How are VST 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 VST butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 46.69%), the computed maximum profit is $601.30 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$397.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a VST butterfly?

The breakeven for the VST butterfly priced on this page is roughly $146.03 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 VST market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.39%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current VST implied volatility affect this butterfly?

VST ATM IV is at 46.69% with IV rank near 16.78%, 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.

VST Butterfly Strategy

VST (Vistra Corp.), in the Utilities sector, (Independent Power Producers industry), listed on NYSE.

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 20 states in the United States and the District of Columbia. The company is also involved in the electricity generation, wholesale energy purchases and sales, commodity risk management, fuel production, and fuel logistics management activities. It serves approximately 4.3 million customers with a generation capacity of approximately 38,700 megawatts with a portfolio of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. The company was formerly known as Vistra Energy Corp. and changed its name to Vistra Corp. in July 2020.

VST (Vistra Corp.) trades in the Utilities sector, specifically Independent Power Producers, with a market capitalization of approximately $48.09B, a trailing P/E of 21.62, a beta of 1.45 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 138.53-219.82, average daily share volume of 4.5M, a public-listing history dating back to 2016, approximately 7K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how VST stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.45 indicates VST has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. VST pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on VST?

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 VST snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $140.69, ATM IV 46.69%, IV rank 16.78%, expected move 13.39%. The butterfly on VST 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 28-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on VST specifically: VST IV at 46.69% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a VST butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 13.39% (roughly $18.83 on the underlying). The 28-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated VST expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VST should anchor to the underlying notional of $140.69 per share and to the trader's directional view on VST stock.

VST butterfly setup

The VST 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 VST near $140.69, the first option leg uses a $135.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VST chain at a 28-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 VST shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$135.00	$10.70
Sell 2	Call	$140.00	$7.80
Buy 1	Call	$150.00	$3.88

VST butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: +$102.50
Max Profit (per contract): $601.30
Max Loss (per contract): -$397.50
Breakeven(s): $146.03
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.513

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.

VST butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on VST. 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%	+$102.50
$31.12	-77.9%	+$102.50
$62.22	-55.8%	+$102.50
$93.33	-33.7%	+$102.50
$124.43	-11.6%	+$102.50
$155.54	+10.6%	-$397.50
$186.65	+32.7%	-$397.50
$217.75	+54.8%	-$397.50
$248.86	+76.9%	-$397.50
$279.97	+99.0%	-$397.50

When traders use butterfly on VST

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

VST thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VST extends from approximately $121.86 on the downside to $159.52 on the upside. A VST long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if VST settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current VST IV rank near 16.78% 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 VST at 46.69%. As a Utilities name, VST options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VST-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on VST?: A butterfly on VST is the butterfly strategy applied to VST (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 VST stock trading near $140.69, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VST chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are VST 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 VST butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 46.69%), the computed maximum profit is $601.30 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$397.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a VST butterfly?: The breakeven for the VST butterfly priced on this page is roughly $146.03 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 VST market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 13.39%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on VST?: Butterflies on VST are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect VST 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 VST implied volatility affect this butterfly?: VST ATM IV is at 46.69% with IV rank near 16.78%, 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.