H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) Max Pain Analysis
Max pain is the strike price where aggregate option buyer payout is minimized at expiration. It represents the price at which option writers retain the most premium.
H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) operates in the Consumer Cyclical sector, specifically the Personal Products & Services industry, with a market capitalization near $4.57B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 4,200 people, carrying a beta of 0.30 to the broader market. H&R Block, Inc. Led by Curtis A. Campbell, public since 1962-02-13.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $36.98
- Max Pain Strike
- $35.00
- Total OI
- 24.6K
As of May 15, 2026, H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) max pain sits at $35.00, which is below the current spot price of $36.98 (5.4% away). Spot sits 5.4% below max pain - the gap is wide enough that the pinning effect alone is unlikely to close it; expect catalyst flow, positioning unwinds, or rebalancing to drive the actual price path before any expiration pull. HRB sits in the lower-price band (spot $36.98), where $0.50-$2.50 strike spacing makes pin-to-strike effects easy to spot but per-contract dollar gamma is smaller. Total open interest across the listed chain is comparatively thin (24.6K contracts), so single-strike pinning is less reliable than it is for high-OI names. HRB is currently in positive dealer gamma ($73.9K), the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning by inducing dealers to buy weakness and sell strength near heavy-OI strikes. Max pain identifies the strike at which the aggregate dollar value of all outstanding options contracts would expire with the least total intrinsic value, a gravitational reference rather than a price target.
HRB Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot 5.4% from the $35.00 max-pain level and H&R Block, Inc. in a positive-gamma regime, where dealer hedging mechanically pulls spot toward heavy-OI strikes, strategy selection turns on cycle position and dealer positioning. Iron condors and credit spreads centered near the max-pain strike capture the typical end-of-cycle convergence when the regime supports pinning; ratio backspreads or directional debit structures fit names where catalyst flow is likely to overwhelm the hedging-driven pull. The gamma-exposure page shows the per-strike dealer book that determines whether hedging will reinforce or fight the pin.
Learn how max pain is reported and how to read the data →
Frequently asked HRB max pain analysis questions
- What is the current HRB max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) max pain sits at $35.00, which is 5.4% below the current spot price of $36.98. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. A 5.4% gap is wide enough that the pinning effect alone is unlikely to close it; expect catalyst flow, positioning unwinds, or rebalancing to drive the price path before any expiration pull.
- Does HRB pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- HRB is currently in positive dealer gamma, the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning. Dealers hedging long-gamma books buy weakness and sell strength near high-OI strikes, which pulls spot toward those levels into expiration. Total open interest across HRB (24.6K contracts) is one input to how plausible a clean pin is - heavier total OI concentrated at fewer strikes raises the probability; thin OI spread across many strikes lowers it. Pinning is strongest in heavily-traded names with large open-interest concentrations at high-OI strikes during the final week of an OPEX cycle. Whether HRB actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the dealer-gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.
- How is HRB max pain calculated?
- Max pain is computed by summing the dollar value of all in-the-money options at each candidate settlement strike across listed expirations, then selecting the strike that minimizes total intrinsic-value payout to option buyers. The calculation uses the full open-interest distribution and weighs both calls and puts. HRB put/call OI ratio is 1.11 - balanced, so the max-pain calculation reflects the strike where the call and put OI distributions cross rather than a single dominant side.