The put is going to assignment. That was always the plan.
Real trades. Real money. Documented live.
→ This week’s scoreboard is live — every open position, every strike, every percentage toward target.
In last week’s issue I walked through why I hold a put that’s moving against me. The framework: if I’m okay owning the stock at my effective cost basis, I hold.
RTX is the live example of what happens when you hold all the way to the end.
The $190 put expires May 15. The stock is at $174. It’s going to assignment. I’m not doing anything about it.
What closed
Three positions closed last week — all three at a profit.
GOOGL $315 put captured 75% of the premium. General Dynamics $290 put, 76%. Chevron $180 put closed right at the 50% profit target. Different companies, different industries, all three wins.
Full detail on the Start Here page.
The RTX situation
I sold the $190 put on RTX for $3.66. My effective cost basis if assigned: $186.34 — that’s the strike minus the premium collected.
The stock is at $174. That’s $16 below my strike and about $12 below my effective cost basis. On paper, that looks like a loss.
Here’s how I’m thinking about it.
RTX makes the engines for the F-35 and the Patriot missile system. Their backlog runs for years, not quarters — you can’t swap out a defense contractor mid-program. That business doesn’t disappear in a soft quarter, and the geopolitical environment isn’t exactly getting quieter. I’m comfortable owning this stock.
When I get assigned May 15, I’ll own 200 shares at an effective cost of $186.34. The first thing I do after assignment is sell covered calls. If I can get $3–4 per contract on a near-term call, I’ve collected premium on the way down AND on the way up. The wheel keeps turning.
This is not a recovery play. This is the wheel working exactly as designed. The put going ITM was always a possible outcome. The assignment is plan B, and plan B has a clear next step.
I’ll show you the exact covered call I sell next week — the strike, the premium, the reasoning.
What I opened
With GOOGL, GD, and CVX closed, I redeployed the collateral into three new June 18 positions.
Oracle (ORCL) — $140 put, June 18
Stock at $176. A 20% cushion. Oracle’s enterprise database business is one of the stickiest revenue streams in tech — large enterprises don’t rip out their core infrastructure because the market got nervous. $50 billion in annual revenue, and it’s been growing. I’ll take a 20% buffer on that.
OXY — $55 put, June 18
Stock at $59. OXY cut its debt, streamlined operations, and is generating real free cash flow at current oil prices. Not the overleveraged company it was five years ago. The $55 strike sits below recent support with room to work.
Newmont (NEM) — $100 put, June 18
Stock at $108. World’s largest gold producer — actual mines, actual production, actual cash flow. Not a speculative bet on the gold price. I sized this one conservatively given the cushion. If I get assigned at $100, I own a cash-flowing business at a reasonable price.
All three have GTC orders at 50%. Set and done.
What to watch
RTX expires May 15. Next issue covers the assignment and the covered call I sell the same week — the second half of the wheel, executed live.
VIX is at 18. Selective deployment, same rules.
Full scoreboard — all 11 open positions — is on the Start Here page. I update it when things open or close.
— Keith
The Income Wheel | theincomewheel.com
Real trades. Real money. Documented live.
Nothing here is financial advice. I’m documenting how I personally trade — not telling you what to do with your money.