How are WSO strangle max profit and max loss calculated?

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the WSO strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 35.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,870.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a WSO strangle?

The breakeven for the WSO strangle priced on this page is roughly $361.30 and $438.70 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 WSO market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.29%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current WSO implied volatility affect this strangle?

WSO ATM IV is at 35.90% with IV rank near 35.45%, 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.

WSO Strangle Strategy

WSO (Watsco, Inc.), in the Industrials sector, (Industrial - Distribution industry), listed on NYSE.

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. The company distributes equipment comprising residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment. It also offers parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies, such as thermostats, insulation materials, refrigerants, ductworks, grills, registers, sheet metals, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tapes, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies, as well as plumbing and bathroom remodeling supplies. The company serves contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets for residential and light commercial central air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration systems. As of December 31, 2021, it operated from 671 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, as well as exports its products to Latin America and the Caribbean Basin. Watsco, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

WSO (Watsco, Inc.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Industrial - Distribution, with a market capitalization of approximately $16.99B, a trailing P/E of 31.99, a beta of 1.10 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 323.05-494.94, average daily share volume of 468K, a public-listing history dating back to 1984, approximately 7K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how WSO stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.10 places WSO roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. WSO pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a strangle on WSO?

A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money.

Current WSO snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $404.73, ATM IV 35.90%, IV rank 35.45%, expected move 10.29%. The strangle on WSO 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 strangle structure on WSO specifically: WSO IV at 35.90% 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 10.29% (roughly $41.66 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 WSO expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on WSO should anchor to the underlying notional of $404.73 per share and to the trader's directional view on WSO stock.

WSO strangle setup

The WSO strangle below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With WSO near $404.73, the first option leg uses a $420.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed WSO 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 WSO shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$420.00	$10.80
Buy 1	Put	$380.00	$7.90

WSO strangle risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$1,870.00
Max Profit (per contract): Unbounded
Max Loss (per contract): -$1,870.00
Breakeven(s): $361.30, $438.70
Risk / Reward Ratio: Unbounded

Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit.

WSO strangle payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the strangle on WSO. 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%	+$36,129.00
$89.50	-77.9%	+$27,180.31
$178.98	-55.8%	+$18,231.61
$268.47	-33.7%	+$9,282.92
$357.96	-11.6%	+$334.23
$447.44	+10.6%	+$874.47
$536.93	+32.7%	+$9,823.16
$626.42	+54.8%	+$18,771.85
$715.91	+76.9%	+$27,720.55
$805.39	+99.0%	+$36,669.24

When traders use strangle on WSO

Strangles on WSO are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the WSO chain.

WSO thesis for this strangle

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for WSO extends from approximately $363.07 on the downside to $446.39 on the upside. A WSO long strangle is the OTM cousin of the straddle: lower up-front cost but the underlying has to travel further past either OTM strike before the position turns profitable at expiration. Current WSO IV rank near 35.45% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the strangle thesis on WSO should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Industrials name, WSO options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to WSO-specific events.

WSO strangle positions are structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM); 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. WSO positions also carry Industrials sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move WSO alongside the broader basket even when WSO-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current WSO chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a strangle on WSO?: A strangle on WSO is the strangle strategy applied to WSO (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / high-volatility (long premium, OTM): A long strangle buys an OTM call and an OTM put at offset strikes, cheaper than a straddle but requiring a larger underlying move to profit since both wings start out-of-the-money. With WSO stock trading near $404.73, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed WSO chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are WSO strangle max profit and max loss calculated?: Upside max profit is unbounded; downside max profit is bounded at the put strike minus the combined debit (reached at zero). Max loss equals the combined debit times 100 (reached anywhere between the two OTM strikes). Two breakevens at call-strike plus debit and put-strike minus debit. For the WSO strangle priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 35.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$1,870.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a WSO strangle?: The breakeven for the WSO strangle priced on this page is roughly $361.30 and $438.70 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 WSO market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.29%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a strangle on WSO?: Strangles on WSO are the cheaper cousin of the straddle - traders use them when they want a large directional move but are willing to give up the inner-strike sensitivity in exchange for a lower up-front debit on the WSO chain.
How does current WSO implied volatility affect this strangle?: WSO ATM IV is at 35.90% with IV rank near 35.45%, 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.