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Long Straddle Expiry Payoff Calculator

Measure how far an underlying must finish from a common strike to recover the cost of buying both a call and a put. A long straddle pays two premiums for exposure to movement in either direction. This calculator identifies actual nonnegative expiry break-even boundaries after fixed costs, rather than assuming that any large-looking move creates a profitable outcome.

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Model and input conventions

The combined intrinsic payoff per unit is the absolute difference between terminal price and strike. Subtract both option premiums, multiply by the represented quantity and subtract total costs. The worst terminal result occurs at the shared strike, where both options have zero intrinsic value. The upper-side payoff is unbounded as price increases; the downward side is limited by the assumption that the underlying cannot fall below zero.

Worked numerical example

With strike 100, call premium 7 and put premium 6, the combined debit is 13. Add 2 of fixed costs to one unit and the maximum modeled loss becomes 15. Break-even prices are 85 and 115. A terminal price of 110 still loses 5 because a ten-point intrinsic payoff does not recover fifteen points of total cost. At zero, terminal profit is 85.

Read the scenario table

Rows include the shared strike, entered scenario and any valid break-even prices. If total per-unit costs exceed the strike, the mathematical lower root would be negative and is excluded; only the upper break-even remains. The no-finite-maximum display refers to unlimited mathematical price upside, while the worst-loss figure remains the entered debit and fees for this all-long structure.

Where the model stops

The result applies only at the common expiry. It does not predict implied-volatility changes or the price at which the options could be sold beforehand. An event can move the underlying while the position still loses relative to its premium. American exercise, premium financing, settlement conversion and different contract multipliers are not included. The calculator assigns no likelihood to its illustrative terminal prices.

Primary documentation

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