Stock Option Value Calculator

How it is calculated

The tool values vested options at their intrinsic value, the gain you would have if you exercised and sold at today's price: gain per share = max(0, current price − strike price) and intrinsic value = gain per share × number of options. It also shows the cost of exercising, options × strike price, which is the cash you pay to buy the shares. If the current price is at or below the strike, the gain is 0 because you would not exercise, but the exercise cost is still shown. Shares, strike and current price cannot be negative, and all three must be filled in. The result is before tax, fees, vesting limits and expiry, and it leaves out time value, so the option may be worth more than this to a buyer. One option is assumed to cover one share.

Common mistakes

• Using the total grant instead of the vested options. Only vested options can be exercised today, so enter the vested count.
• Entering the grant price as the current price or the other way round. Strike price is fixed in the grant; the current price is today's market price.
• Reading the intrinsic value as money in your pocket. Tax on exercise, fees and the cost of buying the shares all come out of it, and the tool deducts none of these.
• Assuming an out-of-the-money option is worthless in every sense. The tool shows 0 intrinsic value, but an unexpired option can still have time value that it does not measure.
• Entering a split-adjusted share count with an unadjusted strike price after a stock split. Both must be on the same basis.