The main advantage of call options over buying stock directly is leverage—you can control a much larger amount of stock with a much smaller upfront investment. This means your potential returns (as a percentage of what you put in) can be much higher with calls than with regular stock purchases.
However, this leverage comes with higher risk. While buying stock means you own something real that will always have some value, options can expire worthless if your bet doesn’t work out. It’s essentially a tradeoff—calls let you make bigger bets with less money upfront, but you can lose your entire investment if you’re wrong about where the stock is heading.
The main advantage of call options over buying stock directly is leverage—you can control a much larger amount of stock with a much smaller upfront investment. This means your potential returns (as a percentage of what you put in) can be much higher with calls than with regular stock purchases.
However, this leverage comes with higher risk. While buying stock means you own something real that will always have some value, options can expire worthless if your bet doesn’t work out. It’s essentially a tradeoff—calls let you make bigger bets with less money upfront, but you can lose your entire investment if you’re wrong about where the stock is heading.