TMC Covered Call Strategy
TMC (TMC the metals company Inc.), in the Basic Materials sector, (Industrial Materials industry), listed on NASDAQ.
TMC the metals company Inc., a deep-sea minerals exploration company, focuses on the collection, processing, and refining of polymetallic nodules found on the seafloor in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the south-west of San Diego, California. The company primarily explores for nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese products. TMC the metals company Inc., through its subsidiaries, holds exploration rights in three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the CCZ of the Pacific Ocean. Its products are used in electric vehicles (EV), renewable energy storage markets, EV wiring, clean energy transmission, manganese alloy production required for steel production, and other applications. The company was formerly known as Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation and changed its name to TMC the metals company Inc. TMC the metals company Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.
TMC (TMC the metals company Inc.) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Industrial Materials, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.44B, a beta of 1.97 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 3-11.35, average daily share volume of 5.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 2021, approximately 47 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how TMC stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.97 indicates TMC has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a covered call on TMC?
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 TMC snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $5.45, ATM IV 86.32%, IV rank 0.00%, expected move 24.75%. The covered call on TMC 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 TMC specifically: TMC IV at 86.32% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling TMC covered call collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 24.75% (roughly $1.35 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 TMC expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on TMC should anchor to the underlying notional of $5.45 per share and to the trader's directional view on TMC stock.
TMC covered call setup
The TMC 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 TMC near $5.45, the first option leg uses a $5.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed TMC 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 TMC shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 100 shares | Stock | $5.45 | long |
| Sell 1 | Call | $5.50 | $0.51 |
TMC covered call risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$494.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $55.50
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$493.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $4.95
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 0.112
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.
TMC covered call payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on TMC. 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 | -99.8% | -$493.50 |
| $1.21 | -77.7% | -$373.11 |
| $2.42 | -55.6% | -$252.72 |
| $3.62 | -33.5% | -$132.32 |
| $4.83 | -11.5% | -$11.93 |
| $6.03 | +10.6% | +$55.50 |
| $7.23 | +32.7% | +$55.50 |
| $8.44 | +54.8% | +$55.50 |
| $9.64 | +76.9% | +$55.50 |
| $10.85 | +99.0% | +$55.50 |
When traders use covered call on TMC
Covered calls on TMC are an income strategy run on existing TMC stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
TMC thesis for this covered call
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for TMC extends from approximately $4.10 on the downside to $6.80 on the upside. A TMC covered call collects premium on an existing long TMC position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether TMC will breach that level within the expiration window. Current TMC IV rank near 0.00% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on TMC at 86.32%. As a Basic Materials name, TMC options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to TMC-specific events.
TMC 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. TMC positions also carry Basic Materials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move TMC alongside the broader basket even when TMC-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a covered call on TMC carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical TMC earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current TMC chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a covered call on TMC?
- A covered call on TMC is the covered call strategy applied to TMC (stock). 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 TMC stock trading near $5.45, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed TMC chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are TMC 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 TMC covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 86.32%), the computed maximum profit is $55.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$493.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a TMC covered call?
- The breakeven for the TMC covered call priced on this page is roughly $4.95 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 TMC market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 24.75%; 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 TMC?
- Covered calls on TMC are an income strategy run on existing TMC stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
- How does current TMC implied volatility affect this covered call?
- TMC ATM IV is at 86.32% with IV rank near 0.00%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.