Get Paid 12% A Year To Hold NFLX Stock You Already Own

For Netflix shareholders, here is a way to get paid a meaningful income right now, money you keep no matter what, in exchange for agreeing to sell your stock at a higher price if it climbs.

Netflix (NFLX) has been a story of competing realities. After a punishing stretch, the stock now trades about 37% below its 52-week high, having underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year. For investors holding the shares, this creates a dilemma: do you wait for a potential rebound or find a way to generate a return from the stock as it is? That brings us to a trade that pays you for your patience, with the specifics laid out just below. The real cost of this trade is the upside you forfeit if the stock not only recovers but soars well past your exit price.

The bull case, straight from management, is that the company is “still just getting started.” They see a massive runway, arguing they are “less than 45% penetrated into households around the world” and have captured only about 7% of a total addressable market they estimate at $670 billion. If you believe that narrative, then capping your gains would mean leaving a lot of money on the table. But the reason this trade is strong for some is the growing skepticism around that blue-sky scenario.

Analysts on the company’s latest call pointed to tangible signs of a slowdown, questioning why guided revenue growth is decelerating and why “reported viewing hours per member have softened.” While management points to new initiatives and proprietary quality metrics, the visible numbers suggest a business that is maturing. We took a closer look at the company’s financial picture in a separate piece. For an investor who sees this maturation and would be happy with a solid, defined profit, getting paid an income now to agree to that exit can feel like a smart move.

12% annualized income on NFLX shares you already own, with 13% of upside room, by selling a covered call.

• You own (or buy) 100 shares of NFLX near today’s price of $79.59.
• Sell one call option on NFLX expiring 9/17/2027, with a strike price of $90, about 13% above today.
• Collect roughly $1,065 in premium up front per contract (each contract covers 100 shares), which you keep no matter what the stock does.
• That premium is about 12.4% annualized on the $7,959 of stock, income you earn just for holding.
• If NFLX finishes above $90, your shares are called away at $90. Counting the premium, your total return works out to about 24% annualized, but you give up any gains above the strike.

Both Outcomes Put Cash In Your Pocket

If NFLX finishes below $90 on 9/17/2027, the call expires worthless, and you keep the full $1,065 premium and all your shares. That is about 13% over 392 days, income earned just for holding, and you are free to sell another call.

If NFLX finishes above $90, your 100 shares are called away at $90. You still keep the $1,065 premium, and counting it your total gain works out to about 26% over the holding period (about 24% annualized), a healthy exit. The cost of the trade is that any gain above $90 is no longer yours. And if the stock instead falls, you keep the premium but still ride the shares down: the premium offsets the first 13% of the decline over the holding period and nothing beyond it.

How Much Upside Would You Really Be Giving Up?

What Income Could Your Own Stocks Pay?

You may not own NFLX, but you almost certainly own something that could be paying you. Our Covered Call Finder lets you type in a stock, or a few, and instantly see the income a covered call could generate on each, then dial the strike up or down with a slider to balance more income against more upside. It is the quickest way to see what the names in your own portfolio could pay.

One step out from a single name: a communication services ETF like XLC owns the whole communication services group at once, so no single company can sink you. It still rises and falls with that one theme, which is exactly the gap the portfolio below closes.

One Name, One Theme, Or The Whole Market

There is a ladder here. A covered call earns income on one company. A sector fund spreads that across one theme. Neither escapes the risk that a single industry hits a rough patch. The next rung is a core built across every sector, so the whole thing never rides on one bet.

The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is that rung: about 30 quality businesses across sectors, each weighed on the full sweep of its fundamentals, sized, and rebalanced with discipline. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the three major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000. Use the call for income on names you like; let a diversified, cross-sector core carry the long game.