UPRO Covered Call Strategy
UPRO (ProShares - UltraPro S&P500), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
ProShares UltraPro S&P500 seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to three times (3x) the daily performance of the S&P 500.
UPRO (ProShares - UltraPro S&P500) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.80B, a beta of 3.11 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 74.48-142.7, average daily share volume of 4.2M, a public-listing history dating back to 2009. These structural characteristics shape how UPRO etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 3.11 indicates UPRO has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. UPRO pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a covered call on UPRO?
A covered call pairs long stock with a short out-of-the-money call, collecting premium and capping upside above the short strike in exchange for income.
Current UPRO snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $140.35, ATM IV 45.99%, IV rank 30.97%, expected move 13.18%. The covered call on UPRO below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 28-day expiry.
Why this covered call structure on UPRO specifically: UPRO IV at 45.99% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a UPRO covered call sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.18% (roughly $18.50 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated UPRO expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on UPRO should anchor to the underlying notional of $140.35 per share and to the trader's directional view on UPRO etf.
UPRO covered call setup
The UPRO covered call below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With UPRO near $140.35, the first option leg uses a $147.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed UPRO chain at a 28-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 UPRO shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $140.35 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $147.00 | $4.05 |
UPRO covered call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$13,630.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $1,070.00
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$13,629.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $136.30
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.079
Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium.
UPRO covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on UPRO. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | -$13,629.00 |
| $31.04 | -77.9% | -$10,525.89 |
| $62.07 | -55.8% | -$7,422.79 |
| $93.10 | -33.7% | -$4,319.68 |
| $124.13 | -11.6% | -$1,216.58 |
| $155.17 | +10.6% | +$1,070.00 |
| $186.20 | +32.7% | +$1,070.00 |
| $217.23 | +54.8% | +$1,070.00 |
| $248.26 | +76.9% | +$1,070.00 |
| $279.29 | +99.0% | +$1,070.00 |
When traders use covered call on UPRO
Covered calls on UPRO are an income strategy run on existing UPRO etf positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
UPRO thesis for this covered call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for UPRO extends from approximately $121.85 on the downside to $158.85 on the upside. A UPRO covered call collects premium on an existing long UPRO position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether UPRO will breach that level within the expiration window. Current UPRO IV rank near 30.97% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the covered call thesis on UPRO should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, UPRO options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to UPRO-specific events.
UPRO covered call positions are structurally neutral to slightly bullish; the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. UPRO positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move UPRO alongside the broader basket even when UPRO-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a covered call on UPRO carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical UPRO earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current UPRO chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a covered call on UPRO?
- A covered call on UPRO is the covered call strategy applied to UPRO (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A covered call pairs long stock with a short out-of-the-money call, collecting premium and capping upside above the short strike in exchange for income. With UPRO etf trading near $140.35, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed UPRO chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are UPRO covered call max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium. For the UPRO covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 45.99%), the computed maximum profit is $1,070.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$13,629.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a UPRO covered call?
- The breakeven for the UPRO covered call priced on this page is roughly $136.30 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current UPRO market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.18%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a covered call on UPRO?
- Covered calls on UPRO are an income strategy run on existing UPRO etf positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
- How does current UPRO implied volatility affect this covered call?
- UPRO ATM IV is at 45.99% with IV rank near 30.97%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.