Weekly Income Trade Recap · Trading Growth Engine

Weekly Income Trade Recap

Weekly Income Trade Recap –

TSLA & XOM Put Writing Strategy Week ending January 30, 2026

This past week was relatively quiet for me in terms of trading activity. I executed just two trades, both designed for conservative income generation through cash-secured put writing.

Here's the breakdown:

Trade 1: TSLA Cash-Secured Put Underlying: TSLA Trade Date: Tuesday, Jan 27 Expiration: Friday, Jan 30 Strike: 400 Premium Collected: $2.95/share Return on Risk: 0.74% in 3 days Why TSLA 400? TSLA was in pre-earnings mode with elevated implied volatility and strong gamma dynamics. The 400 strikes had the highest open interest (OI 18,675) and volume (24,169 contracts) on the put side — a clear indication of market maker positioning. Gamma exposure was heavily skewed to that strike (approximately -820, nearly 2x higher than surrounding strikes), meaning dealers had significant incentive to defend it. TSLA had been in an uptrend since the last earnings report, and although Tuesday saw a short-term decline, the 400 level was a probable support zone. I sold the put near the 9:30 AM retest of that level. With an ATR around 10–12, TSLA would have needed to drop 2–3x ATR (~$36+) in 3 days for my position to be challenged — a risk I was comfortable with. Even if assigned, I'd be willing to hold TSLA at $400.

Trade 2: XOM Cash-Secured Put Underlying: ExxonMobil (XOM) Trade Date: Monday, Jan 26 Expiration: Friday, Jan 30 Strike: 130 Premium Collected: $0.50/share Return on Risk: 0.40% in 4 days Why XOM 130? XOM was trading around $136 and had strong bullish momentum YTD, supported by positive analyst sentiment (year-end targets between $140–150). The 130-strike had decent OI (~6K contracts), while the 135 strikes had significantly higher OI (~13.7K contracts), offering what I considered a protective buffer zone. The stock's volatility was elevated, historically speaking, which enhanced premium collection. Even if assigned, I viewed 130 as a desirable entry price, especially with the upcoming dividend of $1.03/share providing additional income potential.

Outcome

Both puts expired worthless on Friday, allowing me to retain 100% of the collected premiums with no shares assigned. Combined, these trades returned: Total Return on Risk Capital: ~1.14% Holding Period: < 1 week

Drawdown Risk: Well-buffered due to volatility analysis, strike selection, and market structure.

Takeaways

TSLA put was selected based on gamma exposure and open interest clustering, not just technicals. XOM was more of a fundamental + structure-based trade, using OI at nearby strikes as a shield. Both positions were oversecured, but I was comfortable being assigned in either case due to favorable fundamentals.

1 comment