The 6 Impossible Covered Calls (Except for Mr. Beast)

I get asked about covered calls all the time. "Hey, aren't covered calls the easiest options strategy?" And yeah, on paper they are. Buy 100 shares of a stock, sell a call against them, collect premium. Rinse and repeat. It's the gateway drug of options trading.

But here's what nobody tells beginners: not every stock is built for covered calls. Some stocks are so expensive, so illiquid, or so impractical that running a covered call on them is essentially impossible — unless you're sitting on generational wealth. Or unless you're Mr. Beast.

I made a video breaking this down, and the response was wild. Turns out a lot of people had no idea just how absurd some of these numbers get. So let me walk you through the six stocks that make covered calls virtually impossible, why they're so problematic, and — more importantly — what you should be trading instead.

TL;DR: Covered calls require 100 shares. When a single share costs $4,000–$749,000, the capital requirements become absurd. I'll show you 6 "impossible" stocks, then give you 6 beginner-friendly alternatives under $25 that actually work.

The 6 Impossible Covered Calls

Remember: a covered call requires you to own 100 shares of the underlying stock. That's the whole game. And for these six stocks, that requirement turns a simple income strategy into a billionaire's hobby.

1. Berkshire Hathaway Class A (BRK.A) — $749,250/share

Let's start with the king of impossible. To sell one covered call on BRK.A, you'd need 100 shares at roughly $749,250 each. That's approximately $74.9 million in capital — just to collect a single premium. Warren Buffett himself might hesitate. Unless you're Mr. Beast doing a "I bought $75 million in stock" video, this one's off the table.

2. NVR Inc. (NVR) — $7,283/share

NVR is the parent company of Ryan Homes and NVHomes. At $7,283 per share, 100 shares costs you about $728,300. But price isn't even the biggest issue — it's liquidity. NVR options have wide bid-ask spreads, sometimes $5-$15 wide, meaning you're giving up a chunk of your premium just getting into the trade. The options chain is a ghost town. Mr. Beast could afford it, but even he'd lose money on the spread.

3. Seaboard Corporation (SEB) — $4,971/share

Seaboard is a diversified conglomerate most people have never heard of. At $4,971/share, 100 shares runs about $497,100. But here's the real kicker: SEB trades roughly 17,000 shares per day. That's nothing. The bid-ask spread on 100 shares can run over $12,000. You're locking up half a million dollars in a stock that barely moves, with options so illiquid they might as well not exist.

4. Booking Holdings (BKNG) — $4,227/share

Booking.com's parent company trades at $4,227 per share. That's $422,700 for your 100-share lot. For context, you could spend that money on years of luxury travel through Booking.com itself. The options are more liquid than SEB or NVR, but the sheer capital requirement makes this a strategy only for serious portfolios. Mr. Beast would probably just sponsor a trip to every country instead.

5. AutoZone (AZO) — $3,600/share

AutoZone at $3,600 per share means $360,000 locked up in 100 shares. That's a house in most parts of the country. You could buy a fleet of cars instead. AutoZone has decent options liquidity compared to others on this list, but tying up six figures for a few hundred dollars in weekly premium just doesn't make sense for 99.9% of traders.

6. The Mr. Beast Exception

Here's the thing — if you're Mr. Beast, Elon Musk, or running a nine-figure portfolio, these covered calls actually make sense. The premium on a BRK.A covered call can be substantial in dollar terms, even if the percentage return is modest. But for the other 99.99% of us? We need to trade smarter, not richer. And that means finding stocks where covered calls are actually practical.

Impossible vs. Accessible: A Side-by-Side

Tips for Better Covered Call Trading

After years of trading covered calls, here's what I've learned separates profitable traders from everyone else:

1. Liquidity Is Everything

I can't stress this enough. If a stock has wide bid-ask spreads on its options, you're paying a "spread tax" every time you enter and exit. Look for options with spreads of $0.05 or less on at-the-money strikes. Stocks like AAPL, SPY, QQQ, and AMD have razor-thin spreads. That's where you want to be. Illiquid options on obscure stocks will eat your premiums alive.

2. Volume and Open Interest Matter

Before selling a call, check the open interest on the strike you're targeting. I look for at least 500 open interest and daily volume of 100+ contracts. This ensures there are enough participants in the market that you'll get fair fills. Low open interest means market makers set wider spreads and you get worse pricing. It's the difference between making $50 and making $30 on the same trade.

3. Sell Into Strength

Timing matters in covered calls. The best time to sell a call is when the underlying stock has had a strong run-up and implied volatility is elevated. Higher IV means fatter premiums. I use RSI and moving average crossovers to identify overbought conditions — that's when I'm writing calls. Selling calls when a stock is at its lows gives you the worst premiums and the highest risk of missing the upside.

4. Watch Market Depth

The Level 2 order book tells you a lot. Before placing your order, check the bid and ask sizes. If there are only 5 contracts on the bid and you're trying to sell 10, you'll move the market against yourself. I always use limit orders, never market orders, and I aim to split the bid-ask when possible. This small habit saves me hundreds of dollars per month.

Easy Stocks for Beginner Covered Calls

Now that we've covered the impossible, let's talk about what actually works. These stocks are affordable, liquid, and perfect for learning covered calls without risking your entire portfolio:

Snap Inc. (SNAP) — ~$5/share

At around $5 per share, 100 shares of SNAP costs roughly $500. That's the cost of a nice dinner for two. SNAP has excellent options liquidity, tight spreads, and enough volatility to generate meaningful premiums relative to the investment. It's the perfect "training wheels" stock for covered calls. You learn the mechanics without the anxiety of a five-figure position.

SoFi Technologies (SOFI) — ~$14/share

SOFI is a crowd favorite, and for good reason. At ~$14/share, 100 shares costs about $1,400. The stock swings enough to generate solid weekly premiums, and the options chain is deep with excellent liquidity. I've seen members consistently pull 1-2% weekly returns on SOFI covered calls by selling slightly out-of-the-money calls during volatility spikes.

Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) — ~$15/share

HIMS has become a favorite in our community for post-earnings volatility plays. The stock tends to make big moves around earnings, which inflates option premiums. At ~$15/share, the entry cost is manageable at $1,500 for 100 shares. It works great for covered calls and as a candidate for cash-secured puts too.

Oscar Health (OSCR) — ~$18/share

Oscar Health sees frequent price fluctuations that create covered call opportunities. At $18/share ($1,800 for 100 shares), it's accessible and volatile enough to generate respectable premiums. The key with OSCR is catching the right entries — I like buying shares near support and immediately writing a call against them.

Rocket Companies (RKT) — ~$13/share

RKT tends to trade in ranges, which is ideal for covered calls. When it bounces off its 200-day moving average, that's your entry signal. At ~$13/share, 100 shares costs $1,300. I like selling 2-week out calls on RKT — short enough to capture time decay quickly, long enough to avoid getting whipsawed by daily noise.

UiPath (PATH) — ~$10/share

PATH offers a solid foundation around its fair value near $10, making 100 shares a $1,000 investment. Despite its volatility, the stock has a well-defined trading range that makes covered calls predictable. For longer-term plays, PATH LEAPS covered calls can generate income over months while you wait for the AI automation thesis to play out.

Final Thoughts

Covered calls are genuinely one of the best strategies for generating consistent income in the market. But the strategy only works if you pick the right stocks. Don't let the simplicity of the concept fool you into thinking any stock will do — the six impossible stocks on this list prove that capital requirements and liquidity can make or break you.

Focus on affordable, liquid stocks with active options chains. Learn the mechanics on a $500 SNAP position before you ever dream about a $75 million BRK.A play. And remember: the goal isn't to trade the most expensive stocks. It's to trade the smartest ones.

If you want to learn more about how we trade covered calls, check out our beginner's guide, or explore our complete guide to the Wheel Strategy which combines covered calls with cash-secured puts for a complete income system.