{"id":179114,"date":"2021-05-05T02:07:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T06:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/glossary-terms\/call\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:01:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:01:20","slug":"call","status":"publish","type":"glossary-terms","link":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/","title":{"rendered":"Call"},"content":{"rendered":"

A call option is a financial derivative that grants the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a specified quantity of an underlying asset\u2014such as a stock, index, or commodity\u2014at a predetermined price (called the strike price<\/strong>) within a defined time period. The buyer pays a premium to the seller (or writer) of the call for this right. If the market price of the asset exceeds the strike price before the expiration date, the option is considered in the money<\/strong>, and the buyer can profit by exercising the option or selling it on the open market.<\/p>\n

Call options are widely used by investors for both speculative<\/strong> and hedging<\/strong> purposes. Speculators buy calls to bet on upward price movements in the underlying asset, aiming to achieve leveraged gains with limited capital outlay. For instance, instead of purchasing 100 shares of a stock, an investor can buy a call option representing the same exposure for a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n

The value of a call option is influenced by several factors, collectively known as the Greeks<\/strong>. These include Delta (sensitivity to the underlying asset’s price), Theta (time decay), Vega (sensitivity to implied volatility), and Rho (sensitivity to interest rates). As expiration approaches, the time value of the option diminishes, often leading to increased volatility in pricing. Understanding how these variables interact is essential for successfully incorporating call options into broader trading or investment strategies.<\/p>\n

\"TWS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a specified time. The seller or writer has the obligation to sell the underlying instrument if the holder exercises the option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"traders-glossary":[13256,13251],"class_list":{"0":"post-179114","1":"glossary-terms","2":"type-glossary-terms","3":"status-publish","5":"traders-glossary-trading-terms-c","6":"traders-glossary-trading-alphabet"},"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArchives Term | IBKR Glossary | IBKR Campus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-terms\/179114\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Call definition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a specified time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IBKR Campus US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-25T18:01:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/call-option-tws.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1774\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1436\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Call definition\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Call definition\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/call-option-tws-1100x890.png\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2021-05-05T06:07:00+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2025-06-25T18:01:20+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a specified time.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/call-option-tws.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/call-option-tws.png\",\n\t \"width\": 1774,\n\t \"height\": 1436,\n\t \"caption\": \"TWS Call Option\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/call\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Glossary\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/glossary-terms\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Call\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"IBKR Campus US\",\n\t \"description\": \"Financial Education from Interactive Brokers\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Interactive Brokers\",\n\t \"alternateName\": \"IBKR\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg\",\n\t \"width\": 669,\n\t \"height\": 669,\n\t \"caption\": \"Interactive Brokers\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/ibkrcampus.com\\\/campus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"publishingPrinciples\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/about-ibkr-campus\\\/\",\n\t \"ethicsPolicy\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.interactivebrokers.com\\\/campus\\\/cyber-security-notice\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Archives Term | IBKR Glossary | IBKR Campus","description":"A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-terms\/179114\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Call definition","og_description":"A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a specified time.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/","og_site_name":"IBKR Campus US","article_modified_time":"2025-06-25T18:01:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1774,"height":1436,"url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/call-option-tws.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Call definition","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/","url":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/","name":"Call definition","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/call-option-tws-1100x890.png","datePublished":"2021-05-05T06:07:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-25T18:01:20+00:00","description":"A call is an option contract that gives the holder or buyer the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying instrument at an agreed price within a specified time.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/call-option-tws.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/call-option-tws.png","width":1774,"height":1436,"caption":"TWS Call Option"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/call\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Glossary","item":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/glossary-terms\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Call"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/","name":"IBKR Campus US","description":"Financial Education from Interactive Brokers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#organization","name":"Interactive Brokers","alternateName":"IBKR","url":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/ibkr-campus-logo.jpg","width":669,"height":669,"caption":"Interactive Brokers"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/about-ibkr-campus\/","ethicsPolicy":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/cyber-security-notice\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-terms\/179114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-terms"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary-terms"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-terms\/179114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"traders-glossary","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/campus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/traders-glossary?post=179114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}