Using Stryke's implied move tool

Stryke's Implied Earnings Move tool is built specifically for traders who want to analyze, size, and time options trades around earnings announcements. It aggregates the data you need , implied move, historical moves, IV rank, and earnings dates , in one place, eliminating the manual work of calculating these figures yourself.

What the tool shows

Current implied move: Derived from the ATM straddle price for the nearest expiration after earnings. Shown as a percentage and dollar amount. This is what the options market is pricing as the expected earnings move for the stock.

Historical earnings moves: The actual percentage move the stock made on the previous earnings announcements , typically the last 4–8 quarters. Shown as both the direction and the magnitude of each move.

Implied vs historical comparison: The core output , whether the current implied move is above, below, or in line with the historical average. A consistent gap is the key signal for trade structuring.

IV rank at the time of screening: Current IV rank for the stock, giving you context for whether options are broadly elevated or just elevated around the earnings event.

How to read the output

Implied move significantly above historical average: Options are overpriced relative to what the stock has historically delivered. Premium sellers have a statistical edge. Consider iron condors, short strangles, or credit spreads with strikes just beyond the implied move range.

Implied move approximately equal to historical average: Options are fairly priced. No strong edge in either direction from the volatility comparison alone. Use other factors , technical setup, fundamental view, sector momentum , to decide.

Implied move significantly below historical average: Options are cheap relative to what the stock has typically delivered. Buyers have a potential edge. Consider straddles, strangles, or long directional options if you have a view on direction.

Structuring trades using the tool

Step 1 , Check the implied move: Find the current implied move as a percentage. This tells you what the stock needs to do for at-the-money straddle buyers to break even.

Step 2 , Compare to historical moves: Look at the last 6–8 earnings cycles. How often did the stock exceed the implied move? If it exceeded the implied move 2 out of 8 times (25%), the seller wins roughly 75% of the time historically.

Step 3 , Place your short strikes: For credit spreads or iron condors, place your short strikes at or just beyond the 1 standard deviation level (the implied move) for roughly a 68% probability of profit zone. More conservative traders use 1.2–1.5× the implied move for higher probability.

Step 4 , Check IV rank: High IV rank confirms the opportunity. If IV rank is above 60 heading into earnings, the elevated premium makes selling strategies even more attractive.

Step 5 , Size appropriately: Earnings trades are binary events. Even with historical edge, any single event can produce an outlier. Keep earnings positions to 2–5% of your portfolio, never more.

Common workflows on Stryke

Finding upcoming earnings plays: Filter the Implied Earnings Move tool by date (next 7 days, next 14 days) to see all upcoming earnings events. Sort by the gap between implied and historical moves to find the best-priced opportunities.

Pre-trade analysis: Click any ticker to see the full breakdown , implied move chart, historical moves for each quarter, current IV rank, and the ATM straddle price.

Post-earnings review: After announcements, check how the actual move compared to the implied move. This builds your intuition for which types of stocks and sectors consistently overprice or underprice earnings volatility.

Related terms: Expected move, IV crush, implied volatility, iron condor, short strangle, credit spread

Try it on Stryke: Open the Implied Earnings Move tool to see all upcoming earnings events and their implied vs historical moves.

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