NOW Poor Man's Covered Call: Strike Selection, Premium & Risk
How to sell poor man's covered calls on ServiceNow Inc. — optimal strikes, expected premium, and the risks that actually matter for a large-cap technology name.
Is NOW a good poor man's covered call candidate?
NOW (ServiceNow Inc.) is a large-cap technology name with an elevated share price and excellent options liquidity. Implied volatility is moderate — enough premium to make selling options worthwhile, without the heart-stopping price swings you get on speculative names. It pays no dividend, so every dollar of income must come from the options you sell.
Strike selection for a NOW poor man's covered call
For a NOW PMCC, buy a long-dated call with 0.80+ delta (typically 12-18 months out) as your synthetic long, then sell short-dated calls 5-8% above the stock price at 0.20-0.30 delta. The LEAPS tie up roughly 30-50% of the capital of buying 100 shares, which is especially valuable on an elevated share price ticker like NOW.
Expected premium and income on NOW
Typical monthly premium collected on NOW runs around 1.0-2.0% of capital, which annualizes to roughly 12-24% if you sell new contracts every cycle. Capital required to run a single contract wheel on NOW is $20,000+ — the share price and the 100-share lot size set the minimum, not the strategy.
Reference Trade
Example Covered Call on NOW
- Strike: $1,150 (6% OTM)
- Expiration: 30 days
- Premium: $25.00 per share
- Return if flat: 2.3% ($2,500)
- Return if called: 8.4% ($9,100)
- Probability keep shares: 72% keep shares
Risk management for NOW poor man's covered call trades
PMCC risk is concentrated at the LEAPS expiration: if the stock collapses, the long-dated call can lose significant value quickly. You also have to manage the short call not going deep in the money against you before your LEAPS appreciates equivalently. NOW moves in a moderate-volatility range most of the time, but earnings week and sector rotations can still produce 5%+ single-day prints. Tech names are especially vulnerable to interest-rate shifts and earnings guidance revisions — both tend to produce gap moves that hurt short options.
NOW Poor Man's Covered Call FAQ
Can you run a poor man's covered call on NOW?
Yes. Buy a 0.80+ delta LEAPS on NOW dated 12-18 months out as your synthetic long, then sell short-dated calls 5-8% above the stock at 0.20-0.30 delta. Capital tied up drops from $20,000+ to roughly 30-50% of that — a meaningful improvement when the share price is an elevated share price.
What expiration should I use for NOW poor man's covered call trades?
Use 30-45 DTE as a default for NOW. This is the classic theta sweet spot and works well on a stable ticker like this.
Is NOW suitable for beginners selling options?
Yes — it's a well-known, liquid name with established options markets, which is what beginners need.
Related NOW strategies
Price a NOW poor man's covered call right now
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