How are DUK 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 DUK butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 19.00%), the computed maximum profit is $290.38 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$155.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a DUK butterfly?

The breakeven for the DUK butterfly priced on this page is roughly $116.55 and $123.45 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 DUK market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 5.45%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current DUK implied volatility affect this butterfly?

DUK ATM IV is at 19.00% with IV rank near 52.71%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.

DUK Butterfly Strategy

DUK (Duke Energy Corporation), in the Utilities sector, (Regulated Electric industry), listed on NYSE.

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, renewable generation, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. It also engages in the wholesale of electricity to municipalities, electric cooperative utilities, and load-serving entities. This segment serves approximately 8.2 million customers in 6 states in the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States covering a service territory of approximately 91,000 square miles; and owns approximately 50,259 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure segment distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation natural gas customers; and owns, operates, and invests in pipeline transmission and natural gas storage facilities.

DUK (Duke Energy Corporation) trades in the Utilities sector, specifically Regulated Electric, with a market capitalization of approximately $96.59B, a trailing P/E of 18.76, a beta of 0.40 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 113.37-134.49, average daily share volume of 4.0M, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 26K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how DUK stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.40 indicates DUK has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. DUK pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on DUK?

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 DUK snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $121.15, ATM IV 19.00%, IV rank 52.71%, expected move 5.45%. The butterfly on DUK 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 34-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on DUK specifically: DUK IV at 19.00% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 5.45% (roughly $6.60 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated DUK expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on DUK should anchor to the underlying notional of $121.15 per share and to the trader's directional view on DUK stock.

DUK butterfly setup

The DUK 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 DUK near $121.15, the first option leg uses a $115.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed DUK chain at a 34-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 DUK shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$115.00	$7.50
Sell 2	Call	$120.00	$3.65
Buy 1	Call	$125.00	$1.35

DUK butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$155.00
Max Profit (per contract): $290.38
Max Loss (per contract): -$155.00
Breakeven(s): $116.55, $123.45
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.873

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.

DUK butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on DUK. 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.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$155.00
$26.80	-77.9%	-$155.00
$53.58	-55.8%	-$155.00
$80.37	-33.7%	-$155.00
$107.15	-11.6%	-$155.00
$133.94	+10.6%	-$155.00
$160.72	+32.7%	-$155.00
$187.51	+54.8%	-$155.00
$214.30	+76.9%	-$155.00
$241.08	+99.0%	-$155.00

When traders use butterfly on DUK

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

DUK thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for DUK extends from approximately $114.55 on the downside to $127.75 on the upside. A DUK long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if DUK settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current DUK IV rank near 52.71% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on DUK should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Utilities name, DUK options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to DUK-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on DUK?: A butterfly on DUK is the butterfly strategy applied to DUK (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 DUK stock trading near $121.15, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed DUK chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are DUK 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 DUK butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 19.00%), the computed maximum profit is $290.38 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$155.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a DUK butterfly?: The breakeven for the DUK butterfly priced on this page is roughly $116.55 and $123.45 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 DUK market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 5.45%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on DUK?: Butterflies on DUK are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect DUK 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 DUK implied volatility affect this butterfly?: DUK ATM IV is at 19.00% with IV rank near 52.71%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.