The max loss is always the premium paid to own the option contract minus the premium received from the off-setting call option sold; in this example, $42 ($60 – $18). The premium received by selling the call option partially offsets the premium the investor paid for buying the call. In practice, investor debt is the net difference between the two call options, which is the cost of the strategy. The bull call spread is a two leg spread strategy traditionally involving ATM and OTM options. However you can create the bull call spread using other strikes as well. In this bull call spread example, we are using a crude oil contract.

The inputs are the same (position, instrument type, strike, initial price in columns C-F). Options are risky investment vehicles that have made people become millionaires, but also poor. If you are still learning about investing, we recommend you check out our set of financial calculators.

Implied Volatility

Similar to SIPC protection, this additional insurance does not protect against a loss in the market value of securities. With a bull call spread position, potential profit is limited because of the short call. Search a symbol to visualize the potential profit and loss for a bull call ladder option strategy. Given the expectations in the hypothetical scenario, the trader selects the $52.50 call option strike price to buy which is trading for $0.60.

Here is something you should know, wider the spread, higher is the amount of money you can potentially make, but as a trade off the breakeven also increases. Amongst all the spread strategies, the bull call spread is one the most popular one. The strategy comes handy when you have a moderately bullish view on the stock/index.

Bull call spread

If assignment is deemed likely and if a short stock position is not wanted, then appropriate action must be taken. Before assignment occurs, the risk of assignment can be eliminated in two ways. First, the entire spread can be closed by selling the long call to close and buying the short call to close. Alternatively, the short call can be purchased to close and the long call can be kept open. On the other hand, the long call with the lower strike price caps or hedges the financial risk of the written call with the higher strike price.

The strike price for the option is $180 and expires in January 2020. You can see the alternative position’s P/L at different underlying prices in cells K30-N40. Its maximum profit, maximum loss, and risk-reward ratio are in cells I38-I40. Consequently, when we combine being long and short in calls and puts, we pay a premium in our long positions and receive a premium when short.

Bull Call Debit Spreads Screener

The two vertical spread options strategies with net credit spread are the bull put spread and bear call spread. The bull call spread strategy is applied when we expect underlying prices to increase in value over time, within the expiration date in which we acquired the options contracts. Maximum loss occurs bull call spread calculator if the stock price goes down at or below the long strike price (lower strike). The difference between the premium of the contracts is the maximum loss. The price paid for the call with the lower strike price is partially offset by the premium received from writing the call with a higher strike price.

Note that this is a bearish strategy that profits from a stock fall. The formulas explained below are precisely those used by our options spread https://www.bigshotrading.info/blog/what-is-bull-call-spread/ calculator. Thus, the bull call spread will result in a total debit of $95 for each of the bull call spreads that we decide to open.

What is a debit spread option strategy?

In order for a rational options trader to buy just a call, the option trader has to expect a stock move greater than 10% within 30 days. In this example, the trader would not gain any more profit once the stock moved past $55. This is the risk-defined benefit often discussed as a reason to trade options. The bull call spread consists of the following steps involving two call options. There is a tradeoff though – our break-even point shifts up from 47.36 to 49.90 (cell L33).

That gives us a grand total of $3000 as our max gross profit, minus our $1050 premium, leaving us with a max net profit of $1950. To illustrate, the trader purchased the $52.50 strike price call option for $0.60, but also sold the $55.00 strike price for $0.18, for a net premium paid of $0.42. We begin by discussing the two call option strike prices involved in a Bull Call Spread, the risk-defined aspects of the technique, and how profits and losses are calculated. Should the underlying asset fall to less than the strike price, the holder will not buy the stock but will lose the value of the premium at expiration. If the share price moves above the strike price the holder may decide to purchase shares at that price but are under no obligation to do so.

Is The Bull Call Spread Cheaper?

For the bearish and bullish strategies, we will add a few fundamental recommendations to help you accomplish a better return on investment (ROI). The following formulas show the bear put maximum loss (ml), bear put maximum potential profit (maxp), and the breakeven price (b). Remember that when you are long in an option, you pay a premium (your maximum loss), and when you are short, you receive a premium (your maximum gain). Because stocks do not have an upper limit, your losses can be infinite if you are short in a call option.