Chronicle tools
What could I make, and what am I risking?
Try an options or futures trade before you make it. Pick a stock or a contract, set the numbers, and see your breakeven, your best case and your worst case, in dollars.
How much the options market expects the stock to swing.
Profit or loss by stock price
Options chain:
Tap a strike to load its real price into the calculator.
| Strike | Breakeven | To breakeven | Price | Bid / ask | Chance of profit | Today |
|---|
Learn
How options work, in plain English
A call is a bet it goes up
A call gives you the right to buy 100 shares at a set price (the strike) until a set date (expiration). If the stock ends above your strike plus what you paid, you make money. If not, the most you lose is what you paid.
A put is a bet it goes down
A put gives you the right to sell 100 shares at the strike. It gains value as the stock falls. People also buy puts as insurance on shares they already own.
One contract is 100 shares
Options are quoted per share, but each contract covers 100 shares. An option priced at $3.20 costs $320 per contract.
Buyers can lose it all, but no more
When you buy an option, your worst case is losing the price you paid. That happens often: if the stock doesn't move far enough before expiration, the option can expire worth nothing.
Sellers get paid up front and take the risk
Selling a covered call or a cash-secured put pays you right away. In return you cap your upside, or you agree to buy shares if the price drops. Your worst case can be much larger than what you collected.
Time works against the buyer
Every day an option gets a little closer to expiring, and it loses some value even if the stock doesn't move. That is why the "today" line and the "expiration" line on the chart are different.
What your broker holds as a deposit for each contract. It varies by broker and changes often, so enter yours.
Profit or loss by price
Learn
How futures work, in plain English
You agree on a price now
A futures contract is a deal to buy or sell something, like the S&P 500 or a barrel of oil, at today's price on a later date. Go long if you think the price rises, short if you think it falls.
You only put up a deposit
You don't pay the full value. Your broker holds a margin deposit, often a small slice of the contract's value. That leverage is why small moves turn into big dollar swings.
Every point has a dollar value
Each contract has a fixed value per point. One point on the S&P 500 E-mini is $50; on the Micro it's $5. Micros are one-tenth the size, which makes them easier to start with.
You can lose more than you put in
Gains and losses settle into your account every day. If the market moves against you far enough, you can lose your whole deposit and more, and your broker can close the trade for you.
For education only, not investment advice. For stocks without a live chain, option prices and chance of profit are estimates from a standard model (Black-Scholes, 4.5% interest rate, no dividends). Fees, taxes, dividends and early assignment can change results. Option prices, breakevens and chance of profit come from live market data as of the time shown; they move all day. Futures prices are examples; enter your own. Contract sizes are the exchanges' standard specifications.