How are CWST 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 CWST butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.30%), the computed maximum profit is $398.15 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$85.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CWST butterfly?

The breakeven for the CWST butterfly priced on this page is roughly $90.85 and $99.15 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 CWST market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.69%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CWST implied volatility affect this butterfly?

CWST ATM IV is at 37.30% with IV rank near 4.06%, 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.

CWST Butterfly Strategy

CWST (Casella Waste Systems, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Waste Management industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., along with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste management firm across the northeastern United States. The company specializes in comprehensive waste and resource management solutions, encompassing solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling, and organic waste services. These offerings cater to a diverse clientele, including residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers. Its operations specifically address non-hazardous solid waste, from initial collection through its extensive network of transfer stations to final disposal facilities. Casella also markets a variety of processed recyclables, such as metals (including aluminum), plastics, and paper products like corrugated cardboard, sourced from both its own processing centers and third-party acquisitions. Furthermore, the company engages in commodity brokerage.

CWST (Casella Waste Systems, Inc.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Waste Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $5.91B, a trailing P/E of 839.45, a beta of 0.78 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 74.05-116.45, average daily share volume of 797K, a public-listing history dating back to 1997, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CWST stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.78 places CWST roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 839.45 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.

What is a butterfly on CWST?

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 CWST snapshot

As of June 30, 2026, spot at $96.62, ATM IV 37.30%, IV rank 4.06%, expected move 10.69%. The butterfly on CWST 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 80-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on CWST specifically: CWST IV at 37.30% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CWST butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.69% (roughly $10.33 on the underlying). The 80-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CWST expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CWST should anchor to the underlying notional of $96.62 per share and to the trader's directional view on CWST stock.

CWST butterfly setup

The CWST 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 CWST near $96.62, the first option leg uses a $90.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CWST chain at a 80-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 CWST shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$90.00	$10.15
Sell 2	Call	$95.00	$7.05
Buy 1	Call	$100.00	$4.80

CWST butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$85.00
Max Profit (per contract): $398.15
Max Loss (per contract): -$85.00
Breakeven(s): $90.85, $99.15
Risk / Reward Ratio: 4.684

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.

CWST butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CWST. 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%	-$85.00
$21.37	-77.9%	-$85.00
$42.73	-55.8%	-$85.00
$64.10	-33.7%	-$85.00
$85.46	-11.6%	-$85.00
$106.82	+10.6%	-$85.00
$128.18	+32.7%	-$85.00
$149.54	+54.8%	-$85.00
$170.91	+76.9%	-$85.00
$192.27	+99.0%	-$85.00

When traders use butterfly on CWST

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

CWST thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CWST extends from approximately $86.29 on the downside to $106.95 on the upside. A CWST long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CWST settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CWST IV rank near 4.06% 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 CWST at 37.30%. As a Industrials name, CWST options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CWST-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on CWST?: A butterfly on CWST is the butterfly strategy applied to CWST (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 CWST stock trading near $96.62, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CWST chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are CWST 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 CWST butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.30%), the computed maximum profit is $398.15 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$85.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CWST butterfly?: The breakeven for the CWST butterfly priced on this page is roughly $90.85 and $99.15 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 CWST market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.69%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on CWST?: Butterflies on CWST are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CWST 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 CWST implied volatility affect this butterfly?: CWST ATM IV is at 37.30% with IV rank near 4.06%, 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.