Nvidia Stock Has Had a Monster Run. This Bear Call Strategy Pays You If the Party Is Over.

NVIDIA has had one of the biggest bull runs in history. 

If you invested in the company 20 years ago, you’d be up 36,617% . Even if you just invested five years ago, you’d be up 10x today. 

But how long can a bull run like this last? 

We’ve already seen some price weakness at the start of 2026. The result was that Nvidia, along with other AI-adjacent companies, experienced a massive sell-off. Things hadn’t even recovered before tensions in the Middle East flared. 

But the nice thing is, with the right options strategies, there’s a way to earn income in any market condition. Today, I’ll show you the bear call and how you can use it on Nvidia to earn premium. 

What is a bear call spread? 

A bear call spread, also known as the call credit spread, is a strategy that involves selling a call option at a lower strike price for which (you) the seller receives a premium, and buying a call option at a higher strike price. These are all done on the same underlying asset with the same expiration dates. 

The difference results in a net credit, which is why it’s often called a credit spread, or a call credit spread.

The bear call spread is best used during neutral or slightly bearish markets. Why “slightly” bearish? 

Well, the spread creates a defined profit and risk zone. We only care if the stock starts to trade in a specific zone.

As long as the underlying asset trades below the short strike price, you get the maximum profit, which is the net credit you received at the start. Any movement lower than the short call strike will NOT affect a bear call’s profit. This is your goal.

In exchange, though, the losses are similarly capped at the long strike. 

Finding bear call trades on Barchart

Now, to find bear call trades, you can start in one of two ways. 

Bear call screener from the home page

First, if you don’t have a specific underlying asset in mind, you can start with the Bear Call Screener, which is under the Options category in the top banner on the front page. 

Once there, you’ll get a list of trades that offer a good balance between risk and profit. If you want to change the filters, you can do so by clicking the Set Filter tab here: 

The filters are extensive and cover what most traders need - including market and company data, technical analysis, and options information, for their screens. 

Bear call screener from the stock profile page

If you have a specific underlying asset in mind, it’s best to start with the company profile page. The stock-specific bear call screener is located on the lower-left-hand side of the screen, under Vertical Spreads. 

Once there, you can change the expiration date to whatever you wish, filter by strike price, or screen the results for greater granularity. 

Bear call trade on Nvidia

Nvidia, which is currently trading around $175, is arguably one of the most influential companies in AI right now. With a market cap north of $4 trillion, you can be sure that investors are keeping an eye on its price movements. 

And right now, its price movements are neutral to bearish, as we can see here: 

Notice the $190 and $195 level. In recent months, Nvidia's price has hit those levels, only to be sent back down immediately. These are potential resistance zones that I can use. Keep that in mind. 

And remember, when selling bear call spreads, it’s always better to set your short call strike above the current trading price. 

So, jumping over to the bear call screener, I’ll change the expiration date to April 24, 2026 which is 31 days from today. I prefer to sell options that expire four to six weeks out to capture more time value. 

From this screen, 

For safety, I think bear call spreads with short strikes at $190 and $195 are a good choice, as they are at resistance levels that make it difficult, but not impossible, for the stock to break through. 

I like the 190-220 call spread right here, which offers a $169 premium and only a 18.7% chance of loss. 

That being said, you’re more than welcome to sell call spreads with $185 and below short strikes for higher profit. Just remember that more premium comes with more risk. 

As long as Nvidia stock trades below $190 at expiration, you'll keep the full $169 profit. If the stock trades between $190 and $220 at expiration, the strategy will still be profitable. If the NVDA stock trades above $220, the trade will end at the maximum loss, $2,831 (per contract sold). 

Conclusion

Nvidia's long-term trend may still be impressive, but even the strongest stocks don’t move straight up forever. Furthermore, the current market uncertainty seems likely to persist for a while. 

Strategies like the bear call spread can create income opportunities in such uncertain times. Instead of waiting around for prices to recover, you can position yourself in a way that you get paid to wait out the neutral or bearish market conditions.