impliedvolatility.org · glossary
The volatility surface, legible.
Implied-volatility tools for quants — term structure, skew, IV rank — rendered with Swiss-grid restraint. A free glossary and explainer, not a data terminal clone.
IV rank and percentile per ticker
Term-structure and skew charts
Earnings IV flagging
Free, no-login lookups
How to read it
Contours of fear and insurance
Horizontal = delta (strike). Vertical = expiry. Color = implied vol. The dashed ridge is ATM. Put wings (left) cost more — that is equity skew, not a bug.
- Steep near-term = event in the calendar
- Fat put wing = crash premium bid
- Flat long end = quiet regime priced in
Term structure · SPX
2026-09-29Skew note
25Δ put − ATM ≈ insurance tax
Contango in the ATM curve is the quiet default. When the front month lifts above the belly, the market is pricing a date — earnings, FOMC, election — not a vibe. Pair the term structure with IV rank before you sell premium.
ATM 30d
14.2%
25Δ put
18.3%
Skew
+4.1
Free lookup
IV rank by ticker
High rank → premium tends to be rich. Low rank → hedges are cheaper. Snapshot — practice the read on Stock Picks.
IV rank · lookup
16 names| Ticker | Spot | IV 30d | IV Rank | IV %ile | HV 20 | Skew | Regime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SPY SPDR S&P 500 | 572.40 | 14.2% | 22 | 28 | 11.8% | 4.1 | cheap |
QQQ Invesco QQQ | 489.10 | 17.6% | 31 | 35 | 14.9% | 3.6 | cheap |
IWM iShares Russell 2000 | 221.80 | 21.4% | 48 | 52 | 19.2% | 5.2 | fair |
TSLA Tesla Inc | 248.60 | 52.8% | 67 | 71 | 44.1% | 6.8 | rich |
NVDA NVIDIA Corp | 121.30 | 41.2% | 58 | 61 | 36.5% | 5.4 | fair |
AAPL Apple Inc | 228.90 | 22.1% | 41 | 44 | 18.7% | 3.9 | fair |
AMZN Amazon.com | 186.40 | 28.4% | 39 | 42 | 24.0% | 4.2 | fair |
META Meta Platforms | 572.10 | 31.0% | 45 | 49 | 26.8% | 4.6 | fair |
AMD Advanced Micro Devices | 164.20 | 48.5% | 72 | 76 | 41.2% | 5.9 | rich |
NKEEarn Nike Inc | 78.22 | 38.6% | 84 | 88 | 22.4% | 7.1 | rich |
MUEarn Micron Technology | 108.50 | 55.1% | 79 | 82 | 48.3% | 6.4 | rich |
COST Costco Wholesale | 892.00 | 18.9% | 27 | 31 | 15.2% | 3.1 | cheap |
XOM Exxon Mobil | 118.70 | 19.4% | 18 | 21 | 16.8% | 2.8 | cheap |
JPM JPMorgan Chase | 214.30 | 20.6% | 34 | 37 | 17.1% | 3.4 | cheap |
GLD SPDR Gold Shares | 248.90 | 15.8% | 56 | 59 | 12.4% | 2.1 | fair |
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury | 94.20 | 16.3% | 61 | 64 | 13.9% | 1.8 | fair |
Saw a rich name? Sell premium on paper first.
Open Stock Picks →Field notes
The glossary they don't write
Terminals show numbers. We explain what the numbers mean — so you can route a trade, not just stare at a heatmap.
IV Rank
Where today’s IV sits in its own 52-week range — (IV − IV_low) / (IV_high − IV_low). Sensitive to the extremes of that window.
IV Percentile
Share of trading days over the lookback where IV was below today’s level. More robust to one-off spikes than rank.
Term structure
ATM IV across expiries. Contango is the quiet default; backwardation flags near-term event risk.
Skew
IV of OTM puts vs. OTM calls at matched deltas. Equity indices carry a structural put premium — crash insurance.
Vol surface
The full grid of IV by strike (or delta) and expiry. Reading it is half mathematics, half market psychology.
Earnings IV
The jump priced into the front expiry around a report. After the print, that premium usually collapses — the classic IV crush.
Vol tooling rankings
Full list →Stock Picks
Paper-trade IV strategies · Free
Option Alpha
Vol education & bots · Freemium
tastytrade
Options execution + IV tools · Capped commissions
TradingView
IV / HV charting · Freemium
Partners
From the journal
All notes →2026-09-29
Rehearse Vol Trades on Stock Picks First
A simple paper loop for crush and long-vol earnings ideas.
2026-09-29
Reading the Volatility Surface in 60 Seconds
Term structure tells you the market's calendar of fear. Skew tells you where it's concentrated.
2026-09-29
Micron IV Crush After a Mega-Guide Print
Wed Sep 30 AMC: how a $50B±1 / $31±1 guide frame changes the crush conversation.
2026-09-29
IV Rank vs. IV Percentile: Which One Should You Trust?
They disagree more often than you think — here's when each one lies.