IHRT Butterfly Strategy
IHRT (iHeartMedia, Inc.), in the Communication Services sector, (Broadcasting industry), listed on NASDAQ.
iHeartMedia, Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Multiplatform Group, Digital Audio Group, and Audio & Media Services Group. The Multiplatform Group segment offers broadcast radio stations, sponsorship, and live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents approximately 120 syndicated radio programs and services to approximately 6,400 radio station affiliates. It also delivers real-time traffic flow and incident information, and weather updates, sports, and news through approximately 2,100 radio stations and 170 television affiliates, and Internet and mobile partnerships. As of December 31, 2021, this segment owned 863 radio stations, which included 249 AM and 614 FM radio stations. The Digital Audio Group segment provides podcasting, digital sites, newsletters, digital services, and programs; and iHeartRadio, a mobile app and web-based service for radio stations, digital-only stations, custom artist stations, and podcasts.
IHRT (iHeartMedia, Inc.) trades in the Communication Services sector, specifically Broadcasting, with a market capitalization of approximately $677.3M, a beta of 2.34 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 1.11-6.56, average daily share volume of 1.1M, a public-listing history dating back to 2019, approximately 8K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how IHRT stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 2.34 indicates IHRT 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 IHRT?
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 IHRT snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $4.78, ATM IV 108.10%, IV rank 25.38%, expected move 30.99%. The butterfly on IHRT 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 IHRT specifically: IHRT IV at 108.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a IHRT butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 30.99% (roughly $1.48 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 IHRT expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IHRT should anchor to the underlying notional of $4.78 per share and to the trader's directional view on IHRT stock.
IHRT butterfly setup
The IHRT 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 IHRT near $4.78, the first option leg uses a $4.54 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IHRT 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 IHRT shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $4.54 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $4.78 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $5.02 | N/A |
IHRT butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- N/A
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Breakeven(s)
- None on modeled curve
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- N/A
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.
IHRT butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on IHRT. 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.
When traders use butterfly on IHRT
Butterflies on IHRT are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect IHRT 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.
IHRT thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IHRT extends from approximately $3.30 on the downside to $6.26 on the upside. A IHRT long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if IHRT settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current IHRT IV rank near 25.38% 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 IHRT at 108.10%. As a Communication Services name, IHRT options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IHRT-specific events.
IHRT 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. IHRT positions also carry Communication Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IHRT alongside the broader basket even when IHRT-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IHRT chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on IHRT?
- A butterfly on IHRT is the butterfly strategy applied to IHRT (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 IHRT stock trading near $4.78, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IHRT chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are IHRT 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 IHRT butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 108.10%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is unbounded per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a IHRT butterfly?
- The breakeven for the IHRT 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 IHRT market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 30.99%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on IHRT?
- Butterflies on IHRT are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect IHRT 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 IHRT implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- IHRT ATM IV is at 108.10% with IV rank near 25.38%, 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.