SQQQ wheel: cash-secured put & covered-call yields
ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ · ETFs · $34.83 close on Sep 28, 2026
What the Sep 28, 2026 close says about SQQQ
At 53.5% implied volatility, the options market is pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about $5.51 (15.8%) in SQQQ by Oct 30, 2026, 32 days out.
Selling the $32 put (−0.27Δ) for $1.00 means assignment would leave a cost basis of $31.00, 11.0% below the $34.83 close.
The 81-day 0.30Δ put pays 2.4× the premium of the 32-day one for 2.5× the time — more premium per day on the 32-day contract ($0.031 vs $0.030).
At 0.30Δ on the Oct 30 expiry the put yields 3.13% on its strike and the call 3.19% on spot: puts and calls pay within 10% of each other on SQQQ this session.
Moving down to the $31 put (−0.21Δ) buys 2.9% more room below spot and keeps 72% of the 0.30Δ premium.
Open interest in the stored window totals 21,278 contracts; the largest single line is the $40 call expiring Dec 18 with 2,778 (13.1% of the window).
By options volume SQQQ ranks #125 of 441 names in our universe.
The builder re-quotes every leg from the live chain when it opens; tracking is free to start.
Cash-secured puts on SQQQ
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $32 | −0.27 | $1.00 Sep 28 | $100.00 | $3,200 | 3.13% | 35.6% | $31.00 | 88 | 4 |
| 0.20Δ | $31 | −0.21 | $0.72 Sep 28 | $72.00 | $3,100 | 2.32% | 26.5% | $30.28 | 50 | 30 |
Snapshot #248 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:41 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 32
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $32 | −0.34 | $2.40 Sep 28 | $240.00 | $3,200 | 7.50% | 33.8% | $29.60 | 175 | 6 |
| 0.20Δ | $29 | −0.21 | $1.19 Sep 28 | $119.00 | $2,900 | 4.10% | 18.5% | $27.81 | 129 | 14 |
Snapshot #248 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:41 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 81
Covered calls on SQQQ
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $39.50 | 0.29 | $1.11 Sep 28 | $111.00 | 3.19% | 36.4% | 16.59% | 189.3% | 90 | 47 |
| 0.20Δ | $42 | 0.21 | $0.84 Sep 28 | $84.00 | 2.41% | 27.5% | 23.00% | 262.3% | 94 | 156 |
Snapshot #248 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:41 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 32
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $45 | 0.28 | $1.80 Sep 28 | $180.00 | 5.17% | 23.3% | 34.37% | 154.9% | 1,405 | 94 |
| 0.20Δ | $48 | 0.24 | $1.57 Sep 28 | $157.00 | 4.51% | 20.3% | 42.32% | 190.7% | 73 | 4 |
Snapshot #248 · session 2026-09-28 · captured 22:41 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 81
SQQQ volatility, dividends and liquidity
- Implied volatility (ATM, ≈30 days)
- 53.5%session 2026-09-28
- IV rank / IV percentile
- Unavailable1
- Next earnings
- Unavailable2
- Next ex-dividend
- None announcedchecked Sep 28, 2026
- Open interest, stored window
- 21,278 contractssession 2026-09-28
- Largest open-interest line
- $40 call · Dec 18 · 2,778
- Bid/ask spread
- Unavailable3
- Options liquidity rank
- #125 of 441 optionable names by options volume
How these numbers are made
One end-of-day snapshot per session from a 15-minute-delayed feed. A premium is a contract’s last trade, used only if it printed that session, sits above intrinsic value and is in order with its neighbours; deltas are the feed’s own. Expiries are the first at least 30 and 60 days out, and nothing under 30 days is annualized. Not investment advice. Full methodology.
- We are building our own daily implied-volatility history (1 of 252 sessions so far); IV rank and percentile need a full year of it.
- Our data provider does not license announced earnings dates, and we do not publish estimates.
- Our data feed carries last trades, not live bid/ask quotes, so we cannot show a spread.