How are USLM 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 USLM covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.10%), the computed maximum profit is $973.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$10,026.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a USLM covered call?

The breakeven for the USLM covered call priced on this page is roughly $100.27 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 USLM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.36%; 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 covered call?

USLM ATM IV is at 43.10% with IV rank near 5.85%, 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 Covered Call Strategy

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

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. manufactures and supplies lime and limestone products in the United States. It extracts limestone from open-pit quarries and an underground mine, and processes it as pulverized limestone, quicklime, hydrated lime, and lime slurry. The company supplies its products primarily to the construction customers, including highway, road, and building contractors; industrial customers, such as paper and glass manufacturers; environmental customers comprising municipal sanitation and water treatment facilities, and flue gas treatment processes; steel producers; oil and gas services companies; roof shingle manufacturers; and poultry and cattle feed producers. It also has various royalty interests and non-operating working interests with respect to oil and gas rights in natural gas wells located in Johnson County, Texas in the Barnett Shale Formation. The company was incorporated 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 $3.14B, a trailing P/E of 23.98, a beta of 0.70 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 94.02-141.44, average daily share volume of 135K, a public-listing history dating back to 1980, approximately 345 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 0.70 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 covered call on USLM?

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 USLM snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $103.67, ATM IV 43.10%, IV rank 5.85%, expected move 12.36%. The covered call on USLM 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 USLM specifically: USLM IV at 43.10% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which means a premium-selling USLM covered call collects less credit per unit of strike-width risk, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 12.36% (roughly $12.81 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 USLM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on USLM should anchor to the underlying notional of $103.67 per share and to the trader's directional view on USLM stock.

USLM covered call setup

The USLM 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 USLM near $103.67, 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 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 USLM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 100 shares	Stock	$103.67	long
Sell 1	Call	$110.00	$3.40

USLM covered call risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$10,027.00
Max Profit (per contract): $973.00
Max Loss (per contract): -$10,026.00
Breakeven(s): $100.27
Risk / Reward Ratio: 0.097

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.

USLM covered call payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the covered call 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.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$10,026.00
$22.93	-77.9%	-$7,733.91
$45.85	-55.8%	-$5,441.82
$68.77	-33.7%	-$3,149.73
$91.69	-11.6%	-$857.64
$114.61	+10.6%	+$973.00
$137.54	+32.7%	+$973.00
$160.46	+54.8%	+$973.00
$183.38	+76.9%	+$973.00
$206.30	+99.0%	+$973.00

When traders use covered call on USLM

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

USLM thesis for this covered call

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for USLM extends from approximately $90.86 on the downside to $116.48 on the upside. A USLM covered call collects premium on an existing long USLM position, trading off upside above the short call strike for immediate income; the short strike selection should reflect the trader's view on whether USLM will breach that level within the expiration window. Current USLM IV rank near 5.85% 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 43.10%. 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 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. 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. Short-premium structures like a covered call on USLM carry tail risk when realized volatility exceeds the implied move; review historical USLM earnings reactions and macro stress periods before sizing. Always rebuild the position from current USLM chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a covered call on USLM?: A covered call on USLM is the covered call strategy applied to USLM (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 USLM stock trading near $103.67, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed USLM chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are USLM 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 USLM covered call priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 43.10%), the computed maximum profit is $973.00 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$10,026.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a USLM covered call?: The breakeven for the USLM covered call priced on this page is roughly $100.27 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 USLM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 12.36%; 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 USLM?: Covered calls on USLM are an income strategy run on existing USLM 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 USLM implied volatility affect this covered call?: USLM ATM IV is at 43.10% with IV rank near 5.85%, 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.