How are CNM 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 CNM butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 40.00%), the computed maximum profit is $186.64 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$45.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CNM butterfly?

The breakeven for the CNM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $42.95 and $47.05 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 CNM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 11.47%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CNM implied volatility affect this butterfly?

CNM ATM IV is at 40.00% with IV rank near 5.95%, 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.

CNM Butterfly Strategy

CNM (Core & Main, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Industrial - Distribution industry), listed on NYSE.

Core & Main, Inc. (CNM) is a leading supplier of vital infrastructure products and services across the United States. The company specializes in providing comprehensive solutions for water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection systems. Their diverse clientele includes local governments (municipalities), privately owned water utilities, and a wide array of professional contractors working on projects in the residential, non-residential (commercial), and public sectors. Core & Main's extensive product range features essential components such as pipes, valves, hydrants, and fittings. For storm drainage needs, they offer systems including corrugated piping, retention basins, inline drains, manholes, grates, and geosynthetics. Their fire protection inventory covers crucial items like fire protection pipes, sprinkler heads, complete fire suppression systems, related accessories, and specialized fabrication services.

CNM (Core & Main, Inc.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Industrial - Distribution, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.61B, a trailing P/E of 19.29, a beta of 0.92 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 41.875-67.18, average daily share volume of 2.4M, a public-listing history dating back to 2021, approximately 6K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CNM stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.92 places CNM roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. CNM pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on CNM?

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.

CNM snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $45.87, ATM IV 40.00%, IV rank 5.95%, expected move 11.47%. The butterfly on CNM 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 35-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on CNM specifically: CNM IV at 40.00% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CNM butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 11.47% (roughly $5.26 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CNM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CNM should anchor to the underlying notional of $45.87 per share and to the trader's directional view on CNM stock.

CNM butterfly setup

The CNM 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 CNM at $45.87 on that close, the first option leg uses a $42.50 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CNM chain at a 35-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 CNM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$42.50	$4.90
Sell 2	Call	$45.00	$2.85
Buy 1	Call	$47.50	$1.25

CNM butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$45.00
Max Profit (per contract): $186.64
Max Loss (per contract): -$45.00
Breakeven(s): $42.95, $47.05
Risk / Reward Ratio: 4.148

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.

CNM butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CNM. 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%	-$45.00
$10.15	-77.9%	-$45.00
$20.29	-55.8%	-$45.00
$30.43	-33.7%	-$45.00
$40.57	-11.5%	-$45.00
$50.72	+10.6%	-$45.00
$60.86	+32.7%	-$45.00
$71.00	+54.8%	-$45.00
$81.14	+76.9%	-$45.00
$91.28	+99.0%	-$45.00

When traders use butterfly on CNM

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

CNM thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CNM extends from approximately $40.61 on the downside to $51.13 on the upside. A CNM long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CNM settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CNM IV rank near 5.95% 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 CNM at 40.00%. As a Industrials name, CNM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CNM-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on CNM?: A butterfly on CNM is the butterfly strategy applied to CNM (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 CNM stock at $45.87 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CNM chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are CNM 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 CNM butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 40.00%), the computed maximum profit is $186.64 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$45.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CNM butterfly?: The breakeven for the CNM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $42.95 and $47.05 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 CNM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 11.47%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on CNM?: Butterflies on CNM are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CNM 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 CNM implied volatility affect this butterfly?: CNM ATM IV is at 40.00% with IV rank near 5.95%, 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.