Thesis answer
AAPL Covered Call Setup
AAPL closed at $310.22, down -$4.97 (-1.58%) on the session. After-hours bid/ask shows $298.07 / $0.00 — that's a stale illiquid quote, not a real mark. ORATS spot is $310.25 and I'm using that for the math below.
Direct answer
If you own 100+ shares and want a clean baseline trade, sell the AAPL Jul 17 2026 $320 call at roughly $6.55–$6.90 (mid ~$6.73). That's ~30 delta, 45 DTE, pre-earnings (Apple reports late July/early August — the model shows zero earnings effect priced into Jul 17, then ~2% effect appearing in Aug 21).
• Premium captured: ~$673 per contract
• Break-even: $303.52 (small downside buffer of ~2.2%)
• Upside cap if called: $326.73 effective sale price = +5.31% from $310.25 in 45 days
• Static yield: 2.17% in 45 days = ~17.6% annualized
• Assignment probability: ~33% (1 - delta proxy)
If you're more willing to give up shares for a fatter premium, the Jul 17 $315 (~47 delta, mid $8.73) yields 2.81% static / ~22.8% annualized but more than doubles assignment odds. If you want more room to run, the Jul 17 $325 (~33 delta, mid $5.15) keeps 4.75% of upside before the cap.
Evidence that matters
Expiry
DTE
Strike
Delta
Premium (mid)
Static yield
If-called return
Annualized
Bid/ask spread
OI
Jun 18
16
$315
0.42
$4.68
1.51%
+3.04%
~34%
5.3%
17.1k
Jun 18
16
$320
0.31
$3.06
0.99%
+4.13%
~22%
5.9%
46.3k
Jun 18
16
$325
0.22
$1.97
0.63%
+5.08%
~14%
7.1%
14.2k
Jul 2
30
$315
0.45
$6.75
2.18%
+3.71%
~26%
5.9%
556
Jul 2
30
$320
0.36
$4.93
1.59%
+4.73%
~19%
7.1%
1.1k
Jul 2
30
$325
0.28
$3.48
1.12%
+5.86%
~14%
7.2%
669
Jul 17
45
$320
0.39
$6.73
2.17%
+5.31%
~17.6%
5.2%
34.0k
Jul 17
45
$325
0.33
$5.15
1.66%
+6.19%
~13%
5.8%
25.6k
Jul 17
45
$330
0.26
$3.90
1.26%
+7.11%
~10%
5.1%
22.8k
Vol context: 30d IV ~24.2%, 60d ~24.5%, contango -0.86 (term structure roughly flat with a slight front-end kicker). 30d implied move ~5.6%. The front-end weeklies are richer in IV (~28% on Jun 12), so shortest-dated calls are juiced more on an annualized basis — that's the theta curve doing its job.
Why I'm anchoring on Jul 17: It's a high-OI monthly (46k+ OI on the $310 call, 34k on $320 — tight 5% spreads), it sits cleanly before earnings, and it captures the strongest term-structure efficiency without crossing the event. Any expiry from Aug 21 onward includes ~2% of earnings vol that you should not sell cheaply.
Risks and counterpoints
⚠ Capped upside on the name people own for upside. If AAPL squeezes to $335 on a WWDC catalyst (Jun 9–13 falls inside Jul 17 window), the $320 cap means you give up ~$15/share = $1,500 per contract minus the $673 you collected. That's the trade.
⚠ Downside buffer is thin. A $6.73 premium covers a 2.2% drop. The stock fell 1.6% today alone. If AAPL goes to $290 (-6.5%), you lose ~$2,000/contract net of premium. Covered calls don't protect you from drawdowns — they slightly cushion them.
⚠ After-hours quote pollution. The $298 broker bid I'm seeing is a stale post-close quote, not a tradeable level. Don't read it as a sign of a gap down — wait for the open to confirm. Place options orders during regular session liquidity.
⚠ Tax friction. Assignment realizes the gain on shares. If your cost basis is well below $320 and you're in a taxable account, getting called away creates a tax event. Long-dated low-basis shareholders should either go further OTM (Jul 17 $330) or skip the trade and use cash-secured puts for income instead.
When NOT to use this trade
• You think AAPL is breaking out and you'd be furious to lose shares above $320.
• You have a concentrated AAPL position you can't afford to have called away (estate, basis, single-stock risk).
• You don't have 100 shares of underlying — naked calls on AAPL are a different conversation.
• You're holding through a known catalyst inside the window where you have a directional view (WWDC keynote Jun 9 is in scope for any expiry past Jun 9).
What would change the view
• AAPL pops to $315+ pre-trade: roll the strike up to $325 or $330 to keep the same delta target.
• IV expands materially (30d IV from 24% to 30%+): shorter-dated calls become disproportionately attractive — switch to the Jul 2 $320 for better $/day theta.
• AAPL breaks $300 support: pause. Selling calls into a downtrend caps your bounce without solving your drawdown problem; consider a collar or wait.
• Earnings date confirmed inside the window: avoid Aug expiries unless you specifically want to short event vol with a defined-risk structure.
Practical execution:work the order at the mid, not the ask. The Jul 17 $320 bid/ask is $6.55 / $6.90 — start at $6.75 and walk down if needed.