This page reflects ESS options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Oct 2, 2026 close
Max Pain — ESS
Data as of market close Oct 2, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-10-16 shows max pain at $270.00 (1.35 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$270.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$8.05
±3.0%
Days to Expiry
14
Calendar days
Total Call OI
1,729
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
292
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.17
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$268.65
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-10-16
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-21
$280.00
8/21/2026, 11:13:00 PM
2026-09-18
$280.00
9/18/2026, 11:12:19 PM
2026-10-16NextUpdated
$270.00
10/2/2026, 11:12:44 PM
2026-11-20
$270.00
10/2/2026, 11:12:44 PM
2027-01-15
$260.00
10/2/2026, 11:12:44 PM
2027-04-16
$290.00
10/2/2026, 11:12:44 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-10-16 at max pain $270.00.
ESS pain by strike for 2026-10-16 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
145
0
3147000
3147000
150
0
3005000
3005000
155
0
2865000
2865000
160
0
2726500
2726500
165
0
2588000
2588000
170
500
2449500
2450000
175
1000
2311000
2312000
180
1500
2172500
2174000
185
2000
2036000
2038000
190
2500
1904000
1906500
195
3000
1773000
1776000
200
3500
1643000
1646500
210
4500
1383000
1387500
220
5500
1129000
1134500
230
6500
875000
881500
240
7500
626000
633500
250
8500
440000
448500
260
9500
268000
277500
270
10500
115000
125500
280
338500
6000
344500
How to Read Max Pain
Compare pin-risk and strike-pressure across expirations from the latest published close.
What max pain measures
Max pain is the strike where option holders would collectively lose the most at expiration, based on open interest across the listed chain.
How traders use it
It is most useful as a possible pinning zone, especially when spot is already trading near a crowded strike into expiration.
What can break it
Strong directional flows, news, or fast spot moves can overwhelm any pinning tendency, so max pain should support a thesis rather than drive it alone.
The closer you are to expiration, the more useful this becomes as context and the less useful it is as a standalone prediction.