Free tool · listed options & warrants
Options Profit Calculator: break-even, max loss and P/L before expiry
Enter the strike, premium and contract size and you get break-even, maximum profit and maximum loss with a payoff chart. For scenarios before expiry the calculator reprices the option with Black-Scholes. A second mode checks German warrants (Optionsscheine): how much the issuer charges over model value, the premium (Aufgeld), leverage and omega.
Break-even at expiry
103.80
Max gain
unlimited
Max loss
-380.00
Premium paid
380.00
3.80 × 100
P/L at expiry, price 110.00
+620.00
P/L at 105.00 in 20 days
+219.04
Model value of the option then: 5.99
Profit and loss chart
Black-Scholes value today
3.62
-4.7 % versus your premium
Position delta
+0.53
behaves like +53 shares/units
For spreads, straddles and other combinations of up to six legs.
Open in the strategy builderAll amounts in the underlying’s currency, before commissions, spreads and taxes. Your inputs live in the address bar, so a bookmark or a shared link brings the exact setup back.
Work through an option trade in four steps
- 1Define the contract. Call or put, buy or sell, then the strike and the premium. Enter the premium as the chain quotes it — per share or per index point, not per contract.
- 2Check the multiplier. It is how many units of the underlying one contract moves. US equity options cover 100 shares as standard. On Eurex the size depends on the product — the exchange lists equity options from 1 to 5,000 shares per contract, often 100, 10 for the smaller contracts. DAX options are EUR 5 per index point, Micro-DAX options EUR 1.
- 3Set the market and the model. Current price, days to expiry, implied volatility and an interest rate. Your broker’s chain shows the IV, or you can back it out of an option price with the IV calculator.
- 4Run the scenarios. The expiry price gives you the classic payoff. The target price before expiry shows what the position is worth if the stock gets there early — the calculator reprices the option with the time that is left.
The formulas behind break-even, max profit and max loss
On expiry day an option is worth only its intrinsic value: price minus strike for a call, strike minus price for a put, never below zero. Subtract the premium, multiply by the multiplier and the number of contracts, and you have the profit or loss. That gives the four basic positions:
| Position | Break-even | Max profit | Max loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long call | Strike + premium | Unlimited | Premium paid |
| Long put | Strike − premium | Strike − premium (stock goes to zero) | Premium paid |
| Short call | Strike + premium | Premium received | Unlimited |
| Short put | Strike − premium | Premium received | Strike − premium (stock goes to zero) |
Before expiry there is time value on top. The calculator uses the Black-Scholes model: price, strike, time left, volatility and the interest rate give a theoretical option value, and the difference to your premium is your P/L in that scenario. For what each input does to the price, see how options prices work.
Worked example: a 45-day long call
Illustrative numbers, as the calculator shows them with its default inputs.
- Price today
- 100
- Premium
- 3.80
- Contracts
- 1 × 100
- IV / expiry
- 25% / 45 d
1Cost
3.80 × 100 = 380, which is also the most the buyer can lose.
2Break-even
100 + 3.80 = 103.80 on expiry day.
3Expiry at 110
Intrinsic value 10, less 3.80 premium = 6.20 per share: +620.
4At 105 after 20 days
With 25 days left the model values the option at about 5.99: +219. The same price on expiry day would make only +120; the difference is time value still to decay.
5At 100 after 20 days
The stock has not moved, yet the position is about −112. That is theta.
Whether a long option makes money depends on how fast the stock moves, not only which way. That is why the chart has two lines: expiry and your target date.
Warrant mode: fair value, premium (Aufgeld) and omega
A German Optionsschein is a covered warrant: a security issued by a bank that embeds an option, in a size the issuer chooses. The ratio (Bezugsverhältnis) says how much underlying one warrant covers — at 0.1 you need ten warrants for one share. The calculator therefore divides the warrant price by the ratio before comparing it with the strike and the stock price.
| Metric | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Fair value | ratio × Black-Scholes value | What the warrant is worth at your volatility assumption |
| Mark-up over model | (price − fair value) ÷ fair value | How much above model value you pay |
| Premium (Aufgeld) | (price ÷ ratio + strike − stock) ÷ stock | How far the stock must rise by expiry for you to break even |
| Premium p.a. | premium ÷ years to expiry | Makes warrants with different expiries comparable |
| Break-even | strike + price ÷ ratio | The price above which the warrant is worth more than it cost at expiry |
| Leverage | stock × ratio ÷ price | How much underlying you control per unit of currency invested |
| Omega | delta × leverage | The % move in the warrant for a 1% move in the stock |
For a put, everything points down: break-even is strike minus price ÷ ratio, and the premium is how far the stock must fall. With the defaults — stock at 100, call warrant with strike 110, ratio 0.1, price 0.42, six months — the model values the warrant at 0.373 at 25% volatility. You pay roughly 12.5% over model, and the price implies almost 27% volatility. The premium is 14.2% (about 28.5% a year), break-even 114.20, simple leverage 23.8 and omega 8.2.
Leverage or omega? Simple leverage overstates the effect, because an out-of-the-money warrant does not move one for one with the stock. Omega multiplies leverage by delta and is the more realistic number — but it only holds for small moves and changes with every price, every day and every shift in volatility.
Why a warrant is not a real option
In a brokerage account they look alike: strike, expiry, call or put. Legally and in practice they are different products, and no pricing model captures the difference.
Issuer risk
A warrant is a debt security of the bank that issues it. If the issuer becomes insolvent you can lose everything even if your market view was right — a risk Germany’s regulator BaFin spells out. A Eurex option is cleared through the exchange’s clearing house, which stands between buyer and seller as central counterparty.
Market maker, not an order book
The issuer normally quotes the price itself, with a bid and an ask. You pay that spread on every round trip, and the issuer’s margin is built into the quotes. A Eurex option trades in the exchange’s order book, where many participants quote.
No writing
You can only buy warrants and sell them back. Writing — collecting the premium — is the issuer’s job. Covered calls, cash-secured puts and credit spreads cannot be built with warrants.
Terms set by the issuer
Ratio, strike, expiry and exercise style are chosen by the issuer and written into the product terms. Listed options are standardised: the exchange sets contract size, expiry dates and strikes.
For the full comparison, read options vs. warrants.
Options calculator FAQ
How do you calculate profit on a call option?
At expiry: (stock price − strike − premium paid) × multiplier × number of contracts, if the stock is above the strike. Below the strike the call expires worthless and you lose the premium. Example: strike 100, premium 3.80, one contract of 100 shares, stock at 110 at expiry → (110 − 100 − 3.80) × 100 = 620. Before expiry the calculator also prices the option with Black-Scholes.
How do you calculate the break-even of an option?
For a call, break-even at expiry is strike plus premium; for a put, strike minus premium — per share or index point, before costs. It is the same price for the buyer and the seller; only the sign of the result flips.
What is the options multiplier?
The multiplier, or contract size, is how many units of the underlying one contract covers. A 3.80 premium costs 380 with a multiplier of 100. US equity options use 100 shares as standard; on Eurex it depends on the product, with DAX options at EUR 5 per index point and Micro-DAX options at EUR 1.
Can I see my P/L before expiration?
Yes. Enter a target price and the number of days until you expect it. The calculator reprices the option with Black-Scholes using the time still left and your implied volatility, and draws that curve next to the expiry payoff.
What is an Optionsschein?
It is the German name for a covered warrant: a security issued by a bank that gives an option-like payoff on a share or index. You take the issuer’s credit risk, trade at prices the issuer quotes as market maker, and cannot write warrants yourself. A listed option is a standardised exchange contract cleared through a central counterparty.
What is the difference between leverage and omega?
Simple leverage divides the value of the underlying a warrant covers by the warrant’s price; it assumes the warrant follows every move in full. Omega multiplies that by delta, so it estimates the percentage move in the warrant for a 1% move in the underlying.
Does the calculator include commissions and taxes?
No. All results are before commissions, exchange fees, spreads and taxes, which you should add for your broker and country.
Keep calculating, keep learning
The calculator and all examples are educational and not investment advice. Model values are approximations, not quotes. Options and warrants are complex instruments; you can lose the entire amount invested, and more than that when selling options.
Learn this properly
Short lessons from the BeInOptions Academy — on exactly the questions this page raises. Free, and readable without an account.
Breakeven & the payoff diagram
Break-even and the payoff diagram worked through by hand
Open the lesson →Intrinsic vs Time value
What the premium is made of, and why most of it is time value
Open the lesson →Leverage without blowing up
Leverage looks great until it runs against you
Open the lesson →