QMOM Butterfly Strategy
QMOM (Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.
The Adviser employs a multi-step, quantitative, rules-based methodology to identify a portfolio of approximately 50 to 100 equity securities with the highest relative momentum. A “momentum” style of investing emphasizes investing in securities that have had higher recent total return performance compared to other securities. The Adviser then employs proprietary screens to eliminate companies with issues that may negatively impact their momentum. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in cash and cash equivalents, other investment companies, as well as securities and other instruments.
QMOM (Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $391.8M, a beta of 1.32 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 60.24-80.56, average daily share volume of 24K, a public-listing history dating back to 2015. These structural characteristics shape how QMOM etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.32 indicates QMOM has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. QMOM pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on QMOM?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current QMOM snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $77.60, ATM IV 27.70%, IV rank 30.24%, expected move 7.94%. The butterfly on QMOM below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 63-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on QMOM specifically: QMOM IV at 27.70% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.94% (roughly $6.16 on the underlying). The 63-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated QMOM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on QMOM should anchor to the underlying notional of $77.60 per share and to the trader's directional view on QMOM etf.
QMOM butterfly setup
The QMOM butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With QMOM near $77.60, the first option leg uses a $74.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed QMOM chain at a 63-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 QMOM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $74.00 | $5.90 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $78.00 | $3.63 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $81.00 | $2.28 |
QMOM butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$92.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $306.99
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$92.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $74.93
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 3.319
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
QMOM butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on QMOM. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | -$92.50 |
| $17.17 | -77.9% | -$92.50 |
| $34.32 | -55.8% | -$92.50 |
| $51.48 | -33.7% | -$92.50 |
| $68.64 | -11.6% | -$92.50 |
| $85.79 | +10.6% | +$7.50 |
| $102.95 | +32.7% | +$7.50 |
| $120.11 | +54.8% | +$7.50 |
| $137.26 | +76.9% | +$7.50 |
| $154.42 | +99.0% | +$7.50 |
When traders use butterfly on QMOM
Butterflies on QMOM are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect QMOM to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
QMOM thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for QMOM extends from approximately $71.44 on the downside to $83.76 on the upside. A QMOM long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if QMOM settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current QMOM IV rank near 30.24% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on QMOM should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Financial Services name, QMOM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to QMOM-specific events.
QMOM butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. QMOM positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move QMOM alongside the broader basket even when QMOM-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current QMOM chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on QMOM?
- A butterfly on QMOM is the butterfly strategy applied to QMOM (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With QMOM etf trading near $77.60, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed QMOM chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are QMOM butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the QMOM butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 27.70%), the computed maximum profit is $306.99 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$92.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a QMOM butterfly?
- The breakeven for the QMOM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $74.93 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current QMOM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.94%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on QMOM?
- Butterflies on QMOM are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect QMOM to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current QMOM implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- QMOM ATM IV is at 27.70% with IV rank near 30.24%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.