How are MPC strangle max profit and max loss calculated?

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the MPC strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 39.10%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,185.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a MPC strangle?

The breakeven for the MPC strangle priced on this page is roughly $228.15 and $281.85 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 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.

How does current MPC implied volatility affect this strangle?

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.

MPC Strangle 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 strangle on MPC?

A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.

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 strangle 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 strangle structure on MPC specifically: MPC IV at 39.10% 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 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 strangle setup

The MPC strangle 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).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$270.00	$5.85
Buy 1	Put	$240.00	$6.00

MPC strangle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$1,185.00
Max Profit (per contract): Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract): -$1,185.00
Breakeven(s): $228.15, $281.85
Risk / Reward Ratio: Unbounded

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.

MPC strangle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle 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 Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	+$22,814.00
$56.28	-77.9%	+$17,186.97
$112.55	-55.8%	+$11,559.95
$168.82	-33.7%	+$5,932.92
$225.09	-11.6%	+$305.90
$281.36	+10.6%	-$48.87
$337.63	+32.7%	+$5,578.15
$393.90	+54.8%	+$11,205.18
$450.17	+76.9%	+$16,832.20
$506.44	+99.0%	+$22,459.23

When traders use strangle on MPC

Strangles on MPC are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the MPC chain.

MPC thesis for this strangle

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 long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current MPC IV rank near 57.38% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the strangle 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 strangle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM); 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. Always rebuild the position from current MPC chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a strangle on MPC?: A strangle on MPC is the strangle strategy applied to MPC (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. 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 strangle max profit and max loss calculated?: Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the MPC strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 39.10%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,185.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a MPC strangle?: The breakeven for the MPC strangle priced on this page is roughly $228.15 and $281.85 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 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 strangle on MPC?: Strangles on MPC are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the MPC chain.
How does current MPC implied volatility affect this strangle?: 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.