LEAPS screener

Supported filters

Days to expiration (days)

Calendar days to expiration. The preset uses 365 to 1,100 days. Listed equity LEAPS expire up to about two years and eight months out, and a longer window gives the thesis more time while costing more premium.

Delta (anchor leg)

Absolute delta of the long call. The preset uses 0.70 to 0.85: high enough that the call tracks the stock, low enough that you are not paying for nearly all intrinsic value. Raise the floor for a closer match to shares, lower it for more leverage.

Time value % of premium (%)

Time value as a percent of the option price. A deep in-the-money call has little of it, so a low maximum keeps the list to calls where most of the premium is intrinsic value and less is lost to decay.

Distance to breakeven (%)

How far the stock must rise to reach the breakeven at expiration, as a percent. The preset sorts by it, smallest first, so the cheapest hurdle leads.

Distance OTM (%)

How far the strike sits from the stock price. Out of the money reads positive and in the money reads negative, so stock replacement calls sit at negative values such as -10% to -25%.

IV rank

Where the stock's implied volatility sits in its one-year range. A long-dated call is long volatility, so buying when IV rank is low costs less than buying when it is high, and a fall in IV hurts the value of the call.

IV / realized vol (x)

Implied volatility divided by realized volatility over 20 days. Above 1 means options price in more movement than the stock has shown lately, which makes the call more expensive for a buyer.

Probability of profit (%)

Model-estimated odds the call makes at least a cent by expiration, derived from option prices. A deep in-the-money call usually scores high, which says it is likely to finish in the money, not that the trade will beat owning the shares.

Open interest

Contracts outstanding on the call. The preset requires at least 10, because long-dated strikes are thinly held; raise it if you want to be able to exit easily.

Bid-ask spread (%)

The spread as a percent of the mid price. The preset caps it at 10%. Wide quotes on long-dated calls are the most common hidden cost of this strategy, since you cross the spread on the way in and again on the way out.

Total option volume

Option volume across the stock's whole chain. The preset requires 5,000 or more, which keeps the scan to stocks whose options trade actively even though the LEAPS strikes themselves trade rarely.

Market cap ($)

A floor on company size keeps the list to businesses you would be comfortable holding a multi-year bullish view on.

Earnings

Earnings reports move the stock and implied volatility. A LEAPS call spans many reports, so this matters less than for short-dated trades, but you can still exclude a report before a date you plan to act on.

Exclude ETFs

Drop index and sector funds so the results are individual companies. Fund chains otherwise dominate liquidity-sorted lists.

Screening walkthrough

1. 1. Open the LEAPS Stock Replacement preset

   It screens long calls with a delta from 0.70 to 0.85 and 365 to 1,100 days to expiration, at least 10 contracts of open interest, a bid-ask spread of 10% or less, and at least 5,000 contracts of total option volume on the stock. It sorts by breakeven distance, smallest first. Treat the list as a starting point and tighten from there.

2. 2. Choose a delta for how closely the call should track the stock

   A delta near 0.85 moves almost like shares and carries little time value, but it costs more. A delta near 0.70 costs less and gives more leverage, with more of the price at risk to decay and to a fall in implied volatility. Pick the range first, because it decides most of the trade-off.

3. 3. Compare how much time value you are paying

   Add the time value percent and the breakeven distance columns. Two calls with the same delta can differ by several points of time value, and the cheaper one reaches breakeven sooner. Prefer the contract whose premium is mostly intrinsic value.

4. 4. Pick a date with room to spare

   Time value erodes slowly in the first months of a LEAPS call and faster once less than a year remains, so many holders plan to sell or roll before then. A window of 540 to 900 days leaves a year or more of slow decay on the calls you keep. Narrow the days to expiration to match how long your view needs.

5. 5. Then check liquidity before you act

   Open each candidate and read the bid, ask, open interest, and volume on the exact contract. Long-dated strikes trade rarely, so a quote 8% wide is already a real cost. Use conservative pricing (buy at the ask) for the realistic figure, and place a limit order between the bid and ask instead of a market order.

Limitations and risks

• A long call can lose its whole premium. Because the call costs a fraction of the shares, a modest fall can lose a larger percent of what you put in than the shares would lose, and a deep fall can lose more dollars.
• The call receives no dividends. On a dividend-paying stock the shares' income is a cost of choosing the call, and the screener does not subtract it.
• Long-dated options are thinly traded. Wide quotes, low open interest, and prices that move away from the quoted mid are common, and conservative pricing is the more realistic figure.
• Implied volatility matters more for a long-dated call than for a short one. A fall in implied volatility lowers the call's value even if the stock does not move.
• Returns on a long call have no fixed maximum, so the screener does not report return on risk or annualized return for this strategy. Use breakeven distance and the scenario returns to compare contracts.
• Stock prices are live during market hours; option quotes are refreshed intraday and are a snapshot, not a live feed. This is a screening tool that does not place orders, and it is not personalized advice.

Frequently asked questions

What does the LEAPS screener search?

Every call on every optionable US stock in the scanner's universe that matches your days to expiration and delta range. The preset starts at 365 days, since LEAPS are options that expire a year or more out, and each call is scored on breakeven distance, time value, and liquidity.

What delta should a stock replacement LEAPS call have?

The preset uses 0.70 to 0.85, a common range for stock replacement. A higher delta tracks the shares more closely and carries less time value but costs more; a lower delta costs less and adds leverage and risk from time decay and implied volatility.

How is a LEAPS call different from owning the shares?

It controls the same 100 shares for a fraction of the cash and caps your loss at the premium, but it expires, pays no dividends, and can lose the whole premium. The example above shows a call that loses more dollars than the shares once the stock falls far enough.

Why does the screener sort by breakeven distance?

For an in-the-money call, the breakeven is the strike plus the premium, so the distance to it equals the call's time value as a percent of the stock price. The smallest distances sit closest to owning the shares.

Can I screen LEAPS puts?

Yes. The long put strategy accepts the same days to expiration and delta filters, so set the strategy to long put and the days to expiration to 365 or more. This page and its preset are built around calls.

What is the difference between this page and the long call guide?

The guide explains how a long call works, its payoff, and its risks. This page explains how to find LEAPS calls with the screener. Read the guide first if buying calls is new to you.

Read the strategy guides