Angie · learn
Intrinsic and time value
Intrinsic value is what the option would be worth exercised right now. Everything else in the price is time value, and it decays to zero at expiry.
Updated 2026-09-05
How it is calculated
Intrinsic and time value = premium = intrinsic value + time value
Every option price is exactly two things added together, and separating them is the most useful single habit in options.
- Intrinsic value is what the option would be worth if exercised right now. For a call, the current price minus the strike, floored at zero. It cannot be negative, because nobody is obliged to exercise.
- Time value is everything else in the premium. It is the price of the possibility that things get better before expiry, and it is zero at expiry by definition.
A call struck at $100 with the stock at $107, trading at a premium of $9.50. You are paying $7 for value that exists now and $2.50 for the chance it improves. Only the $7 is guaranteed to survive to expiry, and only if the stock stays above $100.
See also
- Option premium — What the buyer pays the seller for the contract. It is the option's price, and it is made of exactly two things: intrinsic value and time value.
- Implied volatility — How much movement the option's price implies the market expects. It is not a forecast anyone made, it is what falls out of the price when you solve backwards.
- Gamma and theta — Gamma is how fast delta changes; theta is how much value the option loses per day. Together they are why an option buyer is racing a clock.
- Strike price — The price at which an option can be exercised. Its distance from the current price determines almost everything about how the option behaves.
Educational content, not investment advice. Angie explains how a valuation is built so you can judge it yourself. What you do with that is your call.
