u/stanalyst

I've been focused really heavily on CSPs and haven't really had a chance to do any CC's these past weeks. Sometimes covered calls can bite you in the butt, especially when we're going into bubble territory and everything is ripping to ATHs. In my opinion, I feel like I'm just going to ride this wave, because I don't want to sell early on the upside. How are you guys feeling?

I collected a little over $12k in premiums over the last few month, with most of the trades expiring worthless, which is obviously the ideal outcome. This month is slower with less capital deployment as well. The main names I was selling puts on were: GOOGL, META, AMZN, ASTS, and NFLX.

Here’s why I made the trades:

GOOGL

• Bull case: Google Cloud momentum is real, AI demand is helping, YouTube is still a beast, and Anthropic reportedly committing major spend to Google Cloud/TPUs is a big validation point.
• Bear case: It's not cheap anymore. But I still think its a LT hold.
• Why I sold puts: I’m comfortable owning GOOGL long term, but I’d rather get paid to wait for a better entry than chase after a move. I thought it was going to rip and it did. I sold ITM puts, and it did amazing. Made a lot from that

META

• Bull case: Q1 revenue growth was strong, the ad machine is still printing, and AI could make their ad products even more effective over time.
• Bear case: The capex number is massive. META raised 2026 capex guidance to $125B-$145B, so investors are clearly worried about how long the AI spending cycle lasts.
• Why I sold puts: High-quality business, strong premiums, and I’m fine with owning more META. This trade I did actually was a big losing one because it dropped so much after earnings. Staying strong for the long run though.

AMZN

• Bull case: AWS beat expectations, growing 28% in Q1, and the AI infrastructure story is such a beast
• Bear case: The spending is huge. Amazon is pouring money into AI/data centers, and the market is watching whether those investments actually convert into returns.
• Why I sold puts: I like AMZN long term, but the stock can be choppy around earnings and AI capex commentary. Selling puts lets me collect premium while giving myself a better entry.

ASTS

• Bull case: This is the speculative one. If they can execute direct-to-device satellite connectivity at scale, the upside is massive.
• Bear case: The earnings that just happened was a smoke screen imo, it's not looking as good.
• Why I sold puts: The premiums were too elevated to ignore, but I’m sizing it differently than the mega-cap names. This is a high-IV wheel trade

NFLX

• Bull case: Netflix keeps proving people wrong. Q1 revenue grew 16%, ad revenue is expected to roughly double this year, and live events/ad tier growth give the company more levers than just subscriber growth.
• Bear case: The valuation is not cheap, and after the earnings move, the market clearly wanted stronger forward guidance.
• Why I sold puts: I’m fine owning NFLX on weakness, but I don’t want to chase it. OTM puts made sense because I either keep the premium or get assigned at a better price.

Overall, the goal has been pretty simple:

• Sell puts on names I’d actually be willing to own or actively manage.
• Let theta do its thing.
• Avoid chasing premium just because IV is high.
• Keep the speculative names sized way smaller than the quality names.

Most of these expiring worthless is exactly what I want. Assignment is fine when the price makes sense, but the real goal is consistent premium without forcing bad trades.

What are you guys wheeling right now? Large-cap quality, high-IV names, ETFs, or mostly staying in cash?

Here's some of the reasons why I've made a bunch of CSPs in the month of April. It's been overall really good, mostly all expiring!

ASTS

• This is the speculative position (that everyone on reddit seems to be loving lol) and only treated as a wheel stock in the portfolio. The thesis is this: if they pull off direct-to-device satellite connectivity at scale, the addressable market is seems to be enormous
• The partnerships with AT&T and Verizon are validating signals. Plus, the FCC granted its application to modify its authorization to launch and operate its SpaceMobile satellite system in low Earth orbit
• Volatility is high which means premiums are elevated. That big drop from AMZN's partnership this past week is exactly why I executed the trade rather than just hold outright. Looks like it's going to expire no problem with the positive news

META

• The core ads business is as strong as it's ever been
• Three billion daily active users across the family of apps is a number that doesn't have a real competitor
• The free cash flow from the core business makes the valuation look reasonable. The glasses, AI assistants, and WhatsApp monetization are all optionality on top of an already great business
• Huge premiums (especially if you can roll), strong fundamentals, and always will be glad holding ore of it at whatever price. I see it going to $1000

TQQQ

• This is a leveraged ETF, not a business, and the approach has to reflect that. You're not investing in QQQ... you're using it as a premium generation vehicle
• The decay mechanics mean you never want to hold this long-term without actively managing it. But selling cash-secured puts at conservative strikes in a range or trending-up market can generate serious income. My first time doing it, as I was recommended it by the platform
• Strike selection is everything here. You want enough OTM buffer to absorb a bad week in the Nasdaq without getting assigned on a decaying instrument

NFLX

• The bear case on Netflix has been wrong every single time. They've navigated password sharing, added an ad tier, and are now one of the most profitable streaming businesses in existence
• Live events seem to allow users to stay instead of binge & cancel
• The content flywheel is literally insane, a driven content decisions at scale is a structural advantage traditional studios genuinely cannot replicate. I don't mind it exercising.
• The short-term drop of Reed Hastings leaving just seems like noise to me, that's why I went with some OTM trades, i'll be holding LT regardless.

MSFT

• Azure, Office, LinkedIn, and GitHub... all are beasts. I like high quality businesses is all
• Not believing in the SaaS-pocalypse, they're still going to be dominant in the future
• Lower premiums relative to the others but the risk profile is as clean as it gets. You're collecting premium on a business that will almost certainly be worth more in five years

I wanna hear what y'all are wheeling and doing in today's markets!