Also known as: Call Credit Spread · Short Call Spread · Bear Call Vertical
Sell a call + buy a higher-strike call. Collect a credit; defined risk; profits if the stock stays below the short strike.
Shape illustration on a normalized underlying — open the Lab below to price it on a real option chain.
You sell a call above the current price and buy another call higher still, same expiration. You open for a net credit and keep it if the stock finishes below your short strike.
When you expect a stock to stall or drift lower, and implied volatility is rich. It is the defined-risk way to be short a call — the long higher call caps what a runaway rally can cost you.
Maximum loss is the strike width minus the credit, hit if the stock closes above your long strike. Unlike a naked short call, the loss is capped — that difference is the whole point.
Similar: Both are defined-risk bearish verticals.
Different: This one collects a credit and profits from a stock that stalls; the put debit spread needs a real decline to pay.
Similar: A condor is literally this trade plus a bull put spread on the other side.
Different: The condor collects from both sides at once, needing the stock to stay in a range instead of just below a level.
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Educational content — not investment advice. Options involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. All trading on Opus Options Trading is simulated.