Income strategies involve selling options against stock positions. Here’s a video introduction:
A common income strategy is to go long stock and short a call options contract. This position is called a covered call because the investor already owns the shares needed to meet the call obligation.
For example:
Long 100 shares of ABC stock @ $54
Short 1 ABC Jan 55 call @ $4
Income strategies are typically used when you expect a relatively flat market. Suppose you bought ABC at $54 and the stock doesn’t move much. You can sell a call option against the shares to collect premium.
Selling the call creates a clear trade-off:
If ABC’s market price rises above $55, the call goes in the money (it gains intrinsic value) and may be exercised (the call is “called up”). A short call obligates the writer to sell shares at the strike price. If you didn’t own shares, you might have to buy them in the market at a higher price, which is where the “unlimited risk” of a naked short call comes from.
Here, you already own the shares. If assigned, you simply deliver the shares you hold. That’s why the short call risk is considered covered.
If ABC’s market price stays flat or falls, the call typically expires worthless. You keep the premium, but you’re still exposed to losses if the stock declines. The further the stock falls, the larger the loss on the shares.
Let’s look at a few examples:
An investor buys 100 shares of ABC stock at $54 and goes short 1 ABC Jan 55 call at $4. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price rises to $70?
Can you figure it out?
Answer = $500 gain
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Buy shares | -$5,400 |
| Sell call | +$400 |
| Assigned - sell shares | +$5,500 |
| Total | +$500 |
This strategy is designed for a relatively flat market, but here the stock rose sharply to $70. Because the call is in the money, the investor is assigned and must sell the shares at $55.
This is where opportunity cost shows up. If the investor hadn’t sold the call, the shares would be worth $70 and the profit would be $1,600 (from $54 to $70 on 100 shares). By selling the call, the investor capped the stock profit above $55.
This example highlights the main “risk” of the short call in a covered call: it limits upside. Importantly, this is not an additional cash loss beyond what owning the stock already creates - it’s a missed opportunity to earn more.
Because the short call doesn’t add downside risk to the stock position (it only caps upside), covered calls are generally considered relatively conservative. The call premium also reduces net downside by offsetting stock losses dollar-for-dollar up to the amount of the premium.
As discussed above, income strategies work best when prices don’t move much.
An investor buys 100 shares of ABC stock at $54 and goes short 1 ABC Jan 55 call at $4. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price stays flat at $54?
Answer = $400 gain
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Buy shares | -$5,400 |
| Sell call | +$400 |
| Value of shares | +$5,400 |
| Total | +$400 |
The call stays out of the money and expires worthless. The shares don’t gain or lose value, and the investor keeps the $400 premium.
Without the call sale, the investor would have no gain or loss. This is the core idea of an income strategy: the option premium can generate a return even when the stock goes nowhere.
What happens if ABC’s market price falls by a small amount?
An investor buys 100 shares of ABC stock at $54 and goes short 1 ABC Jan 55 call at $4. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price falls to $50?
Answer = $0 (breakeven)
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Buy shares | -$5,400 |
| Sell call | +$400 |
| Value of shares | +$5,000 |
| Total | $0 |
The call stays out of the money and expires worthless. The stock loses $4 per share ($400 total), but the $400 premium offsets that loss.
This shows the “cushion” created by the premium: the stock can fall by up to the premium received before the overall position becomes a net loss.
For our last covered call example, consider a significant market downturn.
An investor buys 100 shares of ABC stock at $54 and goes short 1 ABC Jan 55 call at $4. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price falls to $30?
Answer = $2,000 loss
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Buy shares | -$5,400 |
| Sell call | +$400 |
| Value of shares | +$3,000 |
| Total | -$2,000 |
The call stays out of the money and expires worthless. The shares lose $2,400 in value ($24 × 100), and the investor keeps the $400 premium.
The option isn’t designed as a full hedge, but it does act as a partial hedge. Without the call premium, the loss would be $2,400. The premium reduces the net loss to $2,000.
Watch this video if you need additional support on covered calls:
Another income strategy is to go short stock and short a put options contract. This position is called a covered put because the short stock position can be used to cover the obligation created by the short put.
For example:
Sell short 100 shares of XYZ stock @ $32
Short 1 XYZ Jan 30 put @ $3
As you already know, income strategies are typically used in flat markets. Suppose you sell short 100 XYZ shares at $32 and the stock doesn’t move much. You can sell a put to collect premium.
If XYZ’s market price falls below $30, the put goes in the money (it gains intrinsic value) and may be exercised (the put is “put down”). A short put obligates the writer to buy shares at the strike price.
Short puts can be very risky on their own. If the stock fell to $0, a short 30 put would still require buying shares at $30, creating a $30 per share loss on worthless stock.
With a covered put, the short stock position changes the situation. Because the investor already sold the stock short at $32, they effectively locked in that sale price. If assigned on the put, they buy shares at $30 to close the short stock position. In that case, the assignment is not a disaster - it’s part of how the position is “covered.”
Let’s go through a few examples to understand this strategy better:
An investor sells short 100 shares of XYZ stock at $32 and goes short 1 XYZ Jan 30 put at $3. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price falls to $10?
Answer = $500 gain
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Sell short shares | +$3,200 |
| Sell put | +$300 |
| Assigned - buy back shares | -$3,000 |
| Total | +$500 |
This strategy expects a relatively flat market, but here the market price fell sharply to $10. The put is in the money, so the investor is assigned and must buy shares at $30, which closes the short stock position.
This is another example of opportunity cost. If the investor hadn’t sold the put, they could have bought back the short shares at $10 for a $2,200 profit ($32 − $10 on 100 shares). By selling the put, they limited their profit below $30.
The key idea is the same as with covered calls: in exchange for premium, the option caps the profit potential beyond the strike.
As discussed previously, income strategies are best for flat markets.
An investor sells short 100 shares of XYZ stock at $32 and goes short 1 XYZ Jan 30 put at $3. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price stays at $32?
Answer = $300 gain
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Sell short shares | +$3,200 |
| Sell put | +$300 |
| Buy back cost | -$3,200 |
| Total | +$300 |
The put stays out of the money and expires worthless. The short shares don’t gain or lose value, and the investor keeps the $300 premium.
Without selling the put, the investor would have no gain or loss. The premium is the source of the return in a flat market.
What happens if the market rises by a small amount?
An investor sells short 100 shares of XYZ stock at $32 and goes short 1 XYZ Jan 30 put at $3. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price rises to $35?
Answer = $0 (breakeven)
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Sell short shares | +$3,200 |
| Sell put | +$300 |
| Buy back cost | -$3,500 |
| Total | $0 |
The put stays out of the money and expires worthless. The short shares lose $300, but the $300 premium offsets that loss.
As with covered calls, the premium provides a buffer. The stock position must lose more than the premium received for the overall strategy to produce a net loss.
What happens if the market rises significantly?
An investor sells short 100 shares of XYZ stock at $32 and goes short 1 XYZ Jan 30 put at $3. What is the gain or loss if ABC’s market price rises to $100?
Answer = $6,500 loss
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Sell short shares | +$3,200 |
| Sell put | +$300 |
| Buy back cost | -$10,000 |
| Total | -$6,500 |
The put stays out of the money and expires worthless. The loss comes from the short stock position as the market price rises.
The option premium again acts as a partial hedge. Without the put premium, the loss would be $6,800 (sold short at $32, bought back at $100). The $300 premium reduces the net loss to $6,500.
Be careful with the word covered here. The put obligation is covered by the short stock position, but the short stock itself still has unlimited risk unless there’s a true hedge (e.g., a long call). Therefore, the maximum loss of a covered put is unlimited.
Watch this video if you need additional support on covered puts:
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