Poor Man's Covered Call Calculator
A deep in-the-money long-dated call stands in for the shares in a covered call.
The stock
Everything else is measured against this price.
Enter a ticker to pull the live stock price automatically.
Filled from the live quote when you enter a ticker. You can still edit it.
Where you think the stock will be. Adds a marker to the chart.
Today, unless you are modelling a past or future entry.
The contracts
Premiums are per share, the way they are quoted. One contract covers 100 shares.
Short call (near)You receive
Calculated by a modelModel estimate, not a quote
45 days
100 shares of exposure
Leave blank and it is solved from the premium you entered.
Long call (far, deep ITM)You pay
Calculated by a modelModel estimate, not a quote
135 days
100 shares of exposure
Leave blank and it is solved from the premium you entered.
Rates, dividends and costs4.00% rate · 0.00% yield
Roughly the Treasury yield matching your expiration.
Annual, continuous. Raises put values and lowers call values.
Charged per leg, both to open and to close.
Per contract. Usually a few cents.
Per share, applied against you on entry.
Profit and loss
The solid line is the exact payoff at expiration. Move the sliders to see the position before then.
Hover, tap or use arrow keys to read the curve
- At 2026-09-19 (nearest expiration)
- Today (model estimate)
- Breakeven
- Current price
| Stock price | Profit or loss |
|---|---|
| 77.75 | −$1,033.57 |
| 79.40 | −$997.27 |
| 81.04 | −$953.83 |
| 82.69 | −$902.76 |
| 84.33 | −$843.70 |
| 85.98 | −$776.41 |
| 87.63 | −$700.82 |
| 89.27 | −$616.97 |
| 90.59 | −$544.05 |
| 92.23 | −$445.84 |
| 93.88 | −$340.13 |
| 95.53 | −$227.37 |
| 97.17 | −$108.04 |
| 98.59 | $0.00 |
| 100.00 | +$110.84 |
| 101.45 | +$229.00 |
| 103.10 | +$367.40 |
| 104.74 | +$509.85 |
| 106.06 | +$520.55 |
| 107.70 | +$504.44 |
| 109.35 | +$491.07 |
| 111.00 | +$480.02 |
| 112.64 | +$470.95 |
| 114.29 | +$463.54 |
| 115.93 | +$457.52 |
Drag towards expiration to watch time value drain out of the position.
Shifts every leg's implied volatility. Changes the Greeks and every date before expiration.
Result
Measured at Sep 19, 2026 · 45 days to expiration
-$1,033.57
The worst case at expiration, including fees.
$532.54
The best case at expiration, including fees.
$1,154.30
Paid out of your account when the position is opened.
98.59
The stock price at which you neither gain nor lose.
$1,154.30
A debit position is fully paid for at entry, so the cost is the requirement.
$1.30
To open. Closing costs are not included.
+$110.84
If the stock finished expiration exactly where it is now.
Not set
Enter one to see the profit at a specific price.
Probability
Model estimates, not forecasts. The assumptions behind each number are stated in full.
55.1%
Assumes a lognormal terminal price (geometric brownian motion), the same distribution black-scholes assumes with volatility of 30.0% and risk-neutral drift. Real returns have fatter tails than this model assumes, and volatility itself changes. Other tools quote different numbers mainly because they assume a different volatility or a different expected drift.
Greeks
How the position responds to price, time, volatility and rates, for the whole position rather than a single contract.
- delta
- 41.53
- share equivalents
- How many shares this position behaves like. A delta of 50 gains roughly $50 for every $1 the stock rises.
- gamma
- −1.8941
- delta per $1 move
- How quickly delta changes. High gamma means the position gets directional fast as the stock moves.
- theta
- 2.01
- dollars per day
- What time decay costs or earns each calendar day, if nothing else changes.
- vega
- 5.21
- dollars per 1% of volatility
- What a one percentage point change in implied volatility is worth to this position.
- rho
- 19.33
- dollars per 1% of rates
- What a one percentage point change in interest rates is worth. Usually the smallest of the five.
This position has legs expiring on different dates, so the figures below are measured at the nearest expiration with the later legs valued by the pricing model.
The later legs still hold time value on that date. Their actual worth will depend on implied volatility at the time.
Profit table
Every combination of price and date, so you can see the position from any angle at once.
| Stock price | Aug 5, 2026estimate | Aug 28, 2026estimate | Sep 19, 2026estimate | Oct 12, 2026estimate | Nov 3, 2026estimate | Nov 26, 2026estimate | ExpirationDec 18, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125.00 | +$426.53 | +$440.85 | +$440.27 | +$413.44 | +$390.21 | +$367.37 | +$345.70 |
| 122.50 | +$421.24 | +$442.91 | +$443.13 | +$414.62 | +$390.44 | +$367.37 | +$345.70 |
| 120.00 | +$412.20 | +$443.85 | +$447.17 | +$416.47 | +$390.87 | +$367.38 | +$345.70 |
| 117.50 | +$397.84 | +$442.01 | +$452.87 | +$419.33 | +$391.67 | +$367.40 | +$345.70 |
| 115.00 | +$376.35 | +$434.74 | +$460.78 | +$423.69 | +$393.12 | +$367.45 | +$345.70 |
| 112.50 | +$345.67 | +$418.26 | +$471.66 | +$430.22 | +$395.67 | +$367.60 | +$345.70 |
| 110.00 | +$303.77 | +$387.96 | +$486.45 | +$439.85 | +$400.05 | +$368.01 | +$345.70 |
| 107.50 | +$248.86 | +$339.04 | +$506.29 | +$453.79 | +$407.36 | +$369.09 | +$345.70 |
| 105.00 | +$179.72 | +$267.71 | +$532.54 | +$473.59 | +$419.19 | +$371.68 | +$345.70 |
| 102.50 | +$96.00 | +$172.43 | +$316.80 | +$251.13 | +$187.72 | +$127.49 | +$95.70 |
| 100.00now | −$1.50 | +$54.90 | +$110.84 | +$38.66 | −$34.22 | −$110.41 | −$154.30 |
| 97.50 | −$110.74 | −$79.84 | −$83.44 | −$161.35 | −$243.19 | −$337.16 | −$404.30 |
| 95.00 | −$228.51 | −$224.36 | −$264.07 | −$346.27 | −$435.38 | −$546.00 | −$654.30 |
| 92.50 | −$350.70 | −$370.42 | −$429.21 | −$513.60 | −$606.96 | −$729.10 | −$904.30 |
| 90.00 | −$472.79 | −$510.60 | −$577.22 | −$661.14 | −$754.64 | −$879.25 | −$1,154.30 |
| 87.50 | −$590.34 | −$639.35 | −$706.86 | −$787.37 | −$876.30 | −$992.31 | −$1,154.30 |
| 85.00 | −$699.51 | −$753.25 | −$817.44 | −$891.62 | −$971.45 | −$1,068.96 | −$1,154.30 |
| 82.50 | −$797.38 | −$850.71 | −$908.98 | −$974.31 | −$1,041.51 | −$1,114.84 | −$1,154.30 |
| 80.00 | −$882.13 | −$931.48 | −$982.18 | −$1,036.92 | −$1,089.63 | −$1,138.61 | −$1,154.30 |
| 77.50 | −$953.05 | −$996.26 | −$1,038.50 | −$1,081.91 | −$1,120.17 | −$1,149.05 | −$1,154.30 |
| 75.00 | −$1,010.37 | −$1,046.40 | −$1,079.97 | −$1,112.38 | −$1,137.90 | −$1,152.86 | −$1,154.30 |
Every column before expiration is a model estimate that assumes implied volatility stays where it is today. Only the expiration column is arithmetic rather than a forecast.
Notes on the poor man's covered call
- The long call is not the same as owning shares: it decays, and it pays no dividend.
- If the short call is assigned, you may need to exercise the long call or buy shares to deliver.
- Max loss
- -$1,033.57
- Max profit
- $532.54
- Breakeven
- 98.59
How a poor man's covered call works
You buy a deep in-the-money call with a distant expiration to act as a substitute for owning the stock, then sell a shorter-dated call against it. It behaves much like a covered call for a fraction of the capital.
When traders use it
When you want covered-call income but do not want to tie up the cost of 100 shares.