How are ZIM 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 ZIM butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 74.45%), the computed maximum profit is $180.34 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$15.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a ZIM butterfly?

The breakeven for the ZIM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $24.15 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 ZIM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 21.35%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current ZIM implied volatility affect this butterfly?

ZIM ATM IV is at 74.45% with IV rank near 62.80%, 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.

ZIM Butterfly Strategy

ZIM (ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.), in the Industrials sector, (Marine Shipping industry), listed on NYSE.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and related services in Israel and internationally. It provides door-to-door and port-to-port transportation services for various types of customers, including end-users, consolidators, and freight forwarders. The company also offers ZIMonitor, a premium reefer cargo tracking service. As of December 31, 2021, it operated a fleet of 118 vessels, which included 110 container vessels and 8 vehicle transport vessels, of which four vessels were owned by it and 114 vessels are chartered-in; and network of 70 weekly lines. The company was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.

ZIM (ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.) trades in the Industrials sector, specifically Marine Shipping, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.10B, a trailing P/E of 6.47, a beta of 1.18 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 12.33-29.97, average daily share volume of 2.8M, a public-listing history dating back to 2021, approximately 5K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how ZIM stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 1.18 places ZIM roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. The trailing P/E of 6.47 is on the value side, where IV often compresses outside event windows because forward growth expectations are already discounted into the share price. ZIM pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.

What is a butterfly on ZIM?

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 ZIM snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $25.65, ATM IV 74.45%, IV rank 62.80%, expected move 21.35%. The butterfly on ZIM 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 ZIM specifically: ZIM IV at 74.45% 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 21.35% (roughly $5.48 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 ZIM expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on ZIM should anchor to the underlying notional of $25.65 per share and to the trader's directional view on ZIM stock.

ZIM butterfly setup

The ZIM 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 ZIM near $25.65, the first option leg uses a $24.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed ZIM 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 ZIM shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$24.00	$2.85
Sell 2	Call	$26.00	$2.28
Buy 1	Call	$27.00	$1.87

ZIM butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$15.50
Max Profit (per contract): $180.34
Max Loss (per contract): -$15.50
Breakeven(s): $24.15
Risk / Reward Ratio: 11.635

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.

ZIM butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on ZIM. 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%	-$15.50
$5.68	-77.9%	-$15.50
$11.35	-55.7%	-$15.50
$17.02	-33.6%	-$15.50
$22.69	-11.5%	-$15.50
$28.36	+10.6%	+$84.50
$34.03	+32.7%	+$84.50
$39.70	+54.8%	+$84.50
$45.37	+76.9%	+$84.50
$51.04	+99.0%	+$84.50

When traders use butterfly on ZIM

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

ZIM thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for ZIM extends from approximately $20.17 on the downside to $31.13 on the upside. A ZIM long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if ZIM settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current ZIM IV rank near 62.80% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on ZIM should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Industrials name, ZIM options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to ZIM-specific events.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on ZIM?: A butterfly on ZIM is the butterfly strategy applied to ZIM (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 ZIM stock trading near $25.65, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed ZIM chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are ZIM 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 ZIM butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 74.45%), the computed maximum profit is $180.34 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$15.50 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a ZIM butterfly?: The breakeven for the ZIM butterfly priced on this page is roughly $24.15 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 ZIM market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 21.35%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on ZIM?: Butterflies on ZIM are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect ZIM 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 ZIM implied volatility affect this butterfly?: ZIM ATM IV is at 74.45% with IV rank near 62.80%, 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.