Apple and Amazon earnings put options market on alert
Options traders are pricing a larger-than-usual Apple move and a more typical Amazon swing as two megacap tech reports land.
By Dev Ramirez · Crypto Correspondent
· 3 min read
Apple and Amazon earnings after the bell could help decide whether a rough week for stocks ends on firmer ground, CNBC reported. For everyday investors with exposure to megacap tech, the options market is showing how much movement traders are paying for before the companies report.
Options prices can give a market-implied range for a stock move around a known event such as earnings. That range is not a prediction of direction. It reflects how much investors are willing to pay for contracts that gain value if the stock moves enough after the news.
CNBC reported that recent megacap tech earnings have not delivered clean wins across the group. Last week, Alphabet and Tesla both fell after their reports. On Wednesday night, Microsoft rose while Meta declined, according to CNBC.
What are options saying before Apple and Amazon earnings?
The setup looks split. Apple has been the stronger stock this year, while options trading has turned more cautious into the report. Amazon has been flat for 2026, but CNBC reported that options data showed a more positive tilt among traders on Wednesday.
Apple shares are up 25% year to date, according to CNBC. The stock has also been hitting records and has gained 7% since the S&P 500 peaked on June 2, CNBC reported.
Options traders are pricing a 3.4% move in Apple after the earnings release, according to implied-volatility data cited by CNBC. Implied volatility is the options market’s embedded estimate of future price swings. CNBC said that expected move is more than twice Apple’s median 1.5% move after its past four earnings reports.
The tone in Apple options shifted during Wednesday’s market sell-off, CNBC reported, after flows had leaned more bullish at the start of the week. More than $470 million of the $634 million in Apple options premium traded Wednesday was tied to calls, according to SpotGamma and Barchart data cited by CNBC. Calls are contracts that typically benefit when a stock rises, but CNBC reported that much of that call activity appeared to be selling rather than buying.
Net trade sentiment in Apple options leaned slightly bearish, according to SpotGamma and Barchart data cited by CNBC. The most active Apple contract expiring Friday was the 330-strike put, CNBC reported. A put typically benefits when a stock falls, and CNBC said that contract would need a drop of more than 3% to pay off.
Amazon options look more constructive
Amazon’s stock is exactly flat for the year, according to CNBC, and traders appear to be positioned a little more optimistically than in Apple. CNBC reported that most of the $615 million in Amazon options premium traded Wednesday was connected to puts, but the activity looked more like traders selling volatility than buying it.
That distinction matters. Selling volatility usually means a trader is taking the other side of expensive options pricing, rather than paying up for protection or a bet on a large move.
Barchart analysis cited by CNBC showed Amazon’s net trade sentiment was positive by almost $3 million and 100,000 deltas. Delta measures how much an option’s price tends to change for a $1 move in the stock, so it is one way to compare directional exposure across different contracts.
For Amazon, traders are pricing a 6.6% post-earnings move, according to Cboe LiveVol data cited by CNBC. That is close to the stock’s median 7% move over the past four quarters, CNBC reported.
The takeaway from the options market is measured: Apple traders are paying for a bigger-than-usual reaction while showing a slightly bearish tilt, and Amazon traders are pricing a move near its recent earnings norm with more positive sentiment. The reports themselves will decide whether those prices were too high, too low, or aimed in the wrong direction.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
