A lot of traders approach earnings with a simple question: should I buy before the report or sell before the report? But a better question is often this: how can I structure a position so I get paid while I wait, reduce my upfront capital, and still participate if a great business recovers? That is the bigger idea behind this Amazon campaign. It wasn’t just a one-day earnings bet. It was a multi-stage options strategy built around the idea of owning quality inventory, collecting premium, and actively managing the trade as the market changed.

In the first video, the thesis was clear: the goal was not day trading. The goal was to “run a business” using stocks, ETFs, and options to build inventory in strong companies and occasionally sell them for a profit. In that framework, selling puts resembles selling insurance, while selling covered calls resembles collecting rent. That mindset is important because it changes the whole trade. Instead of chasing excitement, the strategy focuses on cash flow, discipline, and position-building.

Why Amazon Became the Opportunity

Our setup began after Amazon’s earnings reaction in February. Amazon roughly met revenue expectations but missed earnings-per-share expectations, and the stock dropped sharply from the low 230s into the low 200s, briefly reaching the $209–$205 area. Rather than buying immediately into the selloff, We waited a few days to see whether buyers would defend the $200 zone. When a small bounce appeared on February 17, that was enough to suggest there were still buyers underneath the stock.

The fundamental case mattered just as much as the chart to us. In the setup video, we saw the net income as the real engine of long-term stock appreciation and argued that Amazon's income trend had improved significantly over the prior several years. Even with that improvement, we still viewed the stock price as attractive relative to the quality of the business, its ecommerce dominance, and its cloud position. In short, this was not a trade built on hype. It was built on our belief that a strong company had suffered a sharp but potentially temporary markdown.

“The goal was not day trading. The goal was to run a business campaign using stocks, ETFs, and options to build inventory in strong companies.”

The Core Strategy: Get Paid First, Then Own the Upside

Instead of spending more than $20,000 to buy 100 shares outright around $201, the strategy used options to create a more capital-efficient entry. The initial move was to sell a January $205 put for roughly $26.55 in premium and use that premium to buy a January $215 call. Ultimatly we sold the put and recieved $2655.00 then we sold bought the call with the proceeds. In the video, we explain that the combination even left a small net credit of about $115. The result was a structure that created upside exposure through the long call while getting paid to accept the obligation to buy shares lower if Amazon stayed weak. This placed us in a slightly delta positve position and we were now waiting for an upward move.

This is what made the campaign more interesting than a simple “buy the dip” idea. Selling the put meant we were willing to own Amazon at an effective level we considered attractive. Buying the call meant we could still participate if the stock rebounded strongly. In other words, the structure let us express two views at once: first, that Amazon was worth owning on weakness; second, that a recovery could happen faster than many expected.

There was another layer to the plan right from the start. In the first video, we explained that once we owned the long call, we could sell shorter-dated calls above that strike to collect additional premium. That is often described as a “poor man’s covered call,” though we pushed back on the label and treated it simply as a cheaper way to generate covered-call-like income using a long-dated option instead of 100 shares. The early blueprint, then, was not just about entry. It was about creating a campaign that could keep paying as time passed.

The Business Mindset Behind the Trade

We are not just trying to be the best gambler we are running a business and we need to keep that in mind.