FSLR Butterfly Strategy
FSLR (First Solar, Inc.), in the Technology sector, (Solar industry), listed on NASDAQ.
First Solar, Inc. is a global provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions, operating in numerous international markets including the United States, Japan, France, Canada, India, and Australia. The company's primary activity involves the engineering, manufacturing, and sale of cadmium telluride solar modules, which are designed to convert solar radiation directly into electricity. Its clientele is broad, serving system developers and operators, utility companies, independent power producers, commercial and industrial businesses, and various other system owners. Founded in 1999, the firm is based in Tempe, Arizona, and underwent a name change in 2006 from its former designation, First Solar Holdings, Inc.
FSLR (First Solar, Inc.) trades in the Technology sector, specifically Solar, with a market capitalization of approximately $24.37B, a trailing P/E of 13.96, a beta of 1.75 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 176.47-320.95, average daily share volume of 2.4M, a public-listing history dating back to 2006, approximately 8K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how FSLR stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.75 indicates FSLR has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position.
What is a butterfly on FSLR?
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.
FSLR snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $225.20, ATM IV 49.37%, IV rank 12.70%, expected move 14.15%. The butterfly on FSLR 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 butterfly structure on FSLR specifically: FSLR IV at 49.37% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a FSLR butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 14.15% (roughly $31.88 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 FSLR expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on FSLR should anchor to the underlying notional of $225.20 per share and to the trader's directional view on FSLR stock.
FSLR butterfly setup
The FSLR 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 FSLR at $225.20 on that close, the first option leg uses a $215.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed FSLR 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 FSLR shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $215.00 | $17.75 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $225.00 | $12.10 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $235.00 | $8.23 |
FSLR butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$177.50
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $729.84
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$177.50
- Breakeven(s)
- $216.78, $233.25
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 4.112
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.
FSLR butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on FSLR. 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% | -$177.50 |
| $49.80 | -77.9% | -$177.50 |
| $99.59 | -55.8% | -$177.50 |
| $149.39 | -33.7% | -$177.50 |
| $199.18 | -11.6% | -$177.50 |
| $248.97 | +10.6% | -$177.50 |
| $298.76 | +32.7% | -$177.50 |
| $348.55 | +54.8% | -$177.50 |
| $398.34 | +76.9% | -$177.50 |
| $448.14 | +99.0% | -$177.50 |
When traders use butterfly on FSLR
Butterflies on FSLR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FSLR 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.
FSLR thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for FSLR extends from approximately $193.32 on the downside to $257.08 on the upside. A FSLR long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if FSLR settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current FSLR IV rank near 12.70% 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 FSLR at 49.37%. As a Technology name, FSLR options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to FSLR-specific events.
FSLR 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. FSLR positions also carry Technology sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move FSLR alongside the broader basket even when FSLR-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current FSLR chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on FSLR?
- A butterfly on FSLR is the butterfly strategy applied to FSLR (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 FSLR stock at $225.20 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FSLR chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are FSLR 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 FSLR butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 49.37%), the computed maximum profit is $729.84 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$177.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a FSLR butterfly?
- The breakeven for the FSLR butterfly priced on this page is roughly $216.78 and $233.25 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 FSLR market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 14.15%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on FSLR?
- Butterflies on FSLR are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FSLR 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 FSLR implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- FSLR ATM IV is at 49.37% with IV rank near 12.70%, 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.