How are CXW 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 CXW butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 41.90%), the computed maximum profit is $129.97 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$67.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a CXW butterfly?

The breakeven for the CXW butterfly priced on this page is roughly $31.68 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 CXW market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 12.01%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current CXW implied volatility affect this butterfly?

CXW ATM IV is at 41.90% with IV rank near 18.38%, 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.

CXW Butterfly Strategy

CXW (CoreCivic, Inc.), in the Real Estate sector, (REIT - Specialty industry), listed on NYSE.

CoreCivic, Inc. specializes in the ownership and management of a diverse portfolio of correctional institutions, detention centers, and residential reentry facilities throughout the United States. Its operations are organized into three distinct divisions: CoreCivic Safety, CoreCivic Community, and CoreCivic Properties. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services to its government partners, encompassing the administration of correctional and detention services, the provision of a network of residential reentry centers designed to combat the nation's recidivism challenges, and tailored government real estate solutions. Within these facilities, CoreCivic delivers a range of rehabilitative and educational initiatives, including fundamental schooling, spiritual support, practical life skills and vocational training, and programs for substance abuse recovery. As of the close of 2021, CoreCivic's holdings included 46 correctional and detention sites, 26 residential reentry hubs, and 10 properties designated for leasing. The organization was established in 1983 and maintains its principal offices in Brentwood, Tennessee.

CXW (CoreCivic, Inc.) trades in the Real Estate sector, specifically REIT - Specialty, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.32B, a trailing P/E of 27.11, a beta of 0.58 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 15.74-34.86, average daily share volume of 1.2M, a public-listing history dating back to 1997, approximately 14K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CXW stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.58 indicates CXW has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. CXW pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on CXW?

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.

CXW snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $32.53, ATM IV 41.90%, IV rank 18.38%, expected move 12.01%. The butterfly on CXW 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 CXW specifically: CXW IV at 41.90% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a CXW butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.01% (roughly $3.91 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 CXW expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CXW should anchor to the underlying notional of $32.53 per share and to the trader's directional view on CXW stock.

CXW butterfly setup

The CXW 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 CXW at $32.53 on that close, the first option leg uses a $31.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CXW 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 CXW shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$31.00	$2.40
Sell 2	Call	$33.00	$1.38
Buy 1	Call	$34.00	$1.03

CXW butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$67.50
Max Profit (per contract): $129.97
Max Loss (per contract): -$67.50
Breakeven(s): $31.68
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.925

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.

CXW butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CXW. 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%	-$67.50
$7.20	-77.9%	-$67.50
$14.39	-55.8%	-$67.50
$21.58	-33.6%	-$67.50
$28.78	-11.5%	-$67.50
$35.97	+10.6%	+$32.50
$43.16	+32.7%	+$32.50
$50.35	+54.8%	+$32.50
$57.54	+76.9%	+$32.50
$64.73	+99.0%	+$32.50

When traders use butterfly on CXW

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

CXW thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CXW extends from approximately $28.62 on the downside to $36.44 on the upside. A CXW long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CXW settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CXW IV rank near 18.38% 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 CXW at 41.90%. As a Real Estate name, CXW options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CXW-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on CXW?: A butterfly on CXW is the butterfly strategy applied to CXW (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 CXW stock at $32.53 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CXW chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are CXW 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 CXW butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 41.90%), the computed maximum profit is $129.97 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$67.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a CXW butterfly?: The breakeven for the CXW butterfly priced on this page is roughly $31.68 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 CXW market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 12.01%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on CXW?: Butterflies on CXW are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CXW 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 CXW implied volatility affect this butterfly?: CXW ATM IV is at 41.90% with IV rank near 18.38%, 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.