How are MOS 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 MOS butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 45.36%), the computed maximum profit is $75.45 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$15.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a MOS butterfly?

The breakeven for the MOS butterfly priced on this page is roughly $21.15 and $22.85 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 MOS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.00%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current MOS implied volatility affect this butterfly?

MOS ATM IV is at 45.36% with IV rank near 57.64%, 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.

MOS Butterfly Strategy

MOS (The Mosaic Company), in the Basic Materials sector, (Agricultural Inputs industry), listed on NYSE.

The Mosaic Company, through its subsidiaries, produces and markets concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Phosphates, Potash, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It owns and operates mines, which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, such as diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and ammoniated phosphate products; and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients primarily under the Biofos and Nexfos brand names, as well as produces a double sulfate of potash magnesia product under K-Mag brand name. The company also produces and sells potash for use in the manufacturing of mixed crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients, and for industrial use; and for use in the de-icing and as a water softener regenerant. In addition, it provides nitrogen-based crop nutrients, animal feed ingredients, and other ancillary services; and purchases and sells phosphates, potash, and nitrogen products. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, retail chains, farmers, cooperatives, independent retailers, and national accounts.

MOS (The Mosaic Company) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Agricultural Inputs, with a market capitalization of approximately $7.24B, a trailing P/E of 9.95, a beta of 0.80 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 21.17-38.23, average daily share volume of 9.9M, a public-listing history dating back to 1988, approximately 14K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how MOS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.80 places MOS roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 9.95 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price. MOS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on MOS?

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 MOS snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $21.79, ATM IV 45.36%, IV rank 57.64%, expected move 13.00%. The butterfly on MOS 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 butterfly structure on MOS specifically: MOS IV at 45.36% 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 13.00% (roughly $2.83 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 MOS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MOS should anchor to the underlying notional of $21.79 per share and to the trader's directional view on MOS stock.

MOS butterfly setup

The MOS 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 MOS near $21.79, the first option leg uses a $21.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MOS 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 MOS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$21.00	$1.43
Sell 2	Call	$22.00	$0.95
Buy 1	Call	$23.00	$0.63

MOS butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$15.00
Max Profit (per contract): $75.45
Max Loss (per contract): -$15.00
Breakeven(s): $21.15, $22.85
Risk / Reward Ratio: 5.030

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.

MOS butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on MOS. 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%	-$15.00
$4.83	-77.8%	-$15.00
$9.64	-55.7%	-$15.00
$14.46	-33.6%	-$15.00
$19.28	-11.5%	-$15.00
$24.09	+10.6%	-$15.00
$28.91	+32.7%	-$15.00
$33.73	+54.8%	-$15.00
$38.54	+76.9%	-$15.00
$43.36	+99.0%	-$15.00

When traders use butterfly on MOS

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

MOS thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MOS extends from approximately $18.96 on the downside to $24.62 on the upside. A MOS long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if MOS settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current MOS IV rank near 57.64% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on MOS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Basic Materials name, MOS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MOS-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on MOS?: A butterfly on MOS is the butterfly strategy applied to MOS (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 MOS stock trading near $21.79, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MOS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are MOS 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 MOS butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 45.36%), the computed maximum profit is $75.45 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$15.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a MOS butterfly?: The breakeven for the MOS butterfly priced on this page is roughly $21.15 and $22.85 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 MOS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.00%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on MOS?: Butterflies on MOS are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect MOS 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 MOS implied volatility affect this butterfly?: MOS ATM IV is at 45.36% with IV rank near 57.64%, 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.