MPC Iron Condor Strategy

MPC (Marathon Petroleum Corporation), in the Energy sector, (Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing industry), listed on NYSE.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining & Marketing, and Midstream. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale. Its refined products include transportation fuels, such as reformulated gasolines and blend-grade gasolines; heavy fuel oil; and asphalt. This segment also manufactures aromatics, propane, propylene, and sulfur. It sells refined products to wholesale marketing customers in the United States and internationally, buyers on the spot market, and independent entrepreneurs who operate primarily Marathon branded outlets, as well as through long-term fuel supply contracts to direct dealer locations primarily under the ARCO brand.

MPC (Marathon Petroleum Corporation) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing, with a market capitalization of approximately $72.72B, a trailing P/E of 15.86, a beta of 0.53 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 154.65-261.61, average daily share volume of 2.6M, a public-listing history dating back to 2011, approximately 18K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how MPC stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.53 indicates MPC has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. MPC pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a iron condor on MPC?

An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes.

Current MPC snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $254.50, ATM IV 39.10%, IV rank 57.38%, expected move 11.21%. The iron condor on MPC 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 iron condor structure on MPC specifically: MPC IV at 39.10% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a MPC iron condor sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 11.21% (roughly $28.53 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 MPC expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on MPC should anchor to the underlying notional of $254.50 per share and to the trader's directional view on MPC stock.

MPC iron condor setup

The MPC iron condor below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With MPC near $254.50, the first option leg uses a $270.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed MPC 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 MPC shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

ActionTypeStrike / BasisPremium (est)
Sell 1Call$270.00$5.85
Buy 1Call$280.00$3.45
Sell 1Put$240.00$6.00
Buy 1Put$230.00$3.40

MPC iron condor risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit
+$500.00
Max Profit (per contract)
$500.00
Max Loss (per contract)
-$500.00
Breakeven(s)
$235.00, $275.00
Risk / Reward Ratio
1.000

Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit.

MPC iron condor payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the iron condor on MPC. 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 SpotP&L at Expiration
$0.01-100.0%-$500.00
$56.28-77.9%-$500.00
$112.55-55.8%-$500.00
$168.82-33.7%-$500.00
$225.09-11.6%-$500.00
$281.36+10.6%-$500.00
$337.63+32.7%-$500.00
$393.90+54.8%-$500.00
$450.17+76.9%-$500.00
$506.44+99.0%-$500.00

When traders use iron condor on MPC

Iron condors on MPC are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if MPC stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.

MPC thesis for this iron condor

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for MPC extends from approximately $225.97 on the downside to $283.03 on the upside. A MPC iron condor is a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that pays off when MPC stays inside the inner short strikes through expiration; the wing width should reflect the trader's tolerance for the maximum loss scenario where the underlying breaches an outer strike. Current MPC IV rank near 57.38% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the iron condor thesis on MPC should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Energy name, MPC options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to MPC-specific events.

MPC iron condor positions are structurally neutral / range-bound; 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. MPC positions also carry Energy sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move MPC alongside the broader basket even when MPC-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Short-premium structures like a iron condor on MPC carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical MPC earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current MPC chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a iron condor on MPC?
A iron condor on MPC is the iron condor strategy applied to MPC (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / range-bound: An iron condor sells a call spread and a put spread at strikes outside spot, collecting net premium that is kept if the underlying stays inside the inner short strikes. With MPC stock trading near $254.50, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed MPC chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are MPC iron condor max profit and max loss calculated?
Max profit equals the net credit times 100 inside the inner strikes; max loss equals wing width minus credit times 100. Two breakevens at inner strikes plus and minus the credit. For the MPC iron condor priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 39.10%), the computed maximum profit is $500.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$500.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a MPC iron condor?
The breakeven for the MPC iron condor priced on this page is roughly $235.00 and $275.00 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 MPC market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 11.21%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a iron condor on MPC?
Iron condors on MPC are a delta-neutral premium-collection structure that profits if MPC stock stays inside the inner short strikes; short strikes typically sit near 1 standard deviation from spot.
How does current MPC implied volatility affect this iron condor?
MPC ATM IV is at 39.10% with IV rank near 57.38%, 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.

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