SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) Max Pain Analysis
Max pain is the strike price where aggregate option buyer payout is minimized at expiration. It represents the price at which option writers retain the most premium.
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) operates in the Financial Services sector, specifically the Asset Management industry, with a market capitalization near $155.84B, listed on AMEX, carrying a beta of 0.16 to the broader market. The investment objective of SPDR Gold Trust (the "Trust") is for the shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trust's expensesThe first US traded gold ETF and the first US-listed ETF backed by a physical assetFor many investors, the costs associated with buying GLD shares in the secondary market and the payment of the Trust's ongoing expenses may be lower than the costs associated with buying, storing and insuring physical gold in a traditional allocated gold bullion account public since 2004-11-18.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $418.08
- Max Pain Strike
- $435.00
- Total OI
- 5.1M
As of May 15, 2026, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) max pain sits at $435.00, which is above the current spot price of $418.08 (4.0% away). Spot sits 4.0% above max pain - close enough that a routine end-of-cycle gamma roll could pull price toward the level, but far enough that catalyst-driven flow would dominate. GLD trades in the standard mid-price band (spot $418.08), with listed strikes typically $1-$5 apart and balanced single-leg vs multi-leg flow. Total open interest across the listed chain (5.1M contracts) is dense enough that high-OI strikes carry meaningful structural support and resistance. GLD is currently in positive dealer gamma ($420.6M), the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning by inducing dealers to buy weakness and sell strength near heavy-OI strikes. Max pain identifies the strike at which the aggregate dollar value of all outstanding options contracts would expire with the least total intrinsic value, a gravitational reference rather than a price target.
GLD Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot 4.0% from the $435.00 max-pain level and SPDR Gold Shares in a positive-gamma regime, where dealer hedging mechanically pulls spot toward heavy-OI strikes, strategy selection turns on cycle position and dealer positioning. Iron condors and credit spreads centered near the max-pain strike capture the typical end-of-cycle convergence when the regime supports pinning; ratio backspreads or directional debit structures fit names where catalyst flow is likely to overwhelm the hedging-driven pull. The gamma-exposure page shows the per-strike dealer book that determines whether hedging will reinforce or fight the pin.
Learn how max pain is reported and how to read the data →
GLD highest open-interest contracts
| Type | Strike | Expiration | Volume | OI | IV | Bid | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUT | $418.00 | May 22, 2026 | 12.7K | 365 | 22.9% | $4.95 | $5.20 |
| CALL | $420.00 | May 22, 2026 | 5.2K | 158 | 22.6% | $4.40 | $4.55 |
| CALL | $418.00 | May 22, 2026 | 31.3K | 1.1K | 22.9% | $5.40 | $5.65 |
| PUT | $419.00 | May 22, 2026 | 4.1K | 142 | 22.7% | $5.45 | $5.70 |
| PUT | $416.00 | May 22, 2026 | 5.4K | 211 | 23.2% | $4.10 | $4.35 |
| CALL | $418.00 | May 22, 2026 | 31.3K | 1.1K | 22.9% | $5.40 | $5.65 |
| PUT | $417.00 | May 22, 2026 | 10.5K | 436 | 23.0% | $4.50 | $4.75 |
| CALL | $450.00 | Jun 18, 2026 | 1.1K | 73.7K | 24.0% | $2.85 | $2.88 |
| CALL | $425.00 | Jun 18, 2026 | 236 | 39.9K | 23.2% | $9.35 | $9.60 |
Top 9 contracts from the ORATS-sourced nightly scan; ranked by oi within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked GLD max pain analysis questions
- What is the current GLD max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) max pain sits at $435.00, which is 4.0% above the current spot price of $418.08. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. A 4.0% gap is close enough that a routine end-of-cycle gamma roll could pull spot toward the level, but far enough that catalyst-driven flow typically dominates.
- Does GLD pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- GLD is currently in positive dealer gamma, the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning. Dealers hedging long-gamma books buy weakness and sell strength near high-OI strikes, which pulls spot toward those levels into expiration. Total open interest across GLD (5.1M contracts) is one input to how plausible a clean pin is - heavier total OI concentrated at fewer strikes raises the probability; thin OI spread across many strikes lowers it. Pinning is strongest in heavily-traded names with large open-interest concentrations at high-OI strikes during the final week of an OPEX cycle. Whether GLD actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the dealer-gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.
- How is GLD max pain calculated?
- Max pain is computed by summing the dollar value of all in-the-money options at each candidate settlement strike across listed expirations, then selecting the strike that minimizes total intrinsic-value payout to option buyers. The calculation uses the full open-interest distribution and weighs both calls and puts. GLD put/call OI ratio is 0.57 - call-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes above current spot when the call OI concentrates there.