BASIC · EXPIRATION PAYOFF

Covered Call Calculator

Read the Covered Call strategy guide

Combine stock ownership and a sold call to see the premium income, capped upside, and downside.

Your position

Illustrative starting values · USD

Use one stock or ETF and the same expiration for every option leg. Prices are per share.

Stock quantities are shares. Option quantities are contracts. Enter the total fees for the entire position once.

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About this calculator

How to use the Covered Call calculator

Enter the cost per share of the stock and the premium received for the call. To keep the position covered, hold enough shares for every call sold: typically 100 shares per contract.

Understanding the payoff

For a fully covered position, breakeven = stock entry price − call premium. Maximum profit = (call strike − stock entry price + call premium) × shares. The stock can fall to zero; the premium provides only a partial cushion.

These formulas describe the standard strategy before fees. The results above include the total fees entered and are calculated from your actual legs.

Worked example

Buy 100 shares at $50; Sell 1 $55 call option at $2 per share. All options share one expiration and a 100-unit multiplier. Fees are zero in this example.

Read the strategy guide →

Assumptions and limits

This is an expiration payoff estimate, not a live option quote or a prediction. It assumes all option legs expire together on one stock or ETF, the stock price cannot be negative, and options settle at intrinsic value. The default multiplier is 100 shares per contract; adjust it for the contract being modeled. Early assignment, exercise decisions, dividends, interest, taxes, and slippage can change realized results. Cash requirements and broker margin are separate from maximum loss. Different expirations, futures options, and adjusted contracts with non-cash deliverables are not supported.

Method: add each leg’s intrinsic value at expiration, subtract its entry cost with the correct buy/sell sign, and subtract total fees. See Cboe’s worked spread example on Fidelity for a reference calculation.

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