How are FSS 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 FSS butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 34.90%), the computed maximum profit is $477.34 per contract and the computed maximum loss is $22.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a FSS butterfly?

The breakeven for the FSS butterfly priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve 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 FSS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.01%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current FSS implied volatility affect this butterfly?

FSS ATM IV is at 34.90% with IV rank near 56.20%, 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.

FSS Butterfly Strategy

FSS (Federal Signal Corporation), in the Industrials sector, (Industrial - Pollution & Treatment Controls industry), listed on NYSE.

Federal Signal Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies a suite of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial, and commercial customers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Environmental Solutions Group, and Safety and Security Systems Group. The Environmental Solutions Group segment offers a range of street sweepers, safe-digging trucks ,sewer cleaners, industrial vacuum loaders, vacuum, and hydro-excavation trucks; road-marking, line-removal and waterblasting equipment, dump truck bodies, trailers, and metal extraction support equipment under the Elgin, Vactor, Guzzler, TRUVAC, Westech, Jetstream, Mark Rite Lines, Ox Bodies, Crysteel, J-Craft, Duraclass, Rugby, Travis, OSW, NTE, WTB, Ground Force, Bucks, and Switch-N-Go brand names. It also offers refuse and recycling collection vehicles, camera systems, ice resurfacing equipment, and snow-removal equipment, as well as safety, and security systems. In addition, this segment engages in the sale of parts, service and repair, equipment rental, and training activities. The Safety and Security Systems Group segment provides systems and products for community alerting, emergency vehicles, first responder interoperable communications, and industrial communications.

FSS (Federal Signal Corporation) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Industrial - Pollution & Treatment Controls, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.97B, a trailing P/E of 25.70, a beta of 1.32 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 91.48-132.89, average daily share volume of 499K, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how FSS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.32 indicates FSS has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. FSS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on FSS?

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 FSS snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $111.22, ATM IV 34.90%, IV rank 56.20%, expected move 10.01%. The butterfly on FSS 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 FSS specifically: FSS IV at 34.90% 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 10.01% (roughly $11.13 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 FSS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on FSS should anchor to the underlying notional of $111.22 per share and to the trader's directional view on FSS stock.

FSS butterfly setup

The FSS 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 FSS near $111.22, the first option leg uses a $105.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed FSS 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 FSS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$105.00	$8.90
Sell 2	Call	$110.00	$6.25
Buy 1	Call	$115.00	$3.38

FSS butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: +$22.50
Max Profit (per contract): $477.34
Max Loss (per contract): $22.50
Breakeven(s): None on modeled curve
Risk / Reward Ratio: 21.215

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.

FSS butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on FSS. 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%	+$22.50
$24.60	-77.9%	+$22.50
$49.19	-55.8%	+$22.50
$73.78	-33.7%	+$22.50
$98.37	-11.6%	+$22.50
$122.96	+10.6%	+$22.50
$147.55	+32.7%	+$22.50
$172.14	+54.8%	+$22.50
$196.73	+76.9%	+$22.50
$221.32	+99.0%	+$22.50

When traders use butterfly on FSS

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

FSS thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for FSS extends from approximately $100.09 on the downside to $122.35 on the upside. A FSS long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if FSS settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current FSS IV rank near 56.20% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on FSS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Industrials name, FSS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to FSS-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on FSS?: A butterfly on FSS is the butterfly strategy applied to FSS (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 FSS stock trading near $111.22, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed FSS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are FSS 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 FSS butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 34.90%), the computed maximum profit is $477.34 per contract and the computed maximum loss is $22.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a FSS butterfly?: The breakeven for the FSS butterfly priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve 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 FSS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.01%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on FSS?: Butterflies on FSS are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect FSS 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 FSS implied volatility affect this butterfly?: FSS ATM IV is at 34.90% with IV rank near 56.20%, 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.