Calls Position
The buy/write transaction was:
5/4/2026 Bought 200 IBM shares @ $231.90
5/4/2026 Sold 2 IBM 5/15/2026 $225.00 Call options @ $9.00.  The Implied Volatility of the Calls was 32.3 when this transaction occurred.
5/8/2026 Upcoming quarterly ex-dividend of $1.69 per share

Two possible overall performance results (including commissions) for this IBM Covered Calls position are as follows:
Covered Calls Net Investment: $44,581.34
= ($231.90 - $9.00) * 200 shares + $1.34 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Options Income: +$1,799.66
= ($9.00 * 200 shares) - $1.34 commission
(b) Dividend Income (If option exercised early on May 7th, the last business day prior to the May 8th ex-div date): +$0.00; or
(b) Dividend Income (If IBM stock assigned at the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date): +$338.00
= ($1.69 dividend per share x 200 shares)
(c) Capital Appreciation (If IBM Call options assigned early): -$1,380.00
+($225.00 strike price - $231.90 stock purchase price) * 200 shares; or
(c) Capital Appreciation (If shares assigned at $225.00 strike price at options expiration): -$1,380.00 = +($225.00 - $231.90) * 200 shares

1. Total Net Profit [If options exercised early]: +$419.66

= (+$1,799.66 options income +$0.00 dividend income -$1,380.00 capital appreciation); or

2. Total Net Profit (If IBM shares assigned at $225.00 at the May 15th expiration): +$757.66

= (+$1,799.66 options income +$338.00 dividend income -$1,380.00 capital appreciation)

1. Absolute Return-on-Investment [If option exercised early on May 7th (business day prior to the 5/8/2026 ex-dividend date)]: +0.9%

= +$419.66/$44,581.34

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If option exercised early): +85.9%

= (+$419.66/$44,581.34) * (365/4 days); or

2. Absolute Return-on-Investment (If IBM shares assigned at $225.00 at the May 15th, 2026 options expiration): +1.7%

= +$757.66/$44,581.34

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If IBM shares assigned at $225.00 at the May 15th options expiration date): +56.4%

= (+$757.66/$44,581.34) * (365/11 days)

At least eight of the nine metrics used in the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy spreadsheet (see below) must be 'YES' prior to establishing a new Covered Calls position using the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture strategy.  All nine criteria are achieved for this IBM Covered Calls position.

May 1st Option Expiration Results

The Covered Calls Advisor Portfolio had one Covered Call position in Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) with a May 1st, 2026 options expiration.  The stock closed in-the-money yesterday, so the Call option was closed with no remaining time value, so the 100 LNG shares were sold at the strike price. The return-on-investment details are as follows:

Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) -- +2.1% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +44.8% annualized return-on-investment) for the 17 days of this investment.  This Cheniere Energy position had a $250.00 strike price and the stock closed at $270.12 yesterday.  The original blog post showing the details of this position is here. 

I welcome your emails with your questions/comments at the email address shown below on any topics related to the Covered Calls investing strategy. 

Jeff Partlow
The Covered Calls Advisor
partlow@cox.net

Established Covered Calls in NVIDIA Corporation

Today a short-term Covered Calls position of 8 days duration in NVIDIA Corporation (ticker NVDA).  My buy/write net debit limit order at $192.42 was executed and the time value was $2.58 per share [$8.39 Call options premium - ($200.81 stock purchase price - $195.00 strike price)].  An in-the-money strike price was established with the probability that NVIDIA's stock will close in-the-money (i.e. above the $195.00 strike price) on the 5/8/2026 options expiration date was 67.7% when this transaction was executed. 

The current average target price of Wall Street analysts is now $264.95 (+31.9% above today's purchase price).  Today's position continues my recent history of establishing NVIDIA Covered Call positions with expiration dates every week.  

As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result if NVIDIA's share price is in-the-money (i.e. above the $195.00 strike price) and therefore assigned on its May 8th, 2026 options expiration date is +1.3% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +61.0% annualized return-on-investment for the next 8 days).

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) -- New Covered Calls Position

Today's buy/write net limit order transaction was as follows:
4/30/2026 Bought 200 NVIDIA Corporation shares at $200.81.

4/30/2026 Sold 2 NVIDIA 5/8/2026 $195.00 Call options @ $8.39 per share.  The Implied Volatility of these Calls was 41.1 when this position was established, which is well above (as preferred) the VIX which was 17.4.  

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) for this NVIDIA Corporation Covered Calls position is as follows:
Covered Calls Net Investment: $38,485.34
= ($200.81 - $8.39) * 200 shares + $1.34 commission

Net Profit:
(a) Options Income: +$1,676.66
= ($8.39 * 200 shares) - $1.34 commission
(b) Dividend Income: +$0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned (i.e. above the $195.00 strike price) on the 5/8/2026 options expiration date): -$1,162.00
+($195.00 strike price - $200.81 stock purchase price) * 200 shares

Total Net Profit Potential (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned at the $195.00 strike price on the 5/8/2026 options expiration date): +$514.66

= (+$1,676.66 options income + $0.00 dividend income - $1,162.00 capital appreciation)

Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned (i.e. sold) at the $195.00 strike price on the 5/8/2026 options expiration date): +1.3%

= (+$514.66/$38,485.34)

Potential Annualized Return-on-Investment (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned at the $195.00 strike price on the 5/8/2026 options expiration date): +61.0%
= (+$514.66/$38,485.34) * (365/8 days)

Covered Call Position Established in Barrick Mining Corporation

Several readers of this blog have indicated that they have difficulty developing a diversified portfolio of Covered Calls because of the total cost of having multiple positions when a single Covered Call of 100 shares for a company at $100 per share would require a $10,000 investment.  So, for example, a portfolio of 8 companies averaging $10,000 each would require $80,000 which is prohibitive for many investors.  So, today I am providing an example of a relatively low-cost Covered Call position in Barrick Mining Corporation (ticker B).  

This position was established today when one hundred shares were purchased at $38.48 and one May 8th, 2026 Call option was sold at $2.22 per share at the $37.00 strike price.  So as shown in the details below, this position was established at a reasonably small cost basis at only $3,626.67. My buy/write net debit limit order at $36.26 was executed, so the time value was $.74 per share [$2.22 Call option premium - ($38.48 stock purchase price - $37.00 strike price)].  As I prefer, Barrick's next quarterly earnings report on May 11th, 2026 is after the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date.  An in-the-money Covered Call position was established with a 64.5% probability of assignment on the options expiration date when this buy/write limit order was executed. 

Barrick Mining Corporation is one of the world's largest gold and copper producers, operating a diversified portfolio of mines across North America, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Full-year 2025 gold production reached 3.26 million ounces and copper production 220,000 tonnes, both in line with guidance, underpinning a financially exceptional year. The company generated record annual operating cash flow of $7.7 billion and free cash flow of $3.9 billion, while net earnings of $5.0 billion and a year-end cash balance of $6.7 billion left Barrick in a net cash position of $2 billion -- a notably strong balance sheet for a major miner. Looking ahead, Barrick's strategy through 2030 is focused on disciplined growth and portfolio quality, including a significant expansion of its copper footprint to capitalize on rising demand tied to electrification and the global energy transition, while a planned IPO of its premier North American gold assets (including stakes in Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo) is expected to be completed by late 2026 and is seen by the Board as the best path to maximizing shareholder value.

Barrick met all criteria in several of my custom stock screeners.  Additionally, the 15 analysts currently covering the company have an average target price of $56.56 for the stock (+47.0% above today's stock purchase price).  

 As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result is +2.0% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +82.0% annualized return-on-investment over the next 9 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date.

Barrick Mining Corporation (B) -- New Covered Call Position
The simultaneous buy/write transaction today was as follows:
4/29/2026 Bought 100 Barrick Mining Corporation shares @ $38.48
4/29/2026 Sold 1 Barrick 5/8/2026 $37.00 Call option @ $2.22 per share
Note: the Implied Volatility of the Call was 59.1 when this transaction was executed.  As I prefer, this value exceeds that of the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) which is currently at 18.5.

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) for this Barrick Mining Covered Call position if assigned on the options expiration date is as follows:
Covered Call Cost Basis: $3,626.67
= ($38.48 - $2.22) * 100 shares + $.67 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Option Income: +$221.33
= ($2.22 * 100 shares) - $.67 commissions
(b) Dividend Income $0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If Barrick shares assigned at $37.00 strike price on the options expiration date): -$148.00
+($37.00 strike price - $38.48 stock purchase price) * 100 shares

Total Net Profit (If Barrick shares assigned at the $37.00 strike price at the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date): +$73.33

= (+$221.33 Call option income + $0.00 dividend income - $148.00 capital appreciation)

Absolute Return-on-Investment (If Barrick shares assigned at $37.00 strike price on the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date): +2.0%

= +$73.33/$3,626.67

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If Barrick's stock is assigned at $37.00 at the 5/8/2026 options expiration date): +82.0%

= (+$73.33/$3,626.67) * (365/9 days)

Covered Call Established in SAP SE ADR

Today, a net debit buy/write limit order was entered in SAP SE ADR (ticker SAP) to buy 100 shares and simultaneously sell 1 Call option at the May 15th, 2026 monthly options expiration date and at the $162.50 strike price. The net debit limit price for my order was $160.36 and this order was executed when 100 shares were purchased at $170.65 and 1 May 15th, 2026 Call option was sold for $10.29 per share.  Therefore, a maximum potential time value profit from the Call was $2.14 per share = [$10.29 option premium - ($170.65 stock price - $162.50 strike price)] is available for this position.  

This position uses the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy since SAP has an upcoming annual (not quarterly) ex-dividend of $2.9291 per share on May 5th which is prior to the May 15th options expiration date.  This is equivalent to an absolute annual dividend yield of 1.7% and an equivalent annualized dividend yield of an incredibly high 39.2% = [($2.9291/$170.65) x (365/16 days to expiration)].  This dividend is included in the return-on-investment calculations detailed below.  Either an early assignment on May 4th (the last trading day prior to the ex-dividend date) or on the May 15th options expiration date would be desirable given the potential annualized return on investments for either outcome.  Importantly to the Covered Calls Advisor, there is no quarterly earnings report prior to the options expiration date since the next earnings report on July 23rd, 2026 is more than two months after the May 15th options expiration date.  

SAP, headquartered in Germany, is the world's dominant ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendor, generating revenue through cloud subscriptions and software licenses as customers migrate from its legacy on-premise ECC system to S/4HANA Cloud — a transition that yields 2–3x more revenue per customer than the old model. Its competitive moat rests on extreme switching costs: replacing SAP once it's embedded in a company's core financial and supply chain operations is a multi-year, board-level undertaking that most organizations actively avoid. SAP projects cloud revenue of $30.2–30.7 billion for 2026, representing 23–25% year-over-year growth, with total cloud and software revenue forecast at $42.5–43.1 billion. SAP currently trades at a trailing P/E of roughly 23x with a forward P/E around 21x — with FY2026 EPS forecast at $8.35, up ~20% year-over-year. With a market cap of approximately $200 billion (down roughly 44% over the past year amid broader software sector pressure), SAP's valuation disconnect from its strong cloud fundamentals is a key debate among analysts, with the average price target implying significant upside if the S/4HANA migration wave executes as planned.

SAP SE ADR passed all 20 criteria in my "Balanced Growth" stock screener, which places it in the top 2% of the major U.S. companies considered in this stock screener.  The average target price of the 10 analysts following SAP is $257.95 which is +51.2% above today's stock purchase price.  The stock screener criteria and the actual numbers for SAP are shown in the filter breakdown in the table below:

As detailed below, two potential return-on-investment results are: 

•  +1.3% absolute return (equivalent to +81.4% annualized return-on-investment for the next 6 days) if the stock is assigned early (on the last business day prior to the May 5th ex-dividend date); or  
  

• +3.2% absolute return (equivalent to +72.2% annualized return-on-investment over the next 16 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date.

SAP SE ADR (SAP) -- New Covered Call Position

As shown on the table at the bottom of this post, all nine criteria of my Dividend Capture Strategy are met with this position.  Even if the SAP stock price declines somewhat during the next 16 days until the options expiration date, if the stock closes above the $162.50 strike price, then a very satisfactory annualized-return-on-investment of +72.2% will be achieved.  The probability that this Call option will expire in-the-money on the options expiration date was 74.1% when this position was established.   

The buy/write transaction was:

4/29/2026 Bought 100 SAP shares @ $170.65
4/29/2026 Sold 1 SAP 5/15/2026 $162.50 Call option @ $10.29 per share.
Note: Implied Volatility (IV) of the Call option was at 34.6 when this position was transacted which, as preferred, is above the current VIX of 18.9.   
5/5/2026 Upcoming annual (not quarterly) ex-dividend of $2.9291 per share.

Two possible overall performance results (including commissions) for this SAP Covered Call position are as follows:
Covered Call Net Investment: $16,036.67
= ($170.65 - $10.29) * 100 shares + $.67 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Option Income: +$1,029.67
= ($10.29 * 100 shares) - $.67 commission
(b) Dividend Income (If SAP Call option exercised early on May 4th, 2026, the last business day prior to the May 5th ex-div date): +$0.00; or
(b) Dividend Income (If SAP stock assigned at the May 15th, 2026 options expiration): +$292.91
= ($2.9291 dividend per share x 100 shares)

(c) Capital Appreciation (If SAP Call option assigned early on May 5th, 2026): -$815.00

+($162.50 strike price - $170.65 stock purchase price) * 100 shares; or
(c) Capital Appreciation (If shares assigned at $162.50 strike price at the 5/15/2026 options expiration): -$815.00
+($162.50 - $170.65) * 100 shares

1. Total Net Profit [If option exercised early (business day prior to the May 5th ex-dividend date)]: +$214.67

= (+$1,029.67 option income + $0.00 dividend income - $815.00 capital appreciation); or

2. Total Net Profit (If SAP's shares assigned at $162.50 at the May 15th, 2026 expiration): +$507.58

= (+$1,029.67 option income + $292.91 dividend income - $815.00 capital appreciation)

1. Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment [If option exercised on business day prior to the 5/5/2026 ex-dividend date]: +1.3%

= +$214.67/$16,036.67

Potential Annualized Return (If option exercised early): +81.4%

= (+$214.67/$16,036.67) * (365/6 days); or

2. Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment (If SAP's shares assigned on the May 15th options expiration date): +3.2%

= +$507.58/$16,036.67

Potential Annualized Return (If SAP's shares assigned at the $162.50 strike price on the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +72.2%

= (+$507.58/$16,036.67) * (365/16 days)

Either outcome provides a very attractive return-on-investment result for this SAP investment.  These returns will be achieved as long as the stock is above the $162.50 strike price at assignment.  However, if the stock declines below the strike price, the breakeven price of $157.4309 ($170.65 - $10.29 - $2.9291) provides 7.7% downside protection below today's stock purchase price.

At least eight of the nine metrics used in the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy spreadsheet (see below) must be 'YES' prior to establishing a new Covered Call position using the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture strategy.  As shown below, all nine criteria are achieved for this SAP SE ADR Covered Call position.

Established Covered Calls Position in Citigroup Inc.

This morning a Covered Calls position was established in Citigroup Inc. (ticker symbol C) using my Dividend Capture Strategy (see description here) when 300 shares were purchased at $128.73 and 3 May 8th, 2026 Call options were sold at $5.31 per share at the $125.00 strike price.  The net debit limit order at $123.42 was executed, so the time value was $1.58 per share [$5.31 Call options premium - ($128.73 stock purchase price - $125.00 strike price)]. There is also an upcoming quarterly ex-dividend of $.60 per share on May 4th (a current annual dividend yield of 1.9%), so two potential return-on-investment results for this position, as detailed below, include the possibility of early assignment since the ex-dividend is prior to the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date.  

Citigroup's earnings report two weeks ago was very positive. Also, since their next earnings report is not until July 14, 2026, there is no earnings report prior to the options expiration date.  From a technical indicators viewpoint, Market Edge's current rating of Citigroup is a "Strong Buy".  An in-the-money Covered Calls position was established when the probability of the stock closing in-the-money (and therefore being assigned) on the 5/8/2026 options expiration date was 67.1%. The average target price of the analysts covering Citigroup Inc. stock is $141.59 (+10.0% above today's stock purchase price).

Most companies in the Financial Sector provide only modest growth prospects, but they often provide good annual dividend yields (such as the 1.9% annual dividend yield for this Citigroup position).  Consequently, the Covered Calls Advisor targets opportunities to use the Dividend Capture Strategy in all Financial Sector Covered Calls positions.  This new May 8th, 2026 Citigroup Covered Calls position continues the Dividend Capture Strategy of often selling in-the-money monthly Covered Calls for one of six megacap U.S. banks (Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo) for each options expiration month:
(JPMorgan Chase quarterly for Jan, Apr, July, and Oct options expirations;
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and/or Wells Fargo for Feb, May, Aug, and Nov options expirations; and Bank of America and/or Goldman Sachs for Mar, Jun, Sep, and Dec options expirations). 

The goal of these monthly Covered Calls in these banks is to both provide an opportunity to either: (1) potentially capture the quarterly dividend payment and if the stock price remains above the strike price at options expiration, the maximum possible return-on-investment result on the options expiration date would be achieved; or (2) have the stock assigned early on the last trading day prior to the ex-dividend date in which case the Covered Calls Advisor is usually very pleased since the Dividend Capture Strategy criteria are designed such that often the annualized return-on-investment for early assignment is close to or somewhat greater than what would be achieved if the stock was instead assigned on its options expiration date.  So far, applying this approach has provided attractive annualized return results -- significantly better than would be achieved if Covered Calls positions for these bank stocks were instead held in the Covered Calls Advisor Portfolio in the other two non-dividend paying months each quarter.   

As detailed below, two potential return-on-investment results are: 

•  +1.3% absolute return (equivalent to +77.5% annualized return-on-investment for the next 6 days) if the stock is assigned early (on the last business day prior to the May 4th, 2026 ex-dividend date); OR 

• +1.8% absolute return (equivalent to +64.3% annualized return-on-investment over the next 10 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date.

Citigroup Inc. (C) -- New Covered Calls Position
The simultaneous buy/write transaction was:
4/28/2026 Bought 300 Citigroup Inc. shares @ $128.73.
4/28/2026 Sold 3 Citigroup 5/8/2026 $125.00 Call options @ $5.31 per share.
Note: The Implied Volatility of the Call options was 36.5 when this position was transacted.
5/4/2026 Upcoming quarterly ex-dividend of $.60 per share.

Two possible overall performance results (including commissions) for this Citigroup Inc. Covered Calls position are as follows:
Covered Calls Cost Basis: $37,028.01
= ($128.73 - $5.31) * 300 shares + $2.01 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Options Income: +$1,590.99
= ($5.31 * 300 shares) - $2.01 commission
(b) Dividend Income (If options exercised early on May 1st, 2026, the last business day prior to the May 4th, 2026 ex-div date): +$0.00; or
(b) Dividend Income (If Citigroup stock assigned on the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date): +$180.00
= ($.60 dividend per share x 300 shares)

(c) Capital Appreciation (If Citi Call options assigned early on May 4th): -$1,119.00
+($125.00 strike price - $128.73 stock purchase price) * 300 shares; or
(c) Capital Appreciation (If shares assigned at $125.00 strike price at options expiration): -$1,119.00
+($125.00 - $128.73) * 300 shares

1. Total Net Profit (If options exercised early): +$471.99

= (+$1,590.99 options income +$0.00 dividend income - $1,119.00 capital appreciation); or

2. Total Net Profit (If Citi shares assigned at $125.00 at the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date): +$651.99

= (+$1,590.99 options income + $180.00 dividend income - $1,119.00 capital appreciation)

1. Absolute Return-on-Investment [If option exercised on business day prior to the May 4th, 2026 ex-dividend date]: +1.3%

= +$471.99/$37,028.01

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If option exercised early): +77.5%

= (+$471.99/$37,028.01) * (365/6 days); or

2. Absolute Return-on-Investment (If Citi shares assigned on the May 8th, 2026 options expiration date): +1.8%

= +$651.99/$37,028.01

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If Citi shares assigned at $125.00 at the May 8th, 2026 expiration): +64.3%

= (+$651.99/$37,028.01) * (365/10 days)

At least eight of the nine metrics used in the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy spreadsheet (see below) must be 'YES' prior to establishing a new Covered Calls position using the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture strategy.  As shown below, all nine criteria are achieved for this Citigroup Inc. Covered Calls position.

Established Covered Calls in Las Vegas Sands Corporation

Today, a net debit buy/write limit order was entered in Las Vegas Sands Corporation (ticker LVS) to buy 400 shares and simultaneously sell 4 Call options at the May 15th, 2026 monthly options expiration date and at the $51.00 strike price. The net debit limit price for my order was $50.32 and this order was executed when 400 shares were purchased at $53.46 and 4 May 15th, 2026 Call options were sold for $3.14 per share.  Therefore, a maximum potential time value profit from the Calls of $.68 per share = [$3.14 options premium - ($53.46 stock price - $51.00 strike price)] is available for this position.  

This position uses the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy since Las Vegas Sands has an upcoming quarterly ex-dividend of $.30 per share on May 5th which is prior to the May 15th options expiration date.  This is equivalent to an absolute annual dividend yield of 2.2% and an equivalent annualized dividend yield of 11.4% = [($.30/$53.46) x (365/18 days to expiration)].  This dividend is included in the detailed return-on-investment calculations below.  Either an early assignment on May 4th (the last trading day prior to the ex-dividend date) or on the May 15th options expiration date would be desirable given the potential annualized return on investments for either outcome.  Importantly to the Covered Calls Advisor, there is no quarterly earnings report prior to the options expiration date since the next earnings report on July 22nd, 2026 is more than two months after the May 15th options expiration date.  

Las Vegas Sands Corporation operates a capital-intensive “integrated resort” model, generating revenue primarily from casino gaming alongside hotels, conventions, retail, dining, and entertainment, with a strong focus on high-end and premium mass customers in Asia. The company is geographically concentrated in Macau (China) and Singapore (having sold its Las Vegas property in 2022).  Their flagship properties like Marina Bay Sands and their Macau portfolio (5 properties) drive the majority of cash flow and growth. Its competitive position is anchored by scarce gaming licenses and regulatory barriers—most notably a duopoly in Singapore and leading market share (~24%) in Macau—which create a durable moat and high margins. Relative to peers such as MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts, LVS emphasizes large-scale, high-return Asian assets that produce superior EBITDA margins and cash flow generation. However, its competitive strength is balanced by key risks, including heavy reliance on Asian markets, regulatory exposure, and high financial leverage inherent in its asset-heavy resort development strategy.

Las Vegas Sands passed all 18 criteria in my "Key Metrics for Comparing Companies" stock screener, which places it in the top 2% of the major U.S. companies considered in this stock screener.  The average target price of the 18 analysts following Las Vegas Sands is $69.26 which is +29.6% above today's stock purchase price.  The stock screener criteria and the actual numbers for LVS are shown in the filter breakdown in the table below:

As detailed below, two potential return-on-investment results are: 

•  +1.0% absolute return (equivalent to +61.0% annualized return-on-investment for the next 8 days) if the stock is assigned early (on the last business day prior to the May 5th ex-dividend date); or  
  

• +1.9% absolute return (equivalent to +39.2% annualized return-on-investment over the next 18 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 15th, 2026 options expiration date.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation (LVS) -- New Covered Calls Position

As shown on the table at the bottom of this post, all nine criteria of my Dividend Capture Strategy are met with this position.  Even if the Las Vegas Sands stock price declines somewhat during the next 18 days until the options expiration date, if the stock closes above the $51.00 strike price, then a very satisfactory annualized-return-on-investment of +39.2% will be achieved.  The probability that these Call options will expire in-the-money on the options expiration date was 72.3% when this position was established.   

The buy/write transaction was:

4/27/2026 Bought 400 Las Vegas Sands shares @ $53.46
4/27/2026 Sold 4 LVS 5/15/2026 $51.00 Call options @ $3.44 per share.
Note: Implied Volatility (IV) of the Call options was at 35.2 when this position was transacted which, as preferred, is above the current VIX of 18.5.   
5/5/2026 Upcoming quarterly ex-dividend of $.30 per share.

Two possible overall performance results (including commissions) for this Las Vegas Sands Corp. Covered Calls position are as follows:
Covered Calls Net Investment: $20,130.68
= ($53.46 - $3.14) * 400 shares + $2.68 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Options Income: +$1,253.32
= ($3.14 * 400 shares) - $2.68 commission
(b) Dividend Income (If LVS Call options exercised early on May 4th, 2026, the last business day prior to the May 5th ex-div date): +$0.00; or
(b) Dividend Income (If LVS stock assigned at the May 15th, 2026 options expiration): +$120.00
= ($.30 dividend per share x 400 shares)

(c) Capital Appreciation (If Las Vegas Sand's Call options assigned early on May 5th, 2026): -$984.00

+($51.00 strike price - $53.46 stock purchase price) * 400 shares; or
(c) Capital Appreciation (If shares assigned at $51.00 strike price at the 5/15/2026 options expiration): -$984.00
+($51.00 - $53.46) * 400 shares

1. Total Net Profit [If option exercised early (business day prior to the May 5th ex-dividend date)]: +$269.32

= (+$1,253.32 options income + $0.00 dividend income - $984.00 capital appreciation); or

2. Total Net Profit (If LVS's shares assigned at $51.00 at the May 15th, 2026 expiration): +$389.32

= (+$1,253.32 options income + $120.00 dividend income - $984.00 capital appreciation)

1. Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment [If option exercised on business day prior to the 5/5/2026 ex-dividend date]: +1.3%

= +$269.32/$20,130.68

Potential Annualized Return (If option exercised early): +61.0%

= (+$269.32/$20,130.68) * (365/8 days); or

2. Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment (If LVS's shares assigned on the May 15th options expiration date): +1.9%

= +$389.32/$20,130.68

Potential Annualized Return (If Las Vegas Sand's shares assigned at $51.00 at the 5/15/2026 options expiration date): +39.2%

= (+$389.32/$20,130.68) * (365/18 days)

Either outcome provides an attractive return-on-investment result for this Las Vegas Sands investment.  These returns will be achieved as long as the stock is above the $51.00 strike price at assignment.  However, if the stock declines below the strike price, the breakeven price of $50.02 ($53.46 - $3.14 - $.30) provides 6.4% downside protection below today's stock purchase price.

At least eight of the nine metrics used in the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture Strategy spreadsheet (see below) must be 'YES' prior to establishing a new Covered Calls position using the Covered Calls Advisor's Dividend Capture strategy.  As shown below, all nine criteria are achieved for this Las Vegas Sands Corporation Covered Calls position.

April 24th, 2026 Options Expiration Results

The Covered Calls Advisor Portfolio had two Covered Calls positions with April 24th, 2026 options expirations and both positions (Dexcom Inc. and NVIDIA Corporation) closed with their stock prices in-the-money.  So, their Calls expired with no remaining time value 👍and the Covered Calls were closed out by the stocks being sold at their respective strike prices on their April 24th options expiration date. The return-on-investment details for each position is as follows:

1. Dexcom Inc. (DXCM) -- +1.7% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +57.2% annualized return-on-investment) for the 11 days of this investment.  This Dexcom Covered Calls position had a $61.00 strike price and it closed at $61.57 yesterday.  The original blog post showing the details of this position is here. 

2. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) -- +1.1% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +41.2% annualized return-on-investment) for the 10 days of this investment.  This NVIDIA position had a $185.00 strike price and it closed yesterday at $208.26.  The original blog post showing the details of this position is here. 

I welcome your emails with your questions/comments at the email address shown below on any topics related to the Covered Calls investing strategy. 

Jeff Partlow
The Covered Calls Advisor
partlow@cox.net

April 17th, 2026 Options Expiration Results

The Covered Calls Advisor Portfolio had one Covered Call position in NVIDIA Corporation which was in-the-money and therefore closed out by assignment at yesterday's option expiration date.  A summary of results for this position is as follows:

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) -- +5.5% absolute return (equivalent to +95.4% annualized return-on-investment) for the 21 days of this investment. This Covered Call position closed yesterday at $201.68 which was well above its $175.00 strike price, so the Call option expired and the 100 NVIDIA shares were sold at the $175.00 strike price.  The original blog post detailing this position is here.  

As always, I welcome your feedback or questions at my email address shown below on anything related to the Covered Calls investing strategy.

Jeff Partlow
The Covered Calls Advisor
partlow@cox.net

Stick With Covered Calls

Below is a reprint of a post I originally made on this blog site in 2009.  I believe it is as true now as it was when first published 17 years ago.

One of the most important investing lessons I've learned is to select an investing strategy that you are most comfortable with and stay with it. That is, do not try to be "a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none." Instead, try to continually increase your knowledge related to the strategy you are using and seek to become an expert at it. This doesn't imply that we should become rigid and inflexible in the application of our methods. To the contrary, it is essential to be a life-long learner and to seek new knowledge to continually refine our approach. This is the mindset I try to maintain as it applies to my preferred investing strategy, namely Covered Calls investing.  Thus, my investing motto is "Stick With Covered Calls". 

In my very first blog post on this Covered Calls Advisor blog site in 2007, I stated that the essential reason why I believe in Covered Calls investing is that "Covered Calls offer an excellent avenue for obtaining market-beating results while at the same time offering the added benefit of doing so with less overall portfolio risk." My intention is to demonstrate the truthfulness of this objective over the next several years.

First, let me affirm that I do believe in the generally accepted personal financial planning principle that we should maintain a money-market account with 3-6 months of living expenses as an emergency buffer. But once the emergency fund is fully funded, additional money available for wealth creation can be committed to our preferred investing method, Covered Calls investing. 

But why not use additional investing strategies beyond just Covered Calls? From time to time there is a tendency to want to augment Covered Calls investing with alternative investment strategies. Some of the alternatives that have some similarities to Covered Calls and that sometimes seem appealing include: (1) Buy-and-Hold Stock Investing; (2) Covered Calls With Collars; (3) Selling Calls against LEAPs; and (4) Selling Cash-Secured Puts.  Early in my investing career, I experimented by paper trading and also by investing cash in these (and other) various approaches to investing -- but after about a year of avid reading everything I could find on investing strategies, thinking deeply about them, and experimenting with them, I settled on Covered Calls as the best match for me.  Below is a short explanation for each of these alternative strategies that explains why I prefer Covered Calls investing.

1. Buy-and-Hold Stock Investing: There is some research which has simulated (back-tested) over a multi-year period the results that would have been obtained by investing in Covered Calls via a diversified index (such as the S&P 500) and by subsequently mechanically reinvesting each month in slightly out-of-the-money, near-month Covered Calls. The conclusions generally support the notion that the annualized return-on-investment results (when comparing buy-and-hold with this type of Covered Calls investing) are very comparable between these two investment approaches. However, the studies also show that Covered Calls have only about 70% of the risk of buy-and-hold investing. It is this Advisor's contention that Covered Call returns can outpace those of buy-and-hold investing through a well-informed and disciplined approach to the Covered Calls strategy including astute stock and strike-price selections as well as from several other nuances that provide "edges" versus a basic buy-and-hold stocks investing strategy.

2. Covered Calls With Collars: This strategy is simply a Covered Call in combination with the purchase of a protective Put option. This strategy is popular with very conservative investors who purchase the Put option as insurance against a significant decline in the price of the underlying stock. I have analyzed this strategy several times (especially during the 2008 bear market we've just experienced), but each time I come to the same conclusion -- the cost of buying the Put option is just not worth the price we have to pay for the additional insurance. Note: I say 'additional insurance' since the Call we sold to establish the Covered Calls position already provides some protection (i.e. a hedge) against a decline in the underlying stock price. The cost of buying a Put option to achieve a second level of insurance is just too high a price to pay, especially if we are at all successful in our objective of selecting stocks that are neutral or bullish -- then we achieve significantly better overall returns over time with Covered Calls. Remember also that our objective as investors is to 'buy' assets that tend to appreciate in value over time (such as stocks) and to 'sell' assets that depreciate over time (which is the case with both Put and Call options because of their inherent time value decay).  So, we want to 'buy' stocks which over time are appreciating assets and 'sell' Call options (depreciating assets) -- which is our Covered Calls strategy; but also not 'buy' a Put option (depreciating asset).

3. Selling Calls Against LEAPs: This strategy is sometimes referred to as the Poor Man's Covered Call.  Many years ago, this was a strategy I used for several months before returning to Covered Calls. This is an alluring strategy, but it is both a more risky and, over time, less profitable strategy than Covered Calls. The reason(s) for this are not readily apparent, but the primary reason this is true is the same line of reasoning as described above for Collars, namely we want to buy appreciating assets and sell depreciating assets. The decline of time value embedded in all options (including LEAPs -- even though they do decay slowly) ultimately makes LEAPs a less desirable asset to buy than stocks (which of course have no time value decay inherent in their purchase price and also tend to appreciate in value over time).  Finally, when owning stocks we have the possibility of capturing their dividends, which we do not with LEAPs 

4. Selling Cash-Secured Puts: This strategy is a synthetically equivalent strategy to Covered Calls (because of the Put/Call parity concept), so in theory one should be indifferent to using either approach. In that regard, there is some appeal to the notion that one should begin a position by selling a Cash-Secured Put and then if the Put is exercised you would then be obligated to purchase the stock at the agreed upon strike price. Then, since you now own the stock you would then simply keep the stock and sell a Call option against it, thereby establishing a Covered Calls position. (Note: this approach is sometimes referred to as the Wheel Strategy).  If this Covered Call is in-the-money on the expiration date and the stock is called away, then the natural course of action would be to then sell another Cash-Secured Put. So the investor moves naturally to-and-fro using both Covered Calls and Cash-Secured Puts as the results at each expiration unfold.  Occasionally there will be temporary occasions when the Implied Volatility of Puts exceeds (albeit only slightly) that of their comparable Calls (and often vice versa), but normally their time values and thus their return-on-investment profiles is very close so establishing either one provides an essentially equivalent position.  So, given this virtual equivalence, I have opted to normally establish Covered Calls in the interest of clarity and simplicity. Owning Covered Calls in your brokerage account makes it crystal clear at all times what the current cash balance is in your account. Not so with Cash-Secured Puts since at any given time it is more difficult to distinguish between the total amount of cash that is committed to securing the Put options and the cash that is truly available for use. In this regard, one is more likely to oversell Puts and to then be in a position where we are forced to sell out of a position or to trade on margin (Note: the Covered Calls Advisor is strongly opposed to margin account investing).  Finally (and very importantly), we have the possibility of capturing dividends with Covered Calls, but never with Cash-Secured Puts.

The four alternatives to Covered Calls investing described above are certainly not intended to be a comprehensive list. But they do represent the types of strategies that investors have periodically mentioned to me.

Although the Covered Calls Advisor is uncommonly committed to Covered Calls investing, from time to time even I have flirted with other possible investing approaches. But there is a lot to be said for not over-complicating our investment decision-making processes. And the more strategies we are willing to use in our portfolio, the more complicated our investing becomes, and the more difficult it is to decide what strategy to use for what stock in what situation. And these complications just beget more confusion and second-guessing which can become psychologically debilitating. Committing to a single investing process (hopefully you'll agree that it should be Covered Calls), gives us a much better chance of achieving a characteristic shared by all great investors -- a calm, dispassionate big-picture perspective; and the possibility of enjoying the time we spend on our investing research and analysis.

As always I welcome your comments on this post or anything else related to the Covered Calls investing strategy.

Regards and Godspeed to All,

Jeff

Established Covered Calls in NVIDIA Corporation

Today a short-term Covered Calls position of 10 days duration in NVIDIA Corporation (ticker NVDA).  My buy/write net debit limit order at $182.90 was executed and the time value was $2.10 per share [$8.80 Call options premium - ($191.70 stock purchase price - $185.00 strike price)].  An in-the-money strike price was established with the probability that NVIDIA's stock will close in-the-money (i.e. above the $185.00 strike price) on the 4/24/2026 options expiration date was 72.4% when this transaction was executed. 

The current average target price of Wall Street analysts is now $264.57 (+38.0% above today's purchase price).  Today's position continues my recent history of establishing NVIDIA Covered Call positions with expiration dates every week.  

As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result if NVIDIA's share price is in-the-money (i.e. above the $185.00 strike price) and therefore assigned on its April 24th, 2026 options expiration date is +1.1% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +41.2% annualized return-on-investment for the next 10 days).

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) -- New Covered Calls Position

Today's buy/write net limit order transaction was as follows:
4/14/2026 Bought 200 NVIDIA Corporation shares at $191.70.

4/14/2026 Sold 2 NVIDIA 4/24/2026 $185.00 Call options @ $8.80 per share.  The Implied Volatility of these Calls was 35.8 when this position was established, which is well above (as preferred) the VIX which was 18.5.  

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) for this NVIDIA Corporation Covered Calls position is as follows:
Covered Calls Net Investment: $37,079.34
= ($194.19 - $8.80) * 200 shares + $1.34 commission

Net Profit:
(a) Options Income: +$1,758.66
= ($8.80 * 200 shares) - $1.34 commission
(b) Dividend Income: +$0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned (i.e. above the $185.00 strike price) on the 4/24/2026 options expiration date): -$1,340.00
+($185.00 strike price - $191.70 stock purchase price) * 200 shares

Total Net Profit Potential (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned at the $185.00 strike price on the 4/24/2026 options expiration date): +$418.66

= (+$1,758.66 options income + $0.00 dividend income - $1,340.00 capital appreciation)

Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned (i.e. sold) at the $185.00 strike price on the 4/24/2026 options expiration date): +1.1%

= (+$418.66/$37,079.34)

Potential Annualized Return-on-Investment (If 200 NVIDIA shares assigned at the $185.00 strike price on the 4/24/2026 options expiration date): +41.2%
= (+$418.66/$37,079.34) * (365/10 days)

Covered Call Position Established in Cheniere Energy Inc.

Today a Covered Call position in Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) was established when one hundred shares were purchased at $257.03 and one May 1st, 2026 Call option was sold at $12.15 per share at the $250.00 strike price.  My buy/write net debit limit order at $244.88 was executed, so the time value was $5.12 per share [$12.15 Call option premium - ($257.03 stock purchase price - $250.00 strike price)].  As I prefer, Cheniere's next quarterly earnings report on May 7th, 2026 is after the May 1st, 2026 options expiration date.  An in-the-money Covered Call position was established with a 61.8% probability of assignment on the options expiration date when this buy/write limit order was executed. 

Cheniere Energy, Inc. is a producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States. The Company provides clean and secure LNG to integrated energy companies, utilities, and energy trading companies worldwide. It operates two natural gas liquefaction and export facilities at Sabine Pass, Louisiana and near Corpus Christi, Texas. Sabine Pass LNG Terminal, which has natural gas liquefaction facilities consisting of six operational trains, for a total production capacity of approximately 30 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG. The Corpus Christi LNG Terminal consists of three trains for a total production capacity of approximately 15 mtpa of LNG, three LNG storage tanks and two marine berths. It also owns and operates a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several large interstate and intrastate pipelines.

Cheniere is 5-star rated by CFRA and LSEG Stock Reports Plus has a perfect 10 buy rating (on a scale of 1 to 10) for both Cheniere's Average Score and their Optimized Score.  The 21 analysts currently covering the company have an average target price of $299.44 for the stock (+16.5% above today's stock purchase price).  

 As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result is +2.1% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +44.8% annualized return-on-investment over the next 17 days) if the stock is assigned on the May 1st, 2026 options expiration date.

Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) -- New Covered Call Position
The simultaneous buy/write transaction today was as follows:
4/14/2026 Bought 100 Cheniere Energy Inc. shares @ $257.03
4/14/2026 Sold 1 LNG 5/1/2026 $250.00 Call option @ $12.15 per share
Note: the Implied Volatility of the Call was 39.4 when this transaction was executed.  As I prefer, this value exceeds that of the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) which is currently at 18.5.

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) for this Cheniere Energy Covered Call position if assigned on the options expiration date is as follows:
Covered Call Cost Basis: $24,488.67
= ($257.03 - $12.15) * 100 shares + $.67 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Option Income: +$1,214.33
= ($12.15 * 100 shares) - $.67 commissions
(b) Dividend Income $0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If Cheniere Energy shares assigned at $250.00 strike price on the options expiration date): -$703.00
+($250.00 strike price - $257.03 stock purchase price) * 100 shares

Total Net Profit (If Cheniere Energy shares assigned at the $250.00 strike price at the May 1st, 2026 options expiration date): +$511.33

= (+$1,214.33 Call option income + $0.00 dividend income - $703.00 capital appreciation)

Absolute Return-on-Investment (If Cheniere Energy shares assigned at $250.00 strike price on the May 1st, 2026 options expiration date): +2.1%

= +$511.33/$24,488.67

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If Cheniere's stock is assigned at $250.00 at the 5/1/2026 options expiration date): +44.8%

= (+$511.33/$24,488.67) * (365/17 days)

Covered Calls Position Established in Dexcom Inc.

Early in this morning's trading session, a Covered Calls position in Dexcom Inc. (DXCM) was established when three hundred shares were purchased at $63.42 and three April 24th, 2026 Call options were sold at $3.46 per share at the $61.00 strike price.  The buy/write net debit limit order at $59.96 was executed, so the time value was $1.04 per share [$3.46 Call options premium - ($63.42 stock purchase price - $61.00 strike price)].  As I prefer, Dexcom's next quarterly earnings report on April 30th, 2026 is after the April 24th, 2026 options expiration date.  Given the Covered Calls Advisor's current cautious market outlook, an in-the-money Covered Calls position was established with a 69.5% probability of assignment on the options expiration date when this buy/write limit order was executed. 

Dexcom designs and commercializes continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for diabetic patients.  It is evolving its CGM systems to provide integration with insulin pumps from Insulet and Tandem for automatic insulin delivery.  Dexcom appeared in my "Quality + Growth" stock screener which is shown below.  Dexcom passed all 25 of the screener's criteria including the fact that the average target price of the 25 analysts currently covering the company is +37.2% above today's stock purchase price.

  

As detailed below, a potential return-on-investment result is +1.7% absolute return-on-investment (equivalent to +57.2% annualized return-on-investment over the next 11 days) if the stock is assigned on the April 24th, 2026 options expiration date.

Dexcom Inc. (DXCM) -- New Covered Calls Position
The simultaneous buy/write transaction today was as follows:
4/13/2026 Bought 300 Dexcom Inc. shares @ $63.42
4/13/2026 Sold 3 DXCM 4/24/2026 $61.00 Call options @ $3.46 per share
Note: the Implied Volatility of the Calls was 43.2 when this transaction was executed.  As I prefer, this value exceeds that of the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) which is currently at 20.2.

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) for this Dexcom Covered Calls position if assigned on the options expiration date is as follows:
Covered Calls Cost Basis: $17,990.01
= ($63.42 - $3.46) * 300 shares + $2.01 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Options Income: +$1,035.99
= ($3.46 * 300 shares) - $2.01 commissions
(b) Dividend Income $0.00
(c) Capital Appreciation (If Dexcom shares assigned at the $61.00 strike price on the options expiration date): -$726.00
+($61.00 - $63.42) * 300 shares

Total Net Profit (If Dexcom shares assigned at the $66.00 strike price at the 1/30/2026 expiration): +$309.99

= (+$1,035.99 + $0.00 - $726.00)

Absolute Return-on-Investment (If DXCM shares assigned at the $61.00 strike price on the April 24th, 2026 options expiration date): +1.7%

= +$309.99/$17,990.01

Annualized Return-on-Investment (If Dexcom stock assigned at $61.00 at the 4/24/2026 options expiration date): +57.2%

= (+$309.99/$17,990.01) * (365/11 days)