XOM Cash-Secured Put: Nov 20 $170 Put

ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM). Option quotes as of Oct 16, 2026, 3:59 PM ET. Stock prices are closing prices.

Set aside $17,000. Sell 1 Nov 20, 2026 $170 put for $2.92, the bid.

Premium at the bid: $292
Delta: 0.28
Return if XOM stays above $170: 1.75%
Breakeven, your cost if assigned: $167.08
Cash set aside: $17,000

Earnings Oct 23 (expected) falls before this expiryFOMC Oct 28, 2:00 PM ET

Nov 20 expiry, 32 days out (monthly). Every listed expiry from 7 days out spans earnings on Oct 23 (expected). This is a screen result that fits CFU's rules. It is not a recommendation to trade.

Open XOM in the interactive scanner Covered Call on XOM

Daily prices for XOM from Apr 20, 2026 to Oct 16, 2026. Over that time it closed between $136.06 and $178.98. The $170 strike is 5.0% below the current price of $178.98. The breakeven is $167.08. By Nov 20, 2026, the options market is pricing a range of about $162.76 to $195.20, with about 2 in 3 odds of finishing inside it. That is an estimate, not a prediction. Marked before expiry: expected earnings on Oct 23, 2026, the Fed decision on Oct 28, 2026, the PCE inflation report on Oct 29, 2026, the GDP report on Oct 29, 2026, the jobs report on Nov 6, 2026, the CPI inflation report on Nov 10, 2026 and the PPI report on Nov 13, 2026.

Profit and loss at expiry

The chart shows the profit or loss at expiry for the $170 put on XOM sold at the $2.92 bid, with $17,000 set aside. The most it can make is $292, at any price at or above $170. It breaks even at $167.08. Below that, it loses $100 for each $1 the stock falls, up to $16,708 if the stock went to zero. The Today line estimates what the position is worth now at each price, from the Black-Scholes model. It is an estimate, not a prediction.

Why this cash-secured put

Why this expiry

CFU's rules chose the Nov 20 expiry, 32 days out.

It is the standard monthly expiry.

No liquid expiry 7 or more days out finishes before XOM's earnings on Oct 23 (expected), so this example spans the report. The pill on the card marks it.

A put with one week left looks like it pays more per day, but it does not keep it.

With the stock unchanged, a put like this with one week left loses about 16 percent of its value a day. It also swings hard with the stock, and you pay the spread again every week.

With the stock unchanged, a put 21 to 45 days out loses about 3 to 6 percent of its value a day, and its strike sits further from the stock.

Those decay figures are model estimates from Black-Scholes at 30% implied volatility, not predictions.

For this put, the options data puts the decay at about $0.08 a share a day, 2.7% of its value, with the stock unchanged. That is a model estimate, not a prediction.

CFU's rules look for expiries 21 to 45 days out and aim for about 35. They take the monthly when it fits.

One- and two-week puts are out unless an earnings report is close.

Why this strike and delta

The $170 put has a delta of 0.28.

CFU's rules sell a put with a delta between 0.20 and 0.30, as close to 0.25 as a liquid strike allows.

Among the strikes in that band, the rules keep the ones that pass the liquidity checks and take the one closest to 0.25.

Below 0.20 the premium gets thin. Above 0.30 the strike sits close to the stock, and you are more likely to buy the shares.

Delta is a market-implied estimate drawn from option prices.

The options market prices roughly a 72% chance XOM finishes above $170 at expiry. That is an estimate, not a prediction.

Earnings

XOM reports earnings on Oct 23 (expected), before this option expires.

The option is open through the report, and the stock can gap sharply in either direction, including through your strike.

The date is an estimate from one source, so it is marked expected.

No liquid expiry 7 or more days out finishes before the report, so this example spans it. You decide whether to take that risk.

Macro events before expiry

Fed rate decision on Oct 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET. The Fed sets short-term interest rates at this meeting, and a decision or statement that surprises traders can move the whole market.

Personal Income and Outlays (PCE price index) on Oct 29, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. The PCE price index is the inflation measure the Fed watches most closely, and a surprise can change the outlook for interest rates and move stock prices.

GDP, advance estimate on Oct 29, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. The GDP report is the first estimate of how fast the economy grew last quarter, and a surprise can move stock prices.

Employment Situation on Nov 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. The jobs report counts hiring and unemployment, and a surprise can change the outlook for the economy and interest rates and move stock prices.

Consumer Price Index on Nov 10, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. CPI measures inflation in consumer prices, and a surprise can change the outlook for interest rates and move stock prices.

Producer Price Index on Nov 13, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. PPI measures inflation in the prices businesses receive, and a surprise can change the outlook for interest rates and move stock prices.

CFU's method does not change the example for these releases. They are listed so you know they fall inside the trade.

Dividends and early assignment

XOM has no declared ex-dividend date before this expiry.

Liquidity

The bid is $2.92 and the ask is $3.20, a spread of 9.2% of the midpoint. On closing prices CFU's rules allow up to 30% of the midpoint, or 10 cents on a low-priced option, because spreads widen at the close.

Open interest, the number of these contracts already open, is 2,882. The rules need at least 100.

The rules also need a bid of at least $0.05.

Your risk

If XOM is below $170 at expiry, you buy 100 shares at $170.

The premium lowers your cost to $167.08 a share. Below that breakeven, the position loses $100 for each $1 the stock falls.

If the stock went to zero, you would lose $16,708.

Your gain is capped at the premium

Your upside is capped at the premium.

If XOM is at or above $170 at expiry, you keep the $292 premium and nothing more.

How the numbers are priced

Every figure on this page uses the $2.92 bid, the price you could sell at when the quote was taken.

The example order starts at $3.05, the midpoint of the bid and ask rounded down to the option's price step, and walks toward the bid.

CFU's put rules are the same expiry, delta, liquidity and earnings rules the covered call scanner uses.

XOM put strikes for Nov 20

Every listed strike near the money for the same expiry, priced at the bid. The highlighted row is the one CFU's rules chose. Grey rows fail a liquidity check.

Strike	Delta	Bid	Ask	From price	Premium (1 contract)	Breakeven
$160	0.12	$1.02	$1.12	10.6% below	$102	$158.98
$165	0.18	$1.77	$1.90	7.8% below	$177	$163.23
$170 (CFU rule)	0.28	$2.92	$3.20	5.0% below	$292	$167.08
$175	0.38	$4.30	$5.00	2.2% below	$430	$170.70
$180	0.50	$6.85	$7.15	0.6% above	$685	$173.15
$185	0.61	$8.70	$12.15	3.4% above	$870.00	$176.30
$190	0.71	$12.40	$15.80	6.2% above	$1,240	$177.60
$195	0.77	$17.25	$19.85	9.0% above	$1,725	$177.75
$200	0.82	$21.70	$24.15	11.7% above	$2,170	$178.30

Example order

Sell the put

SELL TO OPEN 1 XOM 11/20/26 170.00 PUT
LIMIT: $3.05 credit (mid)
If not filled: lower $0.05 every 2 min
Floor: $2.92 (bid). Don't sell for less.

Prices are from Oct 16, 2026, 3:59 PM ET. Recompute from your live quote: start at mid, walk toward the bid, never past it.

Before you sell, ask

Am I happy buying XOM at $170?
Can I leave $17,000 set aside until Nov 20?

These are the two questions CFU asks before any example, for every ticker. If either answer is no, this is not the trade for you.

Other expirations for XOM

Open one in the interactive scanner to see its strikes, chart and order example.

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