Glossary

Breakeven

By Rohan Fernandes, Founder · Updated 2026-08-22 · Educational reference, not investment advice

A position's breakeven is the stock price at expiration where it neither makes nor loses money: strike plus debit for a long call, short strike minus credit for a bull put spread, and two symmetric points for straddles. Probability math is evaluated at the breakeven, not the strike.

The gap between strike and breakeven is the premium's work: a credit spread's short strike can be breached at expiration and the position still profit, as long as the stock stays inside the credit's cushion. Careful probability-of-profit math evaluates the implied distribution at the breakeven using that strike's own volatility, one of the implementation details separating a useful POP from a decorative one.

Educational reference. Options Scanner is a software tool. It is not a broker-dealer, an investment adviser, or a fiduciary, and nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Options involve risk and are not suitable for every investor; read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before trading. Examples use hypothetical numbers for illustration only.