October 21, 2026

Today I made two covered-call transactions, generating a combined $550 in option credits before transaction fees.

Both trades fit my income-oriented strategy, although the reasoning behind each was somewhat different.

One involved taking advantage of a favorable earnings development to improve my potential selling price. The other involved collecting additional premium on a stock that has declined substantially.

Here's what I did and why.

Bought to close: 1 October 21 $152.50 call
Sold to open: 1 October 30 $155 call
Net roll credit: $1.30 per share
Gross credit: $130

SPCX reported favorable earnings yesterday, creating an opportunity for me to adjust my existing covered call.

My previous call had a $152.50 strike and was scheduled to expire today.

I rolled the position to October 30 and raised the strike to $155, collecting an additional $1.30 per share in net option premium.

That accomplishes two things:

I'm comfortable having the shares called away at $155. But if I can improve my potential selling price while collecting additional premium, that's an opportunity worth evaluating.

In this case, the economics made sense to me.

Sold to open: 1 October 30 $1,020 call
Premium received: $4.20 per share
Gross credit: $420

MU has declined substantially since I purchased my current 100-share position.

My original stock purchase price was $1,061.73 per share.

I've been reluctant to sell another covered call at a substantially lower strike because I don't want to give up the shares at an unattractive price simply to collect premium.

However, today's opportunity was different.

I sold the October 30 $1,020 covered call for $4.20 per share, generating $420 in additional gross premium.

At the time of the trade, MU was trading more than $100 below my new call strike.

That gives the stock considerable room to recover before the call becomes in the money.

Before today's trade, I had already collected $3,166.59 in net option proceeds on this MU position.

Including today's $420 gross premium, my cumulative option proceeds are approximately $3,586.59 before today's transaction fees.

That reduces my premium-adjusted economic cost to approximately $1,025.86 per share.

If MU rises above $1,020 and my shares are called away at that strike, the overall position would produce an estimated loss of approximately $586, before today's fees and any additional costs.

I'm comfortable accepting that potential outcome in exchange for the premium opportunity available today.

That doesn't mean I'm expecting the stock to reach $1,020 by expiration.

My objective is to generate additional income while leaving room for a possible recovery.

I'll monitor the position carefully over the coming days.

If MU rebounds significantly, I'll evaluate whether rolling the call upward or extending the expiration makes economic sense.

Of course, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to make that adjustment for a favorable credit or a small debit. A sharp recovery could make the call considerably more expensive to repurchase.

And if MU continues declining, the stock loss could exceed the premiums collected.

Those are risks I'm willing to evaluate as the position develops.

Figures are based on my actual reported fills and are before separately charged transaction fees. Final net proceeds will be included in the weekly Journal.

I've mentioned recently that the market hasn't presented many opportunities I consider attractive.

That remains true.

I'm not interested in making trades simply because I haven't been particularly active.

But patience doesn't mean refusing to act.

Today, I found two opportunities that fit my objectives.

With SPCX, I was able to raise my strike and collect additional premium.

With MU, I accepted a calculated trade-off to generate income while leaving substantial room between the current stock price and my call strike.

Two different situations. Two different decisions.

The common element is that I evaluated the potential outcomes before making the trades.

I have a strategy, but I don't have a quota.

If an opportunity makes sense, I'll act.

If it doesn't, I'll wait.

These are my actual transactions and reported execution prices.

Option premiums, bid/ask spreads, and underlying stock prices can change rapidly. The economics available when I placed these trades may no longer be available.

I don't chase trades when prices move materially away from the levels I originally considered attractive.

Disclaimer: Options Income Journal documents my personal trading activity, including actual transactions, fills, position management, and results. This publication is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment advice, personalized recommendations, or a trading signal. Options involve risk, including assignment and substantial losses. Premium collected is not equivalent to total investment profit, and past results do not guarantee future performance.