Monthly Covered Call Commentary: December 2025

The Global X Research Team is pleased to announce the release of its Monthly Covered Call Report, featuring the premium and distribution values attained by its roster of covered call funds in November of 2025. The key takeaways below, as well as those highlighted within the report, recap some of the most pivotal undertakings to have taken place across the markets during the November roll period. They outline their influence over the option pricing environment and help substantiate changing investor sentiments as characterized by specific market indicators.

December 2025 Covered Call Report – Key Takeaways

• After conjecture surrounding tariff policy led the major domestic equity indices to produce largely flat total returns in the Global X Covered Call Suite’s October roll period, which stretched from September 19th to October 17th, the markets met new challenges in the November roll period, which ran from October 17th to November 21st. Turbulence ensued after the Federal Reserve (Fed) announced its 25-basis-point rate cut at its October meeting, mostly due to follow-up commentary by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who noted that a further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting was not a “forgone conclusion”.  It contributed to target rate probabilities for another rate cut before the end of 2025 falling from 90% on October 29th to as low as 30% on November 19th.¹ The more hawkish attitude led markets to recoil after a hot start to the roll. The Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 ultimately concluded the period down 2.26% and 0.80%, respectively.²
• The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) assumed an upward trajectory heading into November. However, it didn’t reach peak close until November 20th. This reflected rekindled investor speculation over the amount of capital spending that was being performed by players in the artificial intelligence space that arose after certain companies announced construction delays on key data centers. Among other news, it led many risk assets to lose value over the course of the roll period. At its conclusion, the VIX sat at 23.43.³ However, it hit a peak 27.35 intraday on November 21st.⁴
• Over the last two roll periods, the Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD) and the Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD), along with their 50% covered counterparts XYLG and QYLG, have recorded some of their best premiums received in the last three years. In the November roll period, specifically, XYLD and QYLD took in premiums of 2.94% and 3.86%, and each distributed up to its 1% Net Asset Value cap. The Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF (RYLD) experienced similarly positive results, after the Cboe Russell 2000 Volatility Index (RVX) topped out above 30 during the roll period.⁵ In fact, all of Global X’s 100% Covered Call ETFs took in premiums of higher value on a month to month basis.