How are PBF 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 PBF butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 67.60%), the computed maximum profit is $151.24 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$42.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a PBF butterfly?

The breakeven for the PBF butterfly priced on this page is roughly $40.43 and $43.58 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 PBF market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 19.38%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current PBF implied volatility affect this butterfly?

PBF ATM IV is at 67.60% with IV rank near 30.96%, 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.

PBF Butterfly Strategy

PBF (PBF Energy Inc.), in the Energy sector, (Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing industry), listed on NYSE.

PBF Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in refining and supplying petroleum products. The company operates in two segments, Refining and Logistics. It produces gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals, and asphalt, as well as unbranded transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks, blending components, and other petroleum products. The company sells its products in Northeast, Midwest, Gulf Coast, and West Coast of the United States, as well as in other regions of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It also offers various rail, truck, and marine terminaling services, as well as pipeline transportation and storage services. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned and operated six oil refineries and related assets.

PBF (PBF Energy Inc.) trades in the Energy sector, specifically Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.84B, a trailing P/E of 10.86, a beta of 0.14 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 17.53-52.18, average daily share volume of 3.8M, a public-listing history dating back to 2012, approximately 4K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how PBF stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.14 indicates PBF has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. The trailing P/E of 10.86 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price. PBF pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on PBF?

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 PBF snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $42.27, ATM IV 67.60%, IV rank 30.96%, expected move 19.38%. The butterfly on PBF 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 butterfly structure on PBF specifically: PBF IV at 67.60% 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 19.38% (roughly $8.19 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 PBF expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on PBF should anchor to the underlying notional of $42.27 per share and to the trader's directional view on PBF stock.

PBF butterfly setup

The PBF 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 PBF near $42.27, the first option leg uses a $40.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed PBF 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 PBF shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$40.00	$4.85
Sell 2	Call	$42.00	$3.65
Buy 1	Call	$44.00	$2.88

PBF butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$42.50
Max Profit (per contract): $151.24
Max Loss (per contract): -$42.50
Breakeven(s): $40.43, $43.58
Risk / Reward Ratio: 3.559

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.

PBF butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on PBF. 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%	-$42.50
$9.36	-77.9%	-$42.50
$18.70	-55.8%	-$42.50
$28.05	-33.7%	-$42.50
$37.39	-11.5%	-$42.50
$46.74	+10.6%	-$42.50
$56.08	+32.7%	-$42.50
$65.43	+54.8%	-$42.50
$74.77	+76.9%	-$42.50
$84.12	+99.0%	-$42.50

When traders use butterfly on PBF

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

PBF thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for PBF extends from approximately $34.08 on the downside to $50.46 on the upside. A PBF long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if PBF settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current PBF IV rank near 30.96% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on PBF should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Energy name, PBF options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to PBF-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on PBF?: A butterfly on PBF is the butterfly strategy applied to PBF (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 PBF stock trading near $42.27, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed PBF chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are PBF 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 PBF butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 67.60%), the computed maximum profit is $151.24 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$42.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a PBF butterfly?: The breakeven for the PBF butterfly priced on this page is roughly $40.43 and $43.58 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 PBF market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 19.38%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on PBF?: Butterflies on PBF are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect PBF 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 PBF implied volatility affect this butterfly?: PBF ATM IV is at 67.60% with IV rank near 30.96%, 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.