This page reflects LUV 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 — LUV
Data as of market close Aug 18, 2026
Nearest listed expiration 2026-08-21 shows max pain at $45.50 (3.01 above spot). Use this page to evaluate pin-risk zones, strike pressure, and open-interest concentration before selecting trade structure.
Max Pain Strike
$45.50
Nearest expiry
Expected Move
±$1.15
±2.7%
Days to Expiry
3
Calendar days
Total Call OI
13,204
Nearest expiry
Total Put OI
8,482
Nearest expiry
P/C OI Ratio
0.64
Put-heavy
Spot Price
$42.49
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
$45.50
8/7/2026, 11:20:28 PM
2026-08-14
$45.50
8/14/2026, 11:22:52 PM
2026-08-21NextUpdated
$45.50
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-08-28
$48.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-09-04
$48.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-09-11
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-09-18
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-09-25
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-10-02
$43.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2026-12-18
$42.50
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2027-01-15
$40.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2027-03-19
$42.50
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
2027-06-17
$45.00
8/18/2026, 11:25:07 PM
Selected expiration: 2026-08-21 at max pain $45.50.
LUV pain by strike for 2026-08-21 expiration
Strike
Call Pain
Put Pain
Total Pain
30
0
11018700
11018700
32.5
750
8907450
8908200
35
2500
6798200
6800700
36
4300
5959400
5963700
37
6100
5120700
5126800
37.5
7050
4704100
4711150
38
8200
4318350
4326550
39
10600
3550450
3561050
40
13000
2786250
2799250
41
24800
2099050
2123850
41.5
30850
1804700
1835550
42
36900
1551050
1587950
42.5
44150
1305850
1350000
43
54250
1088800
1143050
43.5
68650
885800
954450
44
85000
694850
779850
44.5
107350
525500
632850
45
140500
382850
523350
45.5
215100
299950
515050
46
300150
224200
524350
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.