How are AAPL 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 AAPL butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 22.33%), the computed maximum profit is $885.47 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$514.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a AAPL butterfly?

The breakeven for the AAPL butterfly priced on this page is roughly $295.15 and $314.86 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The AAPL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 6.40%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current AAPL implied volatility affect this butterfly?

AAPL ATM IV is at 22.33% with IV rank near 32.11%, 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.

AAPL Butterfly Strategy

AAPL (Apple Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Consumer Electronics industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Apple Inc. is a global technology corporation that specializes in the conceptualization, production, and sale of a diverse suite of electronic devices. Its comprehensive hardware lineup features the well-known iPhone smartphones, Mac personal computers, and versatile iPad tablets. The company also supplies a range of wearables, smart home products, and accessories, including AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, items from the Beats brand, and HomePod speakers. Beyond its device offerings, Apple delivers essential support services like AppleCare and robust cloud solutions. It oversees key digital platforms, prominently the App Store, which acts as a central hub for customers to discover and download countless applications and digital content, from e-books and music to videos, games, and podcasts. The company also generates revenue via advertising, leveraging both its proprietary ad platforms and third-party licensing deals.

AAPL (Apple Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Consumer Electronics, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.44T, a trailing P/E of 34.44, a beta of 1.09 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 223.78-344.57, average daily share volume of 53.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 166K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how AAPL stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.09 places AAPL roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. AAPL pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on AAPL?

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.

AAPL snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $305.53, ATM IV 22.33%, IV rank 32.11%, expected move 6.40%. The butterfly on AAPL below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 28-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on AAPL specifically: AAPL IV at 22.33% 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 6.40% (roughly $19.56 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated AAPL expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on AAPL should anchor to the underlying notional of $305.53 per share and to the trader's directional view on AAPL stock.

AAPL butterfly setup

The AAPL butterfly below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With AAPL at $305.53 on that close, the first option leg uses a $290.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed AAPL chain at a 28-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 AAPL shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$290.00	$19.03
Sell 2	Call	$305.00	$8.33
Buy 1	Call	$320.00	$2.77

AAPL butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$514.50
Max Profit (per contract): $885.47
Max Loss (per contract): -$514.50
Breakeven(s): $295.15, $314.86
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.721

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.

AAPL butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on AAPL. 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.

P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$514.50
$67.56	-77.9%	-$514.50
$135.12	-55.8%	-$514.50
$202.67	-33.7%	-$514.50
$270.22	-11.6%	-$514.50
$337.78	+10.6%	-$514.50
$405.33	+32.7%	-$514.50
$472.88	+54.8%	-$514.50
$540.44	+76.9%	-$514.50
$607.99	+99.0%	-$514.50

When traders use butterfly on AAPL

Butterflies on AAPL are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AAPL 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.

AAPL thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for AAPL extends from approximately $285.97 on the downside to $325.09 on the upside. A AAPL long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if AAPL settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current AAPL IV rank near 32.11% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on AAPL should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Technology name, AAPL options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to AAPL-specific events.

AAPL 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. AAPL positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move AAPL alongside the broader basket even when AAPL-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current AAPL chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on AAPL?: A butterfly on AAPL is the butterfly strategy applied to AAPL (stock). 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 AAPL stock at $305.53 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed AAPL chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are AAPL 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 AAPL butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 22.33%), the computed maximum profit is $885.47 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$514.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a AAPL butterfly?: The breakeven for the AAPL butterfly priced on this page is roughly $295.15 and $314.86 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The AAPL market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 6.40%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on AAPL?: Butterflies on AAPL are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect AAPL 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 AAPL implied volatility affect this butterfly?: AAPL ATM IV is at 22.33% with IV rank near 32.11%, 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.