How are STLD 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 STLD butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.50%), the computed maximum profit is $742.29 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$215.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a STLD butterfly?

The breakeven for the STLD butterfly priced on this page is roughly $222.15 and $237.85 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 STLD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.75%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current STLD implied volatility affect this butterfly?

STLD ATM IV is at 37.50% with IV rank near 36.02%, 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.

STLD Butterfly Strategy

STLD (Steel Dynamics, Inc.), in the Basic Materials sector, (Steel industry), listed on NASDAQ.

Steel Dynamics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. It operates through three segments: Steel Operations, Metals Recycling Operations, and Steel Fabrication Operations. The Steel Operations segment offers hot roll, cold roll, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; and engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars. The company also engages in turning, polishing, straightening, chamfering, threading, precision saw-cutting, and heat treating of bar products; and cutting to length, straightening, hole punching, shot blasting, welding, galvanizing, and coating of specialty products. Its products are used in construction, automotive, manufacturing, transportation, heavy and agriculture equipment, and pipe and tube markets. This segment sells directly to end-users, steel fabricators, and service centers.

STLD (Steel Dynamics, Inc.) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Steel, with a market capitalization of approximately $34.19B, a trailing P/E of 25.02, a beta of 1.49 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 119.89-243.73, average daily share volume of 1.2M, a public-listing history dating back to 1996, approximately 13K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how STLD stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.49 indicates STLD has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. STLD pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on STLD?

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 STLD snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $229.27, ATM IV 37.50%, IV rank 36.02%, expected move 10.75%. The butterfly on STLD 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 STLD specifically: STLD IV at 37.50% 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 10.75% (roughly $24.65 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 STLD expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on STLD should anchor to the underlying notional of $229.27 per share and to the trader's directional view on STLD stock.

STLD butterfly setup

The STLD 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 STLD near $229.27, the first option leg uses a $220.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed STLD 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 STLD shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$220.00	$16.20
Sell 2	Call	$230.00	$10.40
Buy 1	Call	$240.00	$6.75

STLD butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$215.00
Max Profit (per contract): $742.29
Max Loss (per contract): -$215.00
Breakeven(s): $222.15, $237.85
Risk / Reward Ratio: 3.453

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.

STLD butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on STLD. 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%	-$215.00
$50.70	-77.9%	-$215.00
$101.39	-55.8%	-$215.00
$152.09	-33.7%	-$215.00
$202.78	-11.6%	-$215.00
$253.47	+10.6%	-$215.00
$304.16	+32.7%	-$215.00
$354.85	+54.8%	-$215.00
$405.54	+76.9%	-$215.00
$456.24	+99.0%	-$215.00

When traders use butterfly on STLD

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

STLD thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for STLD extends from approximately $204.62 on the downside to $253.92 on the upside. A STLD long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if STLD settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current STLD IV rank near 36.02% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on STLD should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Basic Materials name, STLD options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to STLD-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on STLD?: A butterfly on STLD is the butterfly strategy applied to STLD (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 STLD stock trading near $229.27, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed STLD chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are STLD 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 STLD butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.50%), the computed maximum profit is $742.29 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$215.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a STLD butterfly?: The breakeven for the STLD butterfly priced on this page is roughly $222.15 and $237.85 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 STLD market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.75%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on STLD?: Butterflies on STLD are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect STLD 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 STLD implied volatility affect this butterfly?: STLD ATM IV is at 37.50% with IV rank near 36.02%, 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.