Options Profit Calculator for Long Calls and Puts

How to use the options profit calculator

1. Choose a call if you expect the stock to rise, or a put if you expect it to fall.
2. Enter the strike price and the premium per share you pay. Option prices are quoted per share, and one contract usually covers 100 shares.
3. Enter the number of contracts and a stock price at expiration you want to test.
4. Read the total cost, which is also the most you can lose, the breakeven price and the profit or loss at that price.
5. Change the stock price to map the payoff: a call is worthless at or below the strike and gains above the breakeven; a put is the mirror image.

The option payoff formulas

At expiration an option is worth only its intrinsic value: for a call, how far the stock is above the strike; for a put, how far it is below. Subtract the premium you paid and multiply by 100 shares per contract to get the profit or loss.

The breakeven is the strike plus the premium for a call, and the strike minus the premium for a put. Before expiration the option also carries time value, which depends on the time left and on implied volatility, so its market price will differ from these results.

Worked example

You buy 2 call contracts with a $500 strike for a premium of $4.50 per share.

• Cost: $4.50 × 100 × 2 = $900, which is also the maximum loss.
• Breakeven at expiration: $500 + $4.50 = $504.50.
• Stock at $510: each call is worth $10.00, so the profit is ($10.00 − $4.50) × 200 = $1,100, or 122% of the premium.
• Stock at $502: each call is worth $2.00, a loss of ($2.00 − $4.50) × 200 = −$500.
• Stock at or below $500: the calls expire worthless and the loss is the full $900.