"Thats $142,720 at todays closing price in stock you will be required to come up with. " Sorry fitzman you are wrong. Firstly, there needs to be an economic reason to exercise early, like if the option expires a few days before ex-div, then IF it is worthwhile to do so, they might exercise early so they can claim the div. In which case, the broker would ask you for the shortfall between exercise price and market price, and you have 3 days to pay it. But this amount is already included in your margin, so no extra should be required.
