AAR Corp. (AIR) 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.
AAR Corp. (AIR) operates in the Industrials sector, specifically the Aerospace & Defense industry, with a market capitalization near $4.27B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 5,700 people, carrying a beta of 1.15 to the broader market. AAR Corp. Led by John McClain Holmes, public since 1980-03-17.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $104.99
- Max Pain Strike
- $105.00
- Total OI
- 2.2K
As of May 15, 2026, AAR Corp. (AIR) max pain sits at $105.00, which is essentially at the current spot price of $104.99 (<0.1% away). Spot is essentially pinned to max pain right now; the gravitational center and the actual price coincide, the regime where end-of-cycle pinning is mechanically most plausible. AIR trades in the standard mid-price band (spot $104.99), with listed strikes typically $1-$5 apart and balanced single-leg vs multi-leg flow. Total open interest across the listed chain is comparatively thin (2.2K contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. AIR is currently in positive dealer gamma ($36.0K), 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.
AIR Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot effectively pinned the $105.00 max-pain level and AAR Corp. 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 →
Frequently asked AIR max pain analysis questions
- What is the current AIR max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, AAR Corp. (AIR) max pain sits at $105.00, which is 0.0% above the current spot price of $104.99. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. AIR is essentially pinned right now - the gravitational center and the actual price coincide.
- Does AIR pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- AIR 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 AIR (2.2K 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 AIR 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 AIR 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. AIR put/call OI ratio is 0.53 - call-heavy, which biases the max-pain calculation toward strikes above current spot when the call OI concentrates there.