United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) Max Pain Analysis
Max pain is the strike price where aggregate option buyer payout is minimized at expiration. It represents the price at which option writers retain the most premium.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) operates in the Industrials sector, specifically the Integrated Freight & Logistics industry, with a market capitalization near $83.67B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 241,250 people, carrying a beta of 1.05 to the broader market. United Parcel Service, Inc. Led by Carol Tome, public since 1999-11-10.
Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $99.00
- Max Pain Strike
- $105.00
- Total OI
- 470.2K
As of May 15, 2026, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) max pain sits at $105.00, which is above the current spot price of $99.00 (6.1% away). Spot sits 6.1% above max pain - the gap is wide enough that the pinning effect alone is unlikely to close it; expect catalyst flow, positioning unwinds, or rebalancing to drive the actual price path before any expiration pull. UPS sits in the lower-price band (spot $99.00), where $0.50-$2.50 strike spacing makes pin-to-strike effects easy to spot but per-contract dollar gamma is smaller. Total open interest across the listed chain (470.2K contracts) is healthy but not dominant; pinning effects can show but are not guaranteed. UPS is currently in positive dealer gamma ($7.2M), the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning by inducing dealers to buy weakness and sell strength near heavy-OI strikes. Max pain identifies the strike at which the aggregate dollar value of all outstanding options contracts would expire with the least total intrinsic value, a gravitational reference rather than a price target.
UPS Strategy Implications at the Current Max Pain Level
With spot 6.1% from the $105.00 max-pain level and United Parcel Service, Inc. in a positive-gamma regime, where dealer hedging mechanically pulls spot toward heavy-OI strikes, strategy selection turns on cycle position and dealer positioning. Iron condors and credit spreads centered near the max-pain strike capture the typical end-of-cycle convergence when the regime supports pinning; ratio backspreads or directional debit structures fit names where catalyst flow is likely to overwhelm the hedging-driven pull. The gamma-exposure page shows the per-strike dealer book that determines whether hedging will reinforce or fight the pin.
Learn how max pain is reported and how to read the data →
UPS highest open-interest contracts
| Type | Strike | Expiration | Volume | OI | IV | Bid | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALL | $65.00 | Jan 15, 2027 | 1.6K | 132 | 35.4% | $33.40 | $35.45 |
| CALL | $60.00 | Jan 15, 2027 | 1.6K | 138 | 35.4% | $37.15 | $39.60 |
Top 2 contracts from the ORATS-sourced nightly scan; ranked by oi within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked UPS max pain analysis questions
- What is the current UPS max pain strike?
- As of May 15, 2026, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) max pain sits at $105.00, which is 6.1% above the current spot price of $99.00. Max pain identifies the strike at which aggregate option-buyer payouts at expiration are minimized; it is a gravitational reference, not a price target. A 6.1% gap is wide enough that the pinning effect alone is unlikely to close it; expect catalyst flow, positioning unwinds, or rebalancing to drive the price path before any expiration pull.
- Does UPS pin to its max pain strike at expiration?
- UPS is currently in positive dealer gamma, the regime that mechanically reinforces pinning. Dealers hedging long-gamma books buy weakness and sell strength near high-OI strikes, which pulls spot toward those levels into expiration. Total open interest across UPS (470.2K contracts) is one input to how plausible a clean pin is - heavier total OI concentrated at fewer strikes raises the probability; thin OI spread across many strikes lowers it. Pinning is strongest in heavily-traded names with large open-interest concentrations at high-OI strikes during the final week of an OPEX cycle. Whether UPS actually pins on a given expiration depends on the OI distribution, the dealer-gamma sign, and the absence of catalyst-driven moves that overwhelm hedging-driven flow.
- How is UPS max pain calculated?
- Max pain is computed by summing the dollar value of all in-the-money options at each candidate settlement strike across listed expirations, then selecting the strike that minimizes total intrinsic-value payout to option buyers. The calculation uses the full open-interest distribution and weighs both calls and puts. UPS put/call OI ratio is 0.80 - balanced, so the max-pain calculation reflects the strike where the call and put OI distributions cross rather than a single dominant side.