Long Call Calculator

What Is a Long Call Option?

A long call option gives you the right, but not the obligation, to buy shares at a fixed price (called the strike price) before a set expiration date.

Key Characteristics

• Max Loss: Limited to the amount you pay to enter the trade.
• Max Profit: Theoretically unlimited. Call options increase in value as the stock price rises, and stocks have no upper limit.
• Breakeven: Strike price + the price you paid for the option
• Outlook: Bullish

How to Read the P/L Chart

The white line (Expiration) shows your profit or loss at expiration. This is the final outcome at that stock price if you hold the option until it expires. The bent shape at the strike price—often called a "hockey stick"—highlights the long call's limited risk on the downside and stock-like payoff on the upside.

The cyan line (T+0) represents your theoretical P/L at trade entry. If the stock rises immediately after entry, you can profit even if its price remains below the expiration breakeven. The gap between the T+0 (entry) and expiration lines illustrates time decay—the amount lost as time passes until expiration.

Using This Calculator

1. Stock Price: The price of the stock at trade entry
2. Strike Price: The price at which you can buy shares using the call option
3. Premium: The amount you pay for the option position. Multiply your option's entry price by 100 and the number of contracts for your total cost and risk. ($5 entry price x 100 x 3 contracts = $1,500 premium paid)
4. Days to Expiration: How much time is left until the option expires
5. Implied Volatility: The market's expectation of future stock price movements, as implied by the stock's option prices

What Is a Long Call? — Full strategy guide with examples

Related Calculators

• Bull Call Spread Calculator — Reduce cost, cap profit
• Poor Man's Covered Call Calculator — Capital-efficient alternative
• Long Put Calculator — Bearish counterpart