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The wheel on Netflix after the split: what changed, and what didn't

Netflix's 10-for-1 split made one wheel contract cost about a tenth of what it did. That brought NFLX into reach for many more accounts. The stock still gaps hard on earnings, and that's the part the split didn't touch.

Options guide · 8-minute read · Updated 2026-10-28

The short answer

You can run the wheel strategy on Netflix the same way as on any stock. Sell a put, get assigned if it falls, then sell calls on the shares.

What's special about NFLX is two things. The split made the cash per contract much smaller. And the stock tends to be calm between reports, then jump on earnings night. Your plan has to be built around that jump.

This isn't a recommendation to buy or sell Netflix.

What Netflix is like for the wheel

• The split. Netflix did a 10-for-1 Stock split that took effect in November 2025.
• No dividend. Netflix doesn't pay one. There's no payout to cushion a drop, and no ex-dividend date to cause early Assignment on a call.
• Earnings four times a year. Netflix reports after the market closes, usually in mid-January, April, July and October. It's often one of the first big tech names to report each season.
• How it moves. Fairly quiet between reports. Big gaps the morning after. Check the date on Netflix's investor site before every trade.
• Liquid options. It's a large, widely traded stock with Weekly options, so near-the-money strikes usually have tight spreads. Check the bid-ask on the chain anyway.

For the full company picture, see our Netflix stock page.

What the split changed, and what it didn't

A split hands you more shares at a lower price each. The company is worth the same.

Here's the effect in round numbers. A stock at $1,000 needs $100,000 for one cash-secured put at that strike. After a 10-for-1 split it trades near $100. Now one put needs about $10,000.

That's the whole change for the wheel. One contract still covers 100 shares. So a lower share price means a smaller sum per contract.

What didn't change:

• The swing in percent. A 15% earnings gap is still a 15% gap. It just costs fewer dollars per contract.
• The concentration. $10,000 can still be most of a small account.
• The premium in percent. Premiums scale down with the price. You don't collect more just because the stock looks cheaper.

If you held options when the split happened, they were adjusted for you. For a whole-number split, the usual result is more contracts at a lower strike. The OCC's memo for that split gives the exact terms. See selling options on a stock about to split.

The earnings problem

Netflix's put premiums jump in the weeks before earnings. That's Implied volatility pricing in the gap. After the report, the premium collapses. That's IV crush.

The rich premium is tempting. But a put that spans earnings night has no exit while the market is closed. If the stock opens far below your strike, you're buying 100 shares at the strike anyway.

So the first question on any NFLX put is: does earnings fall before my expiry? My guide to checking the earnings date shows where to look.

An assignment that keeps falling (an illustration, not a trade idea)

These numbers are for a made-up streaming stock, XYZ, after a split. They are not Netflix's prices.

Month 1. XYZ trades at $100. You sell a 35-day $95 put for $3.00. You collect $300. Your broker sets aside $9,500. Earnings land inside the trade.

The report disappoints. XYZ gaps to $80 and stays there. At expiry you're assigned 100 shares at $95.

Month 2. You sell a $95 call, at your cost, for $0.60. That's $60. It's far above the stock, so it pays little. XYZ drifts to $76. The call expires.

Two months in, you've collected $360 and you're down $1,540. Your cost after premiums is $95 − $3.60 = $91.40 a share. XYZ needs to climb about 20% just to get you back to even.

Now the tempting move: sell a call at $80 for a bigger premium. If XYZ bounces to $90, your shares go at $80. That locks in a $1,500 loss on the shares. The premiums only take a little off it. Calls below your cost turn a paper loss into a real one.

The same trade without earnings inside it

Same stock, same month. This time you pick an expiry that ends before the report.

You give up half the premium. You also skip the one night that does most of the damage. After the gap, a new put at a lower strike is a fresh decision with the bad news already in the price.

What to do next

1. Look up Netflix's next earnings date before you open the chain.
2. Multiply your strike by 100. Make sure that sum is a slice of your account, not most of it. Our cash-per-stock table helps.
3. Pick an expiry that ends before the report, or decide on purpose to hold through it.
4. Write down your plan if you're assigned, including the lowest call strike you'll accept.

Questions