LEAPS are options that expire more than a year away. The name stands for Long-term Equity AnticiPation Securities, and Cboe first listed them in 1990. Buy a LEAPS call deep in the money and you get most of the move in 100 shares for a fraction of their price. The most you can lose is what you paid, and you don't get the dividends.
On 23 October 2026 NVIDIA closed at $210.96. Its 21 January 2028 $150 call cost $7,915 at the ask, against $21,096 for 100 shares. Of that, $1,819 is time value, the part you lose if NVIDIA goes nowhere. With a delta of 0.84 it moves like about 84 shares at first, and it breaks even on expiry at $229.15, 8.6% above the close.
$79.15 × 100 = $7,915, 37.5% of 100 shares
$79.15 − $60.96 = $18.19 a share, $1,819
$150 + $79.15 = $229.15, NVIDIA +8.6%
Real prices from the 23 October close. Drag where NVIDIA might close on 21 January 2028, when the call expires, and compare it with buying 100 shares the same day. Switch to percent to see each result against the money it needed.
455 days to expiry, about 15 months. Each dollar in the call moves like $2.23 of NVIDIA stock at first. The call gets no dividends: at NVIDIA's $0.25 a quarter, about $125 per 100 shares by January 2028.
Results at expiry, before commissions. The shares include about $125 of dividends, five quarterly payments of $0.25 if NVIDIA keeps paying them. The money the LEAPS doesn't tie up, $13,181, is yours to keep elsewhere and isn't counted here.
The same NVIDIA outcomes on 21 January 2028. Above $150 the LEAPS always trails the shares by about $1,944 in dollars: the $1,819 of time value plus the $125 of dividends it doesn't get. On less than half the money, that's the bigger percent once NVIDIA ends above $240.82.
| NVIDIA on 21 Jan 2028 | LEAPS on $7,915 | % | 100 shares on $21,096 | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $105.48 falls 50% | −$7,915 | −100% | −$10,423 | −49.4% |
| $126.58 falls 40% | −$7,915 | −100% | −$8,313 | −39.4% |
| $147.67 falls 30% | −$7,915 | −100% | −$6,204 | −29.4% |
| $168.77 falls 20% | −$6,038 | −76.3% | −$4,094 | −19.4% |
| $189.86 falls 10% | −$3,929 | −49.6% | −$1,985 | −9.4% |
| $210.96 unchanged | −$1,819 | −23.0% | +$125 | +0.6% |
| $232.06 rises 10% | +$291 | +3.7% | +$2,235 | +10.6% |
| $253.15 rises 20% | +$2,400 | +30.3% | +$4,344 | +20.6% |
| $274.25 rises 30% | +$4,510 | +57.0% | +$6,454 | +30.6% |
| $316.44 rises 50% | +$8,729 | +110.3% | +$10,673 | +50.6% |
| $421.92 doubles | +$19,277 | +243.6% | +$21,221 | +100.6% |
Past $229.15 the LEAPS makes money, and every dollar NVIDIA rises adds $100 to the call by expiry, just like the shares. Against $7,915 instead of $21,096, that's about 2.7 times the percent.
The shares keep their value and collect the dividends. The LEAPS loses its whole time value, a little each day at first and faster near the end.
At or below $150 on expiry the call is worthless and the $7,915 is gone. It only loses fewer dollars than the shares below $130.56, a fall of 38.1%, because the shares keep falling and the call can't go below zero.
| NVIDIA by 23 Apr 2027 | LEAPS 9 months left | 100 shares price only |
|---|---|---|
| −30% | −$5,512 | −$6,329 |
| −20% | −$4,138 | −$4,219 |
| Unchanged | −$780 | $0 |
| +20% | +$3,044 | +$4,219 |
| +30% | +$5,046 | +$6,329 |
Before expiry the call still has time value, so a fall hurts less than at the end: after a 30% drop the LEAPS has lost $5,512, less than the shares, because the market still prices a chance of NVIDIA coming back above $150. Those are model values with the call's 23 October volatility held fixed; a real quote moves with volatility too.
NVIDIA's 21 January 2028 calls at the 23 October ask. The deeper in the money, the more you pay up front, but the less of it is time value and the lower the breakeven.
| Strike | Cost | Delta | Time value per share | Breakeven | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $12,000 | 0.94 | $9.04 | $220.00 | +4.3% |
| $120 | $10,310 | 0.91 | $12.14 | $223.10 | +5.8% |
| $140 | $8,655 | 0.86 | $15.59 | $226.55 | +7.4% |
| $150 this guide | $7,915 | 0.84 | $18.19 | $229.15 | +8.6% |
| $160 | $7,185 | 0.81 | $20.89 | $231.85 | +9.9% |
| $180 | $5,895 | 0.74 | $27.99 | $238.95 | +13.3% |
| $200 | $4,780 | 0.67 | $36.84 | $247.80 | +17.5% |
| $210 at the money | $4,270 | 0.63 | $41.74 | $252.70 | +19.8% |
| $230 | $3,405 | 0.55 | $34.05 | $264.05 | +25.2% |
| $250 | $2,690 | 0.47 | $26.90 | $276.90 | +31.3% |
The $210 call at the money costs about half as much as the $150, but nearly all of its $42.70 is time value, so NVIDIA has to rise 19.8% by January 2028 just to break even. The $150 needs 8.6%. A common rule for a LEAPS that stands in for shares is a delta around 0.80, which lands between the $150 and the $160 here. Calls further out of the money are cheaper still and move less: they're a bet on a big rally, not a replacement for the shares. Time value here is the ask minus what the call is in the money, so it includes the half of the spread you pay.
The $150 and $210 calls at six expiries on 23 October, at the ask. Divide the time value by the months left and you get what each month costs, per share.
| Expiry | $150 call | $210 call | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ask | A month | Ask | A month | |
| 15 Jan 2027 2.8 months | $64.25 | $1.19 | $17.25 | $5.90 |
| 17 Jun 2027 7.8 months | $70.35 | $1.21 | $29.95 | $3.72 |
| 17 Dec 2027 13.8 months | $78.15 | $1.24 | $40.90 | $2.89 |
| 21 Jan 2028 15.0 months | $79.15 | $1.22 | $42.70 | $2.79 |
| 16 Jun 2028 19.8 months | $84.40 | $1.18 | $50.05 | $2.48 |
| 15 Dec 2028 25.8 months | $89.75 | $1.12 | $57.70 | $2.20 |
For the at-the-money call, a month of time costs much less on a long expiry: $2.20 a share on December 2028 against $5.90 on January 2027. That's the case for LEAPS over short-dated calls. For the deep $150 it's close to flat, $1.12 to $1.24 a month, so there you're choosing how long you want to hold. A later expiry also gives NVIDIA more time to pass the breakeven, but asks for a bigger move to get there.
Equity LEAPS have traditionally expired in January. NVIDIA's chain also had June and December expiries more than a year out, and they work the same way. The furthest one, 19 January 2029, shows why the quote matters: the $150 call was $87.00 bid, $95.00 ask, an $8 spread, against $88.25 / $89.75 for December 2028. Check the bid and the ask before you buy, and use a limit order.
The time value left in each call if NVIDIA stays at $210.96, with its volatility unchanged, starting from the 23 October midpoint.
| From now | $150 call time value left | $210 call time value left |
|---|---|---|
| Today 23 Oct 2026 | $17.64 | $41.54 |
| 3 months Jan 2027 | $14.14 | $36.92 |
| 6 months Apr 2027 | $10.39 | $31.70 |
| 9 months Jul 2027 | $6.34 | $25.48 |
| 12 months Oct 2027 | $2.35 | $17.57 |
| 14 months Dec 2027 | $0.42 | $9.60 |
| Expiry 21 Jan 2028 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
The deep $150 call loses its time value almost in a straight line. The at-the-money $210 call is different: $17.57 of its $41.54 is still there with three months left, and it all goes in those last three months. That's why many LEAPS holders sell or roll with six to twelve months left, before the steep part.
Rolling means selling the call you hold and buying a later one, often at a higher strike after a rally. On 23 October, selling the January 2028 $150 call at the $78.05 bid and buying the December 2028 $150 call at the $89.75 ask would have cost $11.70 a share, $1,170, for 11 more months.
How often NVIDIA, held for the life of this LEAPS, would have ended above its breakeven. It's NVIDIA's own past, which was exceptional, so read it as a sense of the range, not a forecast.
Each bar is a 10% bucket of NVIDIA's price change over 313 trading days, the length of this trade, for every start date from 23 October 2006 to 28 July 2025. The first bucket also holds every fall past 70%, the last every rise past 290%. Bars are coloured by the middle of their bucket; the percentages below count each stretch exactly.
The middle stretch rose 46%, and the worst fell 82.1%, starting on 27 August 2007. The split by period shows how much the answer depends on when you start: from 2006 to 2015 NVIDIA beat the breakeven in 57.3% of stretches and fell more than 38.1% in 13.9%; from 2016 on, 80.5% and 1.6%. A stock that has done less well would show far fewer winners, and a LEAPS needs the stock to rise more than its time value just to break even.
A LEAPS put does the opposite job: it pays if the stock or index falls, and one bought against shares you hold sets a floor for more than a year. SPY's 17 December 2027 puts at the 23 October ask, with SPY at $759.97.
| Strike | Ask | % of SPY | % a year | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $600 21% below | $14.45 | 1.90% | 1.65% | −0.13 |
| $640 16% below | $19.25 | 2.53% | 2.20% | −0.17 |
| $680 11% below | $25.68 | 3.38% | 2.94% | −0.22 |
| $720 5% below | $34.29 | 4.51% | 3.92% | −0.30 |
| $760 at the money | $45.96 | 6.05% | 5.26% | −0.39 |
A floor 5% below SPY cost 4.51% of its price for 13.8 months, 3.92% a year; at the money, 5.26% a year. The protective put guide walks through choosing the floor and what it costs against the shares.
A LEAPS call can stand in for shares in most strategies built on them.
Sell a short-dated call above the price against the LEAPS each month. The premium pays for the time value you're losing, and caps the upside while it's open.
The PMCC guide, with an Apple January 2028 LEAPSShares, a put below the price and a call sold above it to pay for the put. With a long expiry the floor and the cap last longer, and the call pays more.
The collar guideA long-dated option bought and a nearer one sold at a different strike. A PMCC is a diagonal with a LEAPS as the long leg.
Calendars and diagonalsThe cards use the January 2028 $150 call on NVIDIA.
Selling the call collects its time value too; exercising throws it away. If you want the shares, sell the call and buy them, unless the call has almost no time value left.
Sell the call and buy a later expiry, at the same strike or a higher one after a rally. You pay the new call's extra time value and two spreads.
A call holder gets no dividends, and the price of the call already allows for the ones expected before expiry. NVIDIA pays $0.25 a share each quarter, after raising it from $0.01 in May 2026.
Equity LEAPS are American-style, so you can exercise any business day, and nobody can assign a call you own. Exercising early only makes sense just before an ex-dividend date, when the call's time value left is smaller than the dividend.
Long-dated strikes trade less, and the spread is a cost you pay going in and again going out. Use a limit order near the middle and pick strikes with open interest.
FINRA Rule 4210 lets a listed option with more than nine months to expiry be bought on margin with at least 75% of its value down. At nine months or less it has to be paid in full. Many brokers ask for more.
Under IRS Publication 550 a call or put you buy gives a capital gain or loss, and a LEAPS is one of the few options you can hold long enough for it to be long-term.
The gain or loss is capital: long-term if you held the call more than a year, short-term otherwise.
A call that expires worthless is a capital loss of what you paid, on the expiry date, with the call's holding period ending that day.
What you paid for the call goes into the cost of the shares, and their holding period starts the day after you exercise. The 15 months you held the call don't count.
Options on a broad-based index such as the S&P 500 (SPX), including its LEAPS, are section 1256 contracts: 60% of the gain or loss is long-term and 40% short-term however long you held them, and open ones are marked to market at year end. Other countries have their own rules. Our options tax tracker keeps each realized option and the open ones apart for your report.
Five ways to own NVIDIA's upside on 23 October 2026.
| Way in | Money in | Moves like | Most you can lose | What time costs | Dividends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 shares | $21,096 | 100 shares | $21,096 | Nothing | Yes, about $125 by January 2028 |
| 100 shares on margin | $10,548 down, the rest borrowed | 100 shares | $21,096, more than you put in | Interest on the $10,548 loan | Yes |
| LEAPS call, Jan 2028 $150 | $7,915 | 84 shares at first | $7,915 | $1,819 over 15 months, about $1.22 a share a month | No |
| Short-dated call, Jan 2027 $210 | $1,725 | 56 shares at first | $1,725 | $1,629 over 2.8 months, $5.90 a share a month | No |
| Poor man's covered call | The LEAPS, less each call's premium | Fewer shares while a call is sold | What you paid, less premiums | The short calls help pay for it | No |
Margin keeps the dividends and has no time value to lose, but a fall costs the full 100 shares and the loan has to be repaid. A short-dated call is cheapest up front and costs the most per month. The LEAPS sits in between: less money in than either way of owning the shares, a loss capped at the premium, and a monthly cost you can see before you buy.
The at-the-money $210 call costs $4,270 against $7,915 for the $150, but $41.74 of its $42.70 is time value and it needs NVIDIA up 19.8% to break even.
An at-the-money LEAPS loses its time value fastest at the end: $17.57 a share in the final three months on the $210 call. Sell or roll while there's time left to sell.
Putting the shares' money into LEAPS buys much more exposure. Two $150 calls cost $15,830 and move like about 167 shares; a 30% fall by expiry wipes all of it out, where 100 shares lose $6,204.
On thin strikes the gap between bid and ask can be several dollars a share. The January 2029 $150 call was $87.00 / $95.00: $800 a contract between buying and selling at once.
Exercise the $150 call today and you give up $18.19 a share of time value to receive a $0.25 dividend. Sell the call and buy the shares instead.
A LEAPS sits in your portfolio for a year or more. AllInvestView shows it next to your shares and other options, whether the trades sync from your broker or come from a file.
Each position shows the days to expiry, how far the stock is above or below the strike, and the open result against what you paid. Expand it for the payoff at expiry, the break-even and the Greeks.
AllInvestView
LEAPS, spreads, covered calls, shares, ETFs, bonds and dividends on one dashboard, synced from your brokers or imported from a file, with every closed trade's result kept.
LEAPS are options that expire more than a year away. The name stands for Long-term Equity AnticiPation Securities, and Cboe first listed them in 1990. They work like any other call or put, just with more time: on 23 October 2026, NVIDIA's 21 January 2028 $150 call cost $7,915, against $21,096 for 100 shares.
Equity LEAPS have traditionally expired in January, and many chains also have June or December expiries more than a year out, which work the same way. On 23 October 2026 NVIDIA's furthest expiry was 19 January 2029, about 27 months away.
They tie up less money and cap the loss at what you paid, but they cost time value and get no dividends. If NVIDIA ends at or above $150, the $150 call trails 100 shares by $1,944 at expiry, its $1,819 of time value plus $125 of dividends. Above $240.82 it makes the bigger percent of the money in; at or below $150, all $7,915 is gone.
For a LEAPS that stands in for shares, a common choice is deep in the money, with a delta around 0.80. On NVIDIA's January 2028 calls that was the $150 to $160 strikes: $18.19 to $20.89 a share of time value and a breakeven 8.6% to 9.9% above the price. The at-the-money $210 call cost less but needed NVIDIA up 19.8% just to break even.
Many holders sell or roll with six to twelve months left, because time value goes fastest at the end. If NVIDIA stays at $210.96, the at-the-money January 2028 $210 call still has $17.57 of its $41.54 of time value with three months left, and loses it all in those three months. Rolling means selling the call and buying a later one.
No. Dividends go to shareholders, and a call's price already allows for the ones expected before expiry. NVIDIA pays $0.25 a quarter, about $125 per 100 shares before January 2028. Exercising early to catch one only makes sense when the call's time value left is smaller than the dividend.
Under FINRA Rule 4210, a listed option with more than nine months to expiry can be bought with at least 75% of its value down; at nine months or less it must be paid in full. For the NVIDIA $150 call that's at least $5,936 of the $7,915. Many brokers ask for more.
Selling a LEAPS gives a capital gain or loss, long-term if you held it more than a year. If it expires worthless, the loss is taken on the expiry date. If you exercise a call, what you paid for it goes into the shares' cost and their holding period starts the day after exercise. Options on a broad-based index such as SPX are section 1256 contracts, taxed 60% long-term and 40% short-term.
Checked on 25 October 2026.
Costs use the ask for options bought, before commissions. Deltas, time decay and every value before expiry come from AllInvestView's Black-Scholes engine with a 3.94% rate, a 0.47% dividend yield for NVIDIA ($0.25 a quarter over $210.96) and each option's volatility solved from its midpoint price, held fixed (46.4% for the $150 call, 41.4% for the $210 call). The shares' results add five $0.25 dividends. Fifteen-month moves are NVIDIA's price change over each overlapping stretch of 313 trading days, using closes adjusted for splits and dividends.
This guide explains how LEAPS work; it isn't advice to buy them.