LMT Straddle Strategy
LMT (Lockheed Martin Corporation), in the Industrials sector, (Aerospace & Defense industry), listed on NYSE.
Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. The Aeronautics segment offers combat and air mobility aircraft, unmanned air vehicles, and related technologies. The Missiles and Fire Control segment provides air and missile defense systems; tactical missiles and air-to-ground precision strike weapon systems; logistics; fire control systems; mission operations support, readiness, engineering support, and integration services; manned and unmanned ground vehicles; and energy management solutions. The Rotary and Mission Systems segment offers military and commercial helicopters, surface ships, sea and land-based missile defense systems, radar systems, sea and air-based mission and combat systems, command and control mission solutions, cyber solutions, and simulation and training solutions. The Space segment offers satellites; space transportation systems; strategic, advanced strike, and defensive missile systems; and classified systems and services in support of national security systems.
LMT (Lockheed Martin Corporation) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Aerospace & Defense, with a market capitalization of approximately $119.88B, a trailing P/E of 24.94, a beta of 0.10 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 410.11-692, average daily share volume of 1.6M, a public-listing history dating back to 1977, approximately 121K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how LMT stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.10 indicates LMT has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. LMT pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a straddle on LMT?
A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration.
Current LMT snapshot
As of May 14, 2026, spot at $519.13, ATM IV 28.84%, IV rank 47.10%, expected move 8.27%. The straddle on LMT 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 28-day expiry.
Why this straddle structure on LMT specifically: LMT IV at 28.84% 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 8.27% (roughly $42.93 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 LMT expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on LMT should anchor to the underlying notional of $519.13 per share and to the trader's directional view on LMT stock.
LMT straddle setup
The LMT straddle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With LMT near $519.13, the first option leg uses a $520.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed LMT 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 LMT shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $520.00 | $13.05 |
| Buy 1 | Put | $520.00 | $19.65 |
LMT straddle risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$3,270.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$3,095.63
- Breakeven(s)
- $487.30, $552.70
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- Unbounded
Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit.
LMT straddle payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the straddle on LMT. 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% | +$48,729.00 |
| $114.79 | -77.9% | +$37,250.86 |
| $229.57 | -55.8% | +$25,772.72 |
| $344.35 | -33.7% | +$14,294.58 |
| $459.14 | -11.6% | +$2,816.44 |
| $573.92 | +10.6% | +$2,121.70 |
| $688.70 | +32.7% | +$13,599.84 |
| $803.48 | +54.8% | +$25,077.98 |
| $918.26 | +76.9% | +$36,556.13 |
| $1,033.04 | +99.0% | +$48,034.27 |
When traders use straddle on LMT
Straddles on LMT are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy LMT straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
LMT thesis for this straddle
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for LMT extends from approximately $476.20 on the downside to $562.06 on the upside. A LMT long straddle is a pure-volatility play: it profits when the underlying moves far enough from the strike in either direction to overcome the combined call plus put debit, regardless of direction. Current LMT IV rank near 47.10% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the straddle thesis on LMT should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Industrials name, LMT options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to LMT-specific events.
LMT straddle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium); 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. LMT positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move LMT alongside the broader basket even when LMT-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current LMT chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a straddle on LMT?
- A straddle on LMT is the straddle strategy applied to LMT (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium): A long straddle buys an ATM call and an ATM put at the same strike, profiting from a large move in either direction; max loss equals the combined debit when the underlying pins to the strike at expiration. With LMT stock trading near $519.13, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed LMT chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are LMT straddle max profit and max loss calculated?
- Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the strike minus the combined call plus put debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins to the strike). Two breakevens at strike plus debit and strike minus debit. For the LMT straddle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 28.84%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$3,095.63 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a LMT straddle?
- The breakeven for the LMT straddle priced on this page is roughly $487.30 and $552.70 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 LMT market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 8.27%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a straddle on LMT?
- Straddles on LMT are pure-volatility plays that profit from large moves in either direction; traders typically buy LMT straddles ahead of earnings, FDA decisions, or other catalysts where the realized move is expected to exceed the implied move priced into the chain.
- How does current LMT implied volatility affect this straddle?
- LMT ATM IV is at 28.84% with IV rank near 47.10%, 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.