This page reflects KSS options positioning from the latest published market-close snapshot. Intraday price and contract changes are not displayed.
Published Snapshot
Aug 18, 2026 close
Max Pain — KSS
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $18.00 (0.70 below spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$18.00
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$0.95
±5.1%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
8,244
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
6,316
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.77
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$18.70
Published close
Consensus
-
Open report for full read
Max Pain by Expiration
Pain by Strike
Drill into expiration
Selected: 2026-08-21
Expiration
Max Pain Strike
Last Updated
2026-08-07
$18.00
8/7/2026, 11:18:57 PM
2026-08-14
$18.50
8/14/2026, 11:19:40 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-08-28
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-09-04
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-09-11
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-09-18
$15.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-09-25
$20.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-10-16
$18.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2026-12-18
$17.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2027-01-15
$12.50
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2027-03-19
$15.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
2027-06-17
$13.00
8/18/2026, 11:16:34 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $18.00.
KSS pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
8
0
5339000
5339000
9
1000
4707400
4708400
10
2800
4078800
4081600
11
5200
3450400
3455600
12
8100
2822100
2830200
12.5
10000
2508650
2518650
13
12300
2195200
2207500
13.5
14600
1886450
1901050
14
16900
1578000
1594900
14.5
19200
1279200
1298400
15
21500
982100
1003600
15.5
29350
822400
851750
16
37300
664650
701950
16.5
50750
519200
569950
17
64300
378850
443150
17.5
88650
255750
344400
18
114750
151600
266350
18.5
185150
97750
282900
19
260050
54750
314800
19.5
397250
31300
428550
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.