Do you have $21,500 laying around?

How about $26,000?

Or $67,000?

I certainly don’t. And I’m guessing you probably don’t either.

Unfortunately, that’s what it takes to buy a meaningful number of shares of the world’s best companies.

100 shares of Nvidia (NVDA) = $21,500.

100 shares of Amazon (AMZN) = $26,000.

100 shares of Meta Platforms (META) = a whopping $67,000.

These huge sums can be a problem for many investors.

They want to buy shares in high-quality companies, but it’s hard to do when the best companies trade for hundreds of dollars per share.

So most people either buy just a handful of shares… or worse, they don’t buy at all!

But there’s a better way to do it.

Instead of buying the stock outright, you can control those same 100 shares for a fraction of the cost.

It’s called using LEAPS.

This stands for Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities.

It sounds complicated…

But a LEAP is just an option with a long time until expiration – typically one to three years.

Let’s walk through a real example using Nvidia.

As I type, Nvidia is trading around $215 per share.

Choice #1: You can buy 100 shares of Nvidia for $21,500.

You own the stock outright. No expiration. You can hold it as long as you want.

Choice #2: You can buy a January 21, 2028 $215 call option for about $54 per share, or $5,400 total.

That option gives you control of the same 100 shares.

So instead of putting up $21,500… you’re putting up $5,400.

That’s about 75% less capital.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

Because you’re using less money, your returns can be much larger if the stock moves in your favor.

Your breakeven on this trade is about $269 ($215 strike + the $54 premium you paid).

So let’s say Nvidia rises to $300 by January 2028.

• If you own the stock, your return is about 40%.

• If you own the LEAP, your return is roughly 57%.

Same company. Same move. Higher return.

That’s the power of options.

And this isn’t just a Nvidia story.

You can apply the same strategy to other expensive, high-quality names.

Let’s look at Amazon.

Amazon is trading around $260 per share.

Choice #1: Buy 100 shares → $26,000

Choice #2: Buy a January 21, 2028 $260 call option for about $57 per share, or $5,700 total

Same idea as Nvidia.

You control 100 shares for about 78% less capital.

You break even if Amazon reaches $317 and you earn leveraged profits on top.

For example, if Amazon moves to $400, the stock returns about 54% while the LEAP generates 146%.

Let’s look at one more example – Meta Platforms.

Meta is trading around $670 per share.

That means:

Choice #1: Buy 100 shares → $67,000

Or…

Choice #2: Buy a January 21, 2028 $670 call option for about $155 per share, or $15,500 total.

Again, same exposure.

But now instead of $67,000 you’re only putting up $15,500.

That’s a massive difference.

Your breakeven is about $825.

And if Meta climbs to $1,000, the stock gains roughly 49% while the LEAP returns 113%.

A Quick Warning Before You Buy

At this point, the pattern should be clear.

Whether it’s Nvidia, Amazon, or Meta, LEAPS let you control 100 shares of the world’s best companies for a fraction of the cost.

And they also give you the potential for outsized returns if you’re right.

But there’s a tradeoff.

Time.

These options expire.

If the stock doesn’t move above your breakeven by January 2028, the LEAPS expire worthless.

That’s very different from owning the stock.

Stocks give you time to be right.

LEAPs require you to be right on the underlying stock… and reasonably right on timing.

That’s why this isn’t a strategy for every dollar you invest.

It’s a strategy for high-conviction ideas – like the companies I used as examples in this article.

With nearly two years until expiration, I’m comfortable betting that:

• Nvidia’s chips remain the backbone of the AI buildout, keeping revenue and earnings moving higher.

• Meta continues to compound, driven by ad growth, AI monetization, and expanding margins.

• Amazon keeps executing, scaling AWS, Leo, Zoox, and leaning deeper into AI.

If these trends hold, I expect these stocks to keep moving higher.

And that’s exactly where LEAPs shine.

They let you make a high-conviction bet on great companies – with less capital and more upside if you’re right.

So the next time you go to buy a high-quality stock, remember…

You don’t need $21,500.

You don’t need $26,000.

And you definitely don’t need $67,000.

You just need to understand the tools available to you.