What Is an American Option?

An American Option Explained

Updated on November 4, 2021

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Definition and Examples of an American Option

An American option is a style of option that gives investors the right to exercise the contract at any time between the day they purchase the contract and the expiration date of the contract.

Note

Options give the contract holder the right, but not the obligation to exercise the contract at a predetermined strike price. They may choose to simply let it expire if exercising the option is not profitable.

An American call option means buying the underlying shares at the strike price. An American put option means selling the underlying shares at the strike price.

For example, you may buy one call option for stock XYZ with a strike price of $50 on January 1. The option expires on June 1. You can choose to exercise the option at any time between January 1 and June 1.

Call options let you buy shares at the strike price, so if the price of XYZ rises above $50 at any point between January 1 and June 1, you have the option to exercise the contract, buy the shares below market value, and sell them for a profit.

Risk of Early Exercise

The risk of an American option is that you may exercise the option too early, losing out on potential profit.

For American call options, that could be the case for a stock where the price goes up after the option is exercised. For example, if the price of XYZ rises to $51, you may exercise the option and earn a small profit. If it later rises to $60, you could have earned more had you waited to exercise the option.

Note

Early exercise of American call options for a non-dividend-paying stock is typically not recommended. There may be some merit to early exercise to get a dividend-paying stock.

An American Option vs. a European Option

The primary difference between American options and European options is in when the option holder has the right to exercise the contract.

American Option	European Option
Exercisable any time before the expiration date	Exercisable only on the expiration date
More flexibility means they are generally worth more and command a higher premium than European options	Less flexibility means they are generally worth less and command lower premium than American options
Typically, most U.S. stock options are American options	Some U.S. index options are European-style options
Typically traded on exchanges	Typically traded in the over-the-counter (OTC market)

The ability to exercise prior to expiration makes American options far more flexible than European options. If the underlying security is volatile, it’s possible that at some point between the purchase date and expiration date, exercising the option would be profitable, even if it would not be profitable to exercise on the expiration date. This leads to American options being more valuable than European options. This means American options require higher premiums compared to European options.

Note

European options, on the other hand, are more predictable. The option seller doesn’t need to worry about the option being exercised early. The option holder also does not need to spend as much time tracking the value of the option and deciding whether or not to exercise it.

Pros and Cons of an American Option

Pros

More flexibility for options holders
Traded on exchanges rather than over-the-counter

Cons

Less predictability for options sellers
Options buyers may miss out on potential profits

Pros Explained

More flexibility for options holders: Options holders have more flexibility in when they exercise the contract, which gives them more opportunity to exercise it when stock prices will make exercising profitable.
Traded on exchanges rather than over-the-counter: American options are widely traded on exchanges rather than over-the-counter, which means the market for American options is larger and more liquid.

Cons Explained

Less predictability for options sellers: Investors who sell American options need to be prepared for the options holder to exercise it before the expiration date, which makes selling these options unpredictable.
Options buyers may miss out on potential profits: Options holders who exercise the option prior to expiration may find they could have exercised it for greater profit if they’d held the option for longer.

What It Means for Individual Investors

Individual investors need to keep the type of option they’re buying and selling in mind. Options buyers will typically want to buy American options as they offer more flexibility. If you’re selling American options, take note that the option can be exercised at any point before its expiration date. You need to be ready to fulfill the contract in the event the holder chooses to exercise early.

Key Takeaways

American options can be exercised at any time up to the expiration date.
American options tend to be worth more and carry higher premiums than less-flexible options.
Options buyers have to keep a close eye on the price of the underlying security for the whole period that they own the contract.
Options sellers must be ready in the event the option holder chooses to exercise the contract early.

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Sources

The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

FINRA. "Options A-Z: The Basics to the Greeks." Accessed August 6, 2021.
Philippe Jorion. "Financial Risk Manager Handbook," Fourth Edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2007.
Peter Moles and Nicholas Terry. "Handbook of International Financial Terms," Page 13. Oxford University Press, 1997.
Neil C Schofield. "Equity Derivatives Corporate and Institutional Applications," Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017.