What is in the money (ITM)?ITM
An option with intrinsic value, such as a call whose strike is below the stock price.
Learn “in the money (ITM)” in an animated lesson
- Options BasicsCall Options
Buying a call: pay a premium to lock in the right to buy at the strike. Drag the price at expiration and watch the payoff curve "bend".
- Options BasicsIntrinsic Value and Time Value
An option's price splits into two parts: what it's worth right now, and what it's worth because there's still time left.
- Options BasicsOption Leverage and the Risk of Going to Zero
One call costs a fraction of the stock price yet shares in the gains on 100 shares. But if the stock doesn't rise enough, it goes to zero. Compare the returns of buying stock vs. buying a call.
- Options BasicsIn, At and Out of the Money
Drag the stock price and watch a call and a put with the same strike flip between in the money and out of the money.
- Options BasicsReading an Option Chain
That big T-shaped table in your trading app: strikes in the middle, calls on the left, puts on the right, each cell with a bid and an ask. Learn to pick out the contract you want.
Related terms
See how “in the money (ITM)” works for yourself with an animation you can drag and play.
Go to “Call Options”