How are CLF collar max profit and max loss calculated?

Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the CLF collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 54.81%), the computed maximum profit is $55.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$44.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CLF collar?

The breakeven for the CLF collar priced on this page is roughly $11.95 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 CLF market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 15.71%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CLF implied volatility affect this collar?

CLF ATM IV is at 54.81% with IV rank near 8.55%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.

CLF Collar Strategy

CLF (Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.), in the Basic Materials sector, (Steel industry), listed on NYSE.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. stands as a prominent North American manufacturer specializing in flat-rolled steel. The company's diverse product portfolio encompasses a wide array of carbon steel forms, including hot-rolled, cold-rolled, electrogalvanized, hot-dip galvanized, hot-dip galvannealed, aluminized, enameling, and advanced high-strength steel. Additionally, they supply stainless steel, various steel plates, and specialized electrical steels (both grain-oriented and non-oriented). Beyond these core offerings, Cleveland-Cliffs produces tubular components, fabricated from carbon steel, stainless steel, and via electric resistance welding. Their tinplate division manufactures electrolytic tin-coated and chrome-coated sheets, alongside other tin mill products. The company also provides essential raw materials, ingots, rolled and cast blooms, hot-briquetted iron, and services like tooling and sampling.

CLF (Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Steel, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.99B, a beta of 2.12 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 7.73-16.7, average daily share volume of 20.1M, a public-listing history dating back to 1987, approximately 25K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CLF stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 2.12 indicates CLF has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. CLF pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a collar on CLF?

A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot.

CLF snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $11.95, ATM IV 54.81%, IV rank 8.55%, expected move 15.71%. The collar on CLF 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 collar structure on CLF specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed CLF IV at 54.81% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 15.71% (roughly $1.88 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 CLF expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CLF should anchor to the underlying notional of $11.95 per share and to the trader's directional view on CLF stock.

CLF collar setup

The CLF collar 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 CLF at $11.95 on that close, the first option leg uses a $12.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CLF 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 CLF shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 100 shares	Stock	$11.95	long
Sell 1	Call	$12.50	$0.50
Buy 1	Put	$11.50	$0.49

CLF collar risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$1,194.50
Max Profit (per contract): $55.50
Max Loss (per contract): -$44.50
Breakeven(s): $11.95
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.247

Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium.

CLF collar payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the collar on CLF. 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	-99.9%	-$44.50
$2.65	-77.8%	-$44.50
$5.29	-55.7%	-$44.50
$7.93	-33.6%	-$44.50
$10.57	-11.5%	-$44.50
$13.22	+10.6%	+$55.50
$15.86	+32.7%	+$55.50
$18.50	+54.8%	+$55.50
$21.14	+76.9%	+$55.50
$23.78	+99.0%	+$55.50

When traders use collar on CLF

Collars on CLF hedge an existing long CLF stock position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.

CLF thesis for this collar

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CLF extends from approximately $10.07 on the downside to $13.83 on the upside. A CLF collar hedges an existing long CLF position with a protective put while financing the put cost via a short call; when the premiums roughly offset, the collar acts as a near-zero-cost insurance band around the current spot. Current CLF IV rank near 8.55% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on CLF at 54.81%. As a Basic Materials name, CLF options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CLF-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a collar on CLF?: A collar on CLF is the collar strategy applied to CLF (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral (protective): A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot. With CLF stock at $11.95 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CLF chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are CLF collar max profit and max loss calculated?: Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the CLF collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 54.81%), the computed maximum profit is $55.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$44.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CLF collar?: The breakeven for the CLF collar priced on this page is roughly $11.95 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 CLF market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 15.71%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a collar on CLF?: Collars on CLF hedge an existing long CLF stock position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
How does current CLF implied volatility affect this collar?: CLF ATM IV is at 54.81% with IV rank near 8.55%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.