Futures Payoff, a straight line and a perfect zero-sum game
The simplest derivative payoff. Long is the price minus the entry, short is the mirror, no premium, and every dollar one side makes the other loses.
A 2 minute animated lesson on the futures payoff, the simplest profit profile in derivatives. Built for FIN301 students at Western Sydney University meeting futures right after the option payoff.
The video draws the long payoff S_T minus F_0 as a single straight line through the entry price, then mirrors it across the axis for the short. There is no premium and no kink, so the line crosses zero exactly at the entry. A worked ASX SPI 200 example, long at 7,500 settling at 7,380 with A$25 a point, gives a A$3,000 loss that the short side gains to the dollar.
The lesson closes on two things students miss. The payoff is realised day by day through variation margin, not in one lump at expiry, and losses can run past the initial margin through a margin call. Pair the video with the Atlas concept page for the formulas, a quiz, and citations to Hull (2022) and CME Group.