# Wheel: covered-call phase

**OPT-06c · Core Options · Core**

**Lesson question:** Is the proposed call strike a price at which you accept selling the shares?

Original fictional examples; educational writing, not live market data, orders or production approval.

## By the end

- Explain the mechanism in the lesson question.
- Reproduce the worked comparison and recognize its failure case.

**Prerequisites:** OPT-02c, OPT-07a

Once shares are owned, selling a covered call exchanges some upside for premium. It does not repair a bad stock thesis. Choose the strike from acceptable sale economics and current prospects, not solely from a desire to get back to the original entry.

## Understand the mechanism

A short call caps gains above its strike while the shares retain downside risk. Selecting a strike below an old cost basis can crystallize an economic loss if called away; selecting a very distant strike may earn little. Neither is automatically right. Current opportunity cost matters.

## Walk through the process

Compare holding shares alone, selling a call, reducing shares and exiting. Check dividend-related exercise risk and whether the call quantity is truly covered. Keep accumulated premiums and current share value in the same ledger.

## A worked example

The fictional wheel now holds 100 shares at a contractual 95 acquisition and 700 cash. Sell a later 100 call for 1.50, adding 150 cash, for 850 total. With shares still at 90, total marked wealth is 9,850 before valuing the outstanding short call liability. The premium receipt alone is not profit: the call must still be marked until closed or resolved. At eventual expiry, use the combined shares-plus-call payoff.

## Graph: Wheel: covered-call phase—worked comparison

**Horizontal:** Stock at covered-call expiry (USD)  
**Vertical:** Total wheel wealth at that expiry (USD)

Terminal wealth at the later covered-call expiry for each hypothetical stock settlement price. The call is resolved at intrinsic value here. During its life, subtract its current liability as well as valuing the shares; cash received is not instant profit.

Complete numerical data are embedded in `scripts/options-strategies/OPT-06c.js` and displayed as an accessible table in the HTML lesson.

## What would invalidate the reading?

Treating the latest premium receipt as an immediate wealth gain ignores the offsetting option liability. A strong rebound can also be capped at a strike the owner regrets.

## Check your understanding

### Does receiving 150 from a new short call instantly add 150 net economic profit?

**Answer:** No.

**Why:** An open option liability accompanies the cash. Mark the whole position.

### What is the critical failure to avoid?

**Answer:** Treating the latest premium receipt as an immediate wealth gain ignores the offsetting option liability. A strong rebound can also be capped at a strike the owner regrets.

**Why:** Explain this risk before treating the example as a decision rule. A correct calculation does not guarantee a favorable market outcome. **Critical risk check.**

## Takeaway

Return to the question: Is the proposed call strike a price at which you accept selling the shares? State the observed facts, the assumptions and the failure condition separately.

## References and provenance

The cited references support definitions and conventions. The teaching prose, tickets and numerical scenarios are original; they are not attributed as historical market observations.

- [OCC Options Disclosure Document](https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document)

- [OIC Strategy Reference](https://www.optionseducation.org/strategies/all-strategies-en)