How are RS covered call max profit and max loss calculated?

Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium. For the RS covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 27.30%), the computed maximum profit is $2,142.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$35,857.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a RS covered call?

The breakeven for the RS covered call priced on this page is roughly $358.58 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 RS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.83%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current RS implied volatility affect this covered call?

RS ATM IV is at 27.30% with IV rank near 37.02%, 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.

RS Covered Call Strategy

RS (Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.), in the Basic Materials sector, (Steel industry), listed on NYSE.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries. It also distributes non-ferrous metals products and tubular building products; and manufactures specialty extruded metals, fabricated parts, and welded components. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a network of approximately 315 locations in 40 states in the United States and 13 in other countries. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, which primarily include small machine shops and fabricators. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

RS (Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Steel, with a market capitalization of approximately $18.83B, a trailing P/E of 23.63, a beta of 0.95 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 260.31-381, average daily share volume of 359K, a public-listing history dating back to 1994, approximately 16K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how RS stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.95 places RS roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. RS pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a covered call on RS?

A covered call pairs long stock with a short out-of-the-money call, collecting premium and capping upside above the short strike in exchange for income.

Current RS snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $362.63, ATM IV 27.30%, IV rank 37.02%, expected move 7.83%. The covered call on RS 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 covered call structure on RS specifically: RS IV at 27.30% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so the credit collected on a RS covered call sits in line with its long-run distribution, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 7.83% (roughly $28.38 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 RS expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on RS should anchor to the underlying notional of $362.63 per share and to the trader's directional view on RS stock.

RS covered call setup

The RS covered call below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With RS near $362.63, the first option leg uses a $380.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed RS 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 RS shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 100 shares	Stock	$362.63	long
Sell 1	Call	$380.00	$4.05

RS covered call risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$35,858.00
Max Profit (per contract): $2,142.00
Max Loss (per contract): -$35,857.00
Breakeven(s): $358.58
Risk / Reward Ratio: 0.060

Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium.

RS covered call payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call on RS. 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%	-$35,857.00
$80.19	-77.9%	-$27,839.16
$160.37	-55.8%	-$19,821.32
$240.55	-33.7%	-$11,803.48
$320.72	-11.6%	-$3,785.64
$400.90	+10.6%	+$2,142.00
$481.08	+32.7%	+$2,142.00
$561.26	+54.8%	+$2,142.00
$641.44	+76.9%	+$2,142.00
$721.62	+99.0%	+$2,142.00

When traders use covered call on RS

Covered calls on RS are an income strategy run on existing RS stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.

RS thesis for this covered call

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for RS extends from approximately $334.25 on the downside to $391.01 on the upside. A RS covered call collects premium on an existing long RS position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether RS will breach that level within the expiration window. Current RS IV rank near 37.02% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the covered call thesis on RS should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Basic Materials name, RS options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to RS-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a covered call on RS?: A covered call on RS is the covered call strategy applied to RS (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral to slightly bullish: A covered call pairs long stock with a short out-of-the-money call, collecting premium and capping upside above the short strike in exchange for income. With RS stock trading near $362.63, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed RS chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are RS covered call max profit and max loss calculated?: Max profit equals short-strike minus cost basis plus premium times 100; max loss is cost basis minus premium (at zero). Breakeven is cost basis minus premium. For the RS covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 27.30%), the computed maximum profit is $2,142.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$35,857.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a RS covered call?: The breakeven for the RS covered call priced on this page is roughly $358.58 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 RS market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 7.83%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a covered call on RS?: Covered calls on RS are an income strategy run on existing RS stock positions; traders typically sell calls at 25-35 delta with 30-45 days to expiration to balance premium against upside cap.
How does current RS implied volatility affect this covered call?: RS ATM IV is at 27.30% with IV rank near 37.02%, 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.