How are KEX collar max profit and max loss calculated?

Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the KEX collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 25.50%), the computed maximum profit is $680.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$819.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a KEX collar?

The breakeven for the KEX collar priced on this page is roughly $138.20 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 KEX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 7.31%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current KEX implied volatility affect this collar?

KEX ATM IV is at 25.50% with IV rank near 1.75%, 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.

KEX Collar Strategy

KEX (Kirby Corporation), in the Industrials sector, (Marine Shipping industry), listed on NYSE.

Kirby Corporation is a leading operator of domestic tank barges within the United States. Its Marine Transportation division specializes in moving bulk liquid products, providing comprehensive marine transport and towing services. These operations cover an extensive network, including the Mississippi River System, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, all three U.S. coastlines, and extend to Alaska and Hawaii. The company transports a wide array of materials, such as petrochemicals, various black and refined petroleum products, and agricultural chemicals, primarily via tank barge. This segment also manages offshore dry-bulk barges and their accompanying tugboat units, facilitating the coastal transport of dry-bulk commodities across the U.S. As of December 31, 2021, Kirby's substantial fleet consisted of 1,025 inland tank barges, approximately 255 inland towboats, 31 coastal tank barges, 29 coastal tugboats, 4 offshore dry-bulk cargo barges, 4 offshore tugboats, and a single docking tugboat.

KEX (Kirby Corporation) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Marine Shipping, with a market capitalization of approximately $7.27B, a trailing P/E of 20.42, a beta of 0.86 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 79.52-157.69, average daily share volume of 643K, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how KEX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.86 places KEX roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. KEX pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a collar on KEX?

A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot.

KEX snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $138.22, ATM IV 25.50%, IV rank 1.75%, expected move 7.31%. The collar on KEX 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 35-day expiry.

Why this collar structure on KEX specifically: IV regime affects collar pricing on both sides; compressed KEX IV at 25.50% typically pushes the short call premium to roughly offset the long put cost, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.31% (roughly $10.10 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated KEX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on KEX should anchor to the underlying notional of $138.22 per share and to the trader's directional view on KEX stock.

KEX collar setup

The KEX collar 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 KEX at $138.22 on that close, the first option leg uses a $145.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed KEX chain at a 35-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 KEX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 100 shares	Stock	$138.22	long
Sell 1	Call	$145.00	$2.10
Buy 1	Put	$130.00	$2.08

KEX collar risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$13,819.50
Max Profit (per contract): $680.50
Max Loss (per contract): -$819.50
Breakeven(s): $138.20
Risk / Reward Ratio: 0.830

Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium.

KEX collar payoff curve

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

P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$819.50
$30.57	-77.9%	-$819.50
$61.13	-55.8%	-$819.50
$91.69	-33.7%	-$819.50
$122.25	-11.6%	-$819.50
$152.81	+10.6%	+$680.50
$183.37	+32.7%	+$680.50
$213.93	+54.8%	+$680.50
$244.49	+76.9%	+$680.50
$275.05	+99.0%	+$680.50

When traders use collar on KEX

Collars on KEX hedge an existing long KEX stock position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.

KEX thesis for this collar

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for KEX extends from approximately $128.12 on the downside to $148.32 on the upside. A KEX collar hedges an existing long KEX position with a protective put while financing the put cost via a short call; when the premiums roughly offset, the collar acts as a near-zero-cost insurance band around the current spot. Current KEX IV rank near 1.75% 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 KEX at 25.50%. As a Industrials name, KEX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to KEX-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a collar on KEX?: A collar on KEX is the collar strategy applied to KEX (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral (protective): A collar pairs long stock with a protective out-of-the-money put financed by a short out-of-the-money call, capping both tails of the position around the current spot. With KEX stock at $138.22 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed KEX chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are KEX collar max profit and max loss calculated?: Max profit roughly equals short-call strike minus cost basis plus net premium; max loss roughly equals cost basis minus long-put strike minus net premium. Breakeven shifts by the net premium. For the KEX collar priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 25.50%), the computed maximum profit is $680.50 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$819.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a KEX collar?: The breakeven for the KEX collar priced on this page is roughly $138.20 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 KEX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 7.31%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a collar on KEX?: Collars on KEX hedge an existing long KEX stock position; the long put sets a floor while the short call finances it, often run as a near-zero-cost hedge during expected volatility windows.
How does current KEX implied volatility affect this collar?: KEX ATM IV is at 25.50% with IV rank near 1.75%, 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.