How are LYB 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 LYB butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 38.80%), the computed maximum profit is $276.05 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$197.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a LYB butterfly?

The breakeven for the LYB butterfly priced on this page is roughly $65.53 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 LYB market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 11.12%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current LYB implied volatility affect this butterfly?

LYB ATM IV is at 38.80% with IV rank near 8.32%, 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.

LYB Butterfly Strategy

LYB (LyondellBasell Industries N.V.), in the Basic Materials sector, (Chemicals - Specialty industry), listed on NYSE.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V., established in 2009 and based in Houston, Texas, operates as a prominent global chemical manufacturer with a significant international footprint, including the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, and the Netherlands. The company's diverse operations are organized into six distinct segments. Its core business involves the production and marketing of olefins and various polyolefins, such as high, low, and linear low-density polyethylene, along with polypropylene homopolymers and copolymers, for markets spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia. LyondellBasell also focuses on intermediate chemicals and derivatives, offering products like propylene oxide, oxyfuels, styrene monomers, acetyls, and ethylene-based compounds. Furthermore, the company develops and sells advanced polymer solutions, including polypropylene compounds, engineered plastics, masterbatches, engineered composites, colors, and powders. Its activities extend to refining crude oil into gasoline and distillates, as well as the development and licensing of chemical and polyolefin process technologies, alongside the manufacturing and sale of polyolefin catalysts.

LYB (LyondellBasell Industries N.V.) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Chemicals - Specialty, with a market capitalization of approximately $20.58B, a beta of 0.35 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 41.58-83.94, average daily share volume of 5.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 2010, approximately 19K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how LYB stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.35 indicates LYB has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. LYB pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on LYB?

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.

LYB snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $63.72, ATM IV 38.80%, IV rank 8.32%, expected move 11.12%. The butterfly on LYB 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 butterfly structure on LYB specifically: LYB IV at 38.80% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a LYB butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 11.12% (roughly $7.09 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 LYB expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on LYB should anchor to the underlying notional of $63.72 per share and to the trader's directional view on LYB stock.

LYB butterfly setup

The LYB butterfly 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 LYB at $63.72 on that close, the first option leg uses a $60.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed LYB 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 LYB shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$60.00	$4.90
Sell 2	Call	$62.50	$3.45
Buy 1	Call	$67.50	$1.48

LYB butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: +$52.50
Max Profit (per contract): $276.05
Max Loss (per contract): -$197.50
Breakeven(s): $65.53
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.398

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.

LYB butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on LYB. 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%	+$52.50
$14.10	-77.9%	+$52.50
$28.19	-55.8%	+$52.50
$42.27	-33.7%	+$52.50
$56.36	-11.5%	+$52.50
$70.45	+10.6%	-$197.50
$84.54	+32.7%	-$197.50
$98.62	+54.8%	-$197.50
$112.71	+76.9%	-$197.50
$126.80	+99.0%	-$197.50

When traders use butterfly on LYB

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

LYB thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for LYB extends from approximately $56.63 on the downside to $70.81 on the upside. A LYB long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if LYB settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current LYB IV rank near 8.32% 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 LYB at 38.80%. As a Basic Materials name, LYB options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to LYB-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on LYB?: A butterfly on LYB is the butterfly strategy applied to LYB (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 LYB stock at $63.72 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed LYB chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are LYB 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 LYB butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 38.80%), the computed maximum profit is $276.05 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$197.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a LYB butterfly?: The breakeven for the LYB butterfly priced on this page is roughly $65.53 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 LYB market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 11.12%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on LYB?: Butterflies on LYB are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect LYB 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 LYB implied volatility affect this butterfly?: LYB ATM IV is at 38.80% with IV rank near 8.32%, 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.