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LEAPS Calculator

Breakeven, how much capital a long-dated call saves against shares, and what you're paying for time.

LEAPS details

Results

Total cost (debit)$0.00
Breakeven at expiration$0.00
% move to breakeven
Intrinsic value now$0.00
Stock exposure controlled$0.00
Leverage vs. buying shares
P&L at target (intrinsic only)
Return at target (intrinsic only)

P&L at target uses intrinsic value only (it ignores remaining time value), so a LEAPS you sell before expiration will typically be worth more than shown. Breakeven assumes you hold to expiration.

How the numbers work

  • Breakeven = strike + premium per share. The stock has to clear that by expiration for the call to be worth anything at all.
  • Intrinsic value = stock price − strike, floored at zero. The part that's real today.
  • Extrinsic value = premium − intrinsic. Time and volatility, and the part guaranteed to decay to nothing.
  • Capital saved = (100 × stock price) − premium. The whole reason to buy the call instead of the shares.

A deep in-the-money LEAPS call

Stock at $100. An 18-month $70 call costs $35.00$3,500.

100 shares would cost $10,000. Capital saved: $6,500.

Intrinsic: $30. Extrinsic: $5 — that's what decays.

Breakeven: $70 + $35 = $105.

Three things shares do that this doesn't

It expires, so being right afterwards pays nothing. It decays — the extrinsic value bleeds away even if the stock never moves. And it pays no dividends, which on a 3% yielder is roughly 4.5% forgone over 18 months, a real share of the capital you saved.

LEAPS

Buying a year or more of exposure for a fraction of the share price — and what that discount costs.

Educational only

These figures come from the numbers you enter and standard options arithmetic. Nothing here is investment, financial, or tax advice, and a good-looking return says nothing about whether the underlying stock is a good idea.