Options glossary

Plain-English definitions for the terms used throughout the Covered Call Scanner.

Covered call: Selling a call option against shares you already own (or buy at the same time). You collect premium now in exchange for capping your upside above the strike.
Strike price: The price at which the call buyer can buy your shares from you if they exercise the option.
Premium: What the option buyer pays you for the call. This site always prices it at the bid — what you could actually collect selling to open right now.
Delta: Roughly, how much an option's price moves per $1 move in the stock — also used as a loose proxy for the odds it finishes in the money. A 0.25 delta call is often read as 'about a 25% chance of finishing in the money,' though that's an approximation, not a guarantee.
DTE (days to expiration): How many calendar days remain until the option expires.
Open interest: The number of outstanding contracts for that specific strike and expiry. Higher open interest generally means it's easier to get filled at a fair price.
Bid-ask spread: The gap between what buyers are offering (bid) and what sellers are asking (ask). A wide spread relative to the price means you're giving up real money just to trade it.
Breakeven: The stock price at expiration below which the covered call position shows a loss — your entry price minus the premium you collected.
Return if unchanged: The return you'd earn if the stock finishes exactly where it is today. For an in-the-money strike, this counts only the time-value portion of the premium — see the FAQ for why.
Return if called away: The return you'd earn if the stock finishes at or above the strike and your shares get sold (assigned) at expiration.
In the money (ITM) / out of the money (OTM): A call is in the money when the strike is below the current stock price, and out of the money when the strike is above it.
Assignment: When the call buyer exercises their option and you're required to sell your 100 shares at the strike price.
Buy-write: Buying the stock and selling the call at the same time, as a single trade — the standard way to open a covered call if you don't already hold the shares.