How are USLM 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 USLM butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.50%), the computed maximum profit is $569.32 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$405.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a USLM butterfly?

The breakeven for the USLM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $114.05 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The USLM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 10.75%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current USLM implied volatility affect this butterfly?

USLM ATM IV is at 37.50% with IV rank near 5.18%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.

USLM Butterfly Strategy

USLM (United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.), in the Basic Materials sector, (Construction Materials industry), listed on NASDAQ.

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (USLM) operates as a domestic producer and supplier of a diverse range of lime and limestone products. The company sources limestone through its open-pit quarries and an underground mine, subsequently processing it into various forms such as pulverized limestone, quicklime, hydrated lime, and lime slurry. These essential materials are distributed to a wide array of customers, including the construction sector (for roads, highways, and buildings), industrial clients (like paper and glass manufacturers), environmental applications (suchprising municipal sanitation, water treatment, and flue gas treatment), steel producers, oil and gas service companies, roof shingle manufacturers, and agricultural producers for poultry and cattle feed. Furthermore, USLM holds royalty and non-operating working interests in natural gas wells situated in the Barnett Shale Formation of Johnson County, Texas. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

USLM (United States Lime & Minerals, Inc.) trades in the Basic Materials sector, specifically Construction Materials, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.42B, a trailing P/E of 25.46, a beta of 0.72 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 96.27-141.44, average daily share volume of 196K, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 346 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how USLM stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.72 places USLM roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. USLM pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on USLM?

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.

USLM snapshot

As of August 14, 2026, spot at $117.96, ATM IV 37.50%, IV rank 5.18%, expected move 10.75%. The butterfly on USLM below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on USLM specifically: USLM IV at 37.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a USLM butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.75% (roughly $12.68 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated USLM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on USLM should anchor to the underlying notional of $117.96 per share and to the trader's directional view on USLM stock.

USLM butterfly setup

The USLM butterfly below is built from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With USLM at $117.96 on that close, the first option leg uses a $110.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed USLM chain at a 35-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 USLM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$110.00	$10.35
Sell 2	Call	$120.00	$4.55
Buy 1	Call	$125.00	$2.80

USLM butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$405.00
Max Profit (per contract): $569.32
Max Loss (per contract): -$405.00
Breakeven(s): $114.05
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.406

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.

USLM butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on USLM. 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.

P&L at expiration across the modeled underlying-price range. Green shading marks profitable regions, red shading marks loss regions. Dotted purple verticals mark breakevens; the solid dark vertical marks current spot.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$405.00
$26.09	-77.9%	-$405.00
$52.17	-55.8%	-$405.00
$78.25	-33.7%	-$405.00
$104.33	-11.6%	-$405.00
$130.41	+10.6%	+$95.00
$156.49	+32.7%	+$95.00
$182.57	+54.8%	+$95.00
$208.65	+76.9%	+$95.00
$234.73	+99.0%	+$95.00

When traders use butterfly on USLM

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

USLM thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for USLM extends from approximately $105.28 on the downside to $130.64 on the upside. A USLM long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if USLM settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current USLM IV rank near 5.18% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on USLM at 37.50%. As a Basic Materials name, USLM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to USLM-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on USLM?: A butterfly on USLM is the butterfly strategy applied to USLM (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 USLM stock at $117.96 on the August 14, 2026 close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed USLM chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
How are USLM 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 USLM butterfly priced from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.50%), the computed maximum profit is $569.32 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$405.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a USLM butterfly?: The breakeven for the USLM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $114.05 at expiration, derived from the August 14, 2026 end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The USLM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot 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 USLM?: Butterflies on USLM are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect USLM 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 USLM implied volatility affect this butterfly?: USLM ATM IV is at 37.50% with IV rank near 5.18%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.