Best Covered Call Stocks Right Now (September 2026)
Ranked by the real premium you can collect today selling ~1-month calls about 5% out of the money — pulled from live option chains on quality-screened, liquid stocks. Not a generic "stable dividend stocks" list.
Most "best covered call stocks" lists recycle the same blue-chip names without ever checking what the options actually pay. This list is different: every ranking below comes from a live option-chain scan. We look up the real bid on a call roughly 5% above the current price, about one month out, and rank stocks by the annualized yield that premium delivers. Today's top name, AAOI, pays 9.95% for a single 41-day cycle — 88.6% annualized.
Top Covered Call Candidates — September 2026
| Ticker | Company | Price | Strike | Premium / Contract | Yield This Cycle | Annualized | If Called | IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAOI | Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. | $105.53 | $110 (+4.2%) | $1,050 | 9.95% | 88.6% | 14.19% | 86% |
| ALAB | Astera Labs, Inc. Common Stock | $310.40 | $330 (+6.3%) | $2,937 | 9.46% | 84.2% | 15.78% | 79% |
| IREN | IREN Limited Ordinary Shares | $44.68 | $47 (+5.2%) | $384 | 8.59% | 76.5% | 13.79% | 83% |
| TSEM | Tower Semiconductor Ltd | $222.34 | $230 (+3.4%) | $1,847 | 8.31% | 74.0% | 11.75% | 71% |
| TTMI | TTM Technologies Inc | $125.60 | $130 (+3.5%) | $1,011 | 8.05% | 71.7% | 11.55% | 74% |
| ASTS | AST SpaceMobile, Inc. Class A Common Stock | $62.31 | $65 (+4.3%) | $500 | 8.02% | 71.4% | 12.34% | 74% |
| HUT | Hut 8 Corp. Common Stock | $93.55 | $100 (+6.9%) | $725 | 7.75% | 69.0% | 14.65% | 90% |
| NBIS | Nebius Group N.V. Class A Ordinary Shares | $226.39 | $240 (+6.0%) | $1,683 | 7.43% | 66.2% | 13.45% | 83% |
| WDC | Western Digital Corp. | $467.46 | $490 (+4.8%) | $3,350 | 7.17% | 63.8% | 11.99% | 66% |
| TER | Teradyne, Inc. Common Stock | $357.03 | $370 (+3.6%) | $2,550 | 7.14% | 63.6% | 10.78% | 66% |
| ARM | Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares | $252.09 | $260 (+3.1%) | $1,780 | 7.06% | 62.9% | 10.2% | 62% |
| CRWV | CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock | $89.36 | $95 (+6.3%) | $630 | 7.05% | 62.8% | 13.36% | 74% |
| STX | Seagate Technology Holdings PLC Ordinary Shares (Ireland) | $849.28 | $900 (+6.0%) | $5,885 | 6.93% | 61.7% | 12.9% | 69% |
| DOCN | DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. | $112.47 | $120 (+6.7%) | $770 | 6.85% | 60.9% | 13.54% | 71% |
| COHR | Coherent Corp. | $281.86 | $300 (+6.4%) | $1,913 | 6.79% | 60.4% | 13.22% | 70% |
| QXO | QXO, Inc. | $13.35 | $14 (+4.9%) | $90 | 6.74% | 60.0% | 11.61% | 57% |
| INTC | Intel Corp | $95.80 | $100 (+4.4%) | $640 | 6.68% | 59.5% | 11.06% | 62% |
| RDDT | Reddit, Inc. | $154.46 | $160 (+3.6%) | $1,030 | 6.67% | 59.4% | 10.26% | 57% |
| GLW | Corning Incorporated | $154.30 | $160 (+3.7%) | $1,016 | 6.58% | 58.6% | 10.28% | 60% |
| HL | Hecla Mining Company | $20.68 | $22 (+6.4%) | $136 | 6.58% | 58.5% | 12.96% | 65% |
|
MU
⚠ Earnings Sep 30 |
Micron Technology, Inc. | $1016.59 | $1070 (+5.3%) | $6,600 | 6.49% | 57.8% | 11.75% | 67% |
|
CHWY
⚠ Earnings Sep 09 |
Chewy, Inc. | $23.66 | $25 (+5.7%) | $152 | 6.42% | 57.2% | 12.09% | 56% |
| KTOS | Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. | $47.82 | $50 (+4.6%) | $295 | 6.17% | 54.9% | 10.73% | 58% |
| AMKR | Amkor Technology Inc | $47.77 | $50 (+4.7%) | $290 | 6.07% | 54.0% | 10.74% | 61% |
| CLS | Celestica, Inc. | $312.35 | $330 (+5.7%) | $1,891 | 6.05% | 53.9% | 11.7% | 59% |
Premium = real bid quote (what you can actually sell for), per 100-share contract. "If Called" = total return if shares are assigned at the strike (capital gain to strike + premium). Amber badge = earnings report lands before the Oct 16, 2026 expiry — see the warning below. Data as of Sep 05, 2026.
How This List Is Built
Every day after the close, our scanner walks the option chains of large, liquid US stocks and keeps only names that pass all of these filters:
- $10B+ market cap — large enough that a single headline rarely craters the stock.
- Tradestie quality score ≥ 50 — our composite fundamental/technical screen, so you're not selling calls on broken businesses.
- Monthly expiry, 21-50 days out — the sweet spot of time decay without weekly churn.
- Strike 3-10% out of the money, nearest to 5% OTM — room for upside while still collecting meaningful premium.
- Open interest ≥ 100 on the selected strike — you need liquidity to get filled and to exit.
- Real bid quotes — the premium shown is the bid, the price you can actually sell at right now. No mid-price fantasy yields.
Survivors are ranked by annualized premium yield. The list refreshes every trading day, so the ranks shift as implied volatility moves.
What Is a Covered Call?
A covered call means you own at least 100 shares of a stock and sell one call option against them. You collect the option premium immediately, in cash. In exchange, you agree to sell your shares at the strike price if the stock is above it at expiration.
Three things can happen. If the stock stays below the strike, the option expires worthless and you keep the premium and the shares — you can sell another call next month. If the stock rises above the strike, your shares are "called away" at the strike: you keep the premium plus the gain up to the strike (the "If Called" column above), but forfeit anything beyond it. If the stock falls, you still own the shares and take the loss, cushioned only by the premium collected.
That makes covered calls an income strategy for stocks you're happy to hold anyway — not a hedge, and not a way to fix a bad stock pick.
How to Read Annualized Yield
The annualized column simply scales one cycle's premium to a full year (yield per cycle × 365 / days to expiry). It assumes you could repeat this trade at the same premium every month — which you usually can't, because implied volatility changes. Treat it as a comparison tool between names, not a promised return.
A useful habit: compare the annualized yield to the stock's IV. Roughly similar-yield names with lower IV are getting you paid more per unit of risk.
Covered Calls vs. Cash-Secured Puts
Covered calls and cash-secured puts are mirror images with nearly identical risk profiles. A covered call earns premium on shares you already own; a cash-secured put earns premium on cash while you wait to buy shares at a lower price. Use covered calls when you hold the stock and want income; use cash-secured puts when you want to enter a position below the current price and get paid to wait.
If you'd rather be on the entry side, our CSP Radar runs the same kind of live-chain scan for put-selling setups, with a market-regime gate that stands down when conditions don't favor short puts.
When NOT to Sell Covered Calls
- Right before earnings. Earnings gaps regularly exceed 10% — far beyond a 5% OTM strike. The inflated pre-earnings premium is compensation for that gap risk, not a bonus. Every row above with an amber ⚠ Earnings badge reports before the Oct 16, 2026 expiry; either skip those names, use a further-OTM strike, or accept that assignment is likely on a beat.
- On stocks you'd hate to lose. If having your shares called away 5% higher would genuinely upset you — a long-term compounder, a low-cost-basis position with tax consequences — don't sell calls on it. Assignment is a feature of the strategy, not a malfunction.
- To "rescue" a falling stock. One month of premium won't offset a downtrend, and the call caps your recovery if the stock snaps back.
- When the premium doesn't pay for the risk. If the bid is thin and the yield is under ~0.5% for the cycle, the bid-ask friction and assignment risk likely outweigh the income.
Covered Call FAQ
What is a good premium for a covered call?
For 1-month calls sold ~5% out of the money, 1-3% of the stock price per cycle (12-30% annualized) is typical on quality large caps. Much more than that means implied volatility is elevated — the market expects a big move, and the extra premium is paying you to absorb that risk.
Can you lose money selling covered calls?
Yes. The premium cushions but does not prevent losses if the stock falls — drop more than the premium collected and you're down money. You also cap your upside: a big rally past the strike means your shares get called away and you miss the rest of the move.
Are weekly or monthly covered calls better?
Monthlies (21-50 DTE) are the better default: they capture the steepest time decay, need 12 trades a year instead of 52, and lose less to bid-ask spreads. Weeklies only make sense if you actively manage positions daily.
What delta or OTM% should I pick?
A strike 3-10% out of the money (roughly 0.20-0.40 delta on a 1-month option) balances income against upside. Further OTM keeps more of the stock's gains but pays little; closer to the money pays more but gets assigned often. This list standardizes on ~5% OTM.
Should I sell covered calls through earnings?
Usually not — earnings gaps routinely blow through a 5% OTM strike. That's exactly why we flag every name reporting before expiry with the amber earnings badge.