Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Covered Call Position Established in Alphabet Inc.

A new short-term Covered Call net debit buy/write limit order was transacted shortly after market open today in Alphabet Inc. (ticker GOOGL) for the September 18th, 2026 expiration and at the $320.00 strike price.  The order was placed at a $316.68 limit price, so the extrinsic value (which represents the maximum profit potential for this position) was $3.32 per share [$12.79 Call option premium - ($329.47 stock purchase price - $320.00 strike price)].  The probability that this position will be in-the-money and therefore assigned on its options expiration date was 69.2% when this order was transacted.

As detailed below, the potential return-on-investment result is +1.0% absolute return-on-investment in 9 days (equivalent to a +42.4% annualized return-on-investment).  

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) -- New Covered Call Position
The simultaneous buy/write transaction was as follows:
9/9/2026 Bought 100 shares of Alphabet Inc. stock @ $329.47 per share.  
9/9/2026 Sold 1 Alphabet Inc. September 18th $320.00 Call option @ $12.79 per share.
Note: The Implied Volatility of the Call option was approximately 34.5 when this transaction was executed which, as I prefer, is well above the current 16.1 of the S&P 500 Volatility Index (i.e. VIX). 

A possible overall performance result (including commissions) would be as follows:
Covered Call Cost Basis: $31,668.67
= ($329.47 - $12.79) * 100 shares + $.67 commission

Net Profit Components:
(a) Option Income: +$1,278.33
= ($12.79 * 100 shares) - $.67
(b) Dividend Income: +$0.00 
(c) Capital Appreciation (If Alphabet stock is above $320.00 strike price at the 9/18/2026 options expiration date): -$947.00
= ($320.00 strike price - $329.47 stock purchase price) * 100 shares

Total Net Profit Potential: +$331.33
= (+$1,278.33 option income +$0.00 dividend income - $947.00 capital appreciation)

Potential Absolute Return-on-Investment: +1.0%
= +$331.33/$31,668.67
Potential Equivalent Annualized Return-on-Investment: +42.4%
= (+$331.33/$31,668.67) * (365/9 days)