Options market report: January 2026

Median 30-day implied volatility across the 160 most-traded options names went from 39.6% at the start of January 2026 to 50.1% at the close (+10.5 pts), with 81% of names re-pricing higher. The middle half of the market sits between 30% and 78%. The biggest riser was AMC (83% → 140%); the biggest faller NFLX (43% → 29%).

Implied volatility, month end

Median IV30, start: 39.6%
Median IV30, end: 50.1%
25th–75th pct: 30% – 78%
Names rising: 81%

Biggest IV risers

Ticker	IV30 start	IV30 end	Change
AMC	83%	140%	+56.2 pts
RBLX	38%	85%	+47.1 pts
CVNA	50%	90%	+40.3 pts
APP	53%	92%	+39.1 pts
UVXY	75%	114%	+38.2 pts

Biggest IV fallers

Ticker	IV30 start	IV30 end	Change
NFLX	43%	29%	−13.4 pts
TXN	42%	31%	−10.8 pts
UNH	37%	27%	−10.3 pts
ONDS	119%	110%	−9.2 pts
UPS	37%	28%	−9.0 pts

Richest and cheapest options, and the IV premium leaders

Highest IV30

AMC140%
IREN126%
LUNR122%
UVXY114%
ONDS110%

Lowest IV30

TLT11%
DIA14%
SPY14%
XLF15%
PEP17%

IV30 − HV30

AMC+76.5 pts
LYFT+46.1 pts
DUOL+46.1 pts
TTD+38.9 pts
SNAP+37.9 pts

Method

IV30 is the at-the-money implied volatility of the expiration nearest 30 days (call and put averaged), solved from closing option prices and stored once per session for every ticker in the universe since July 2025. HV30 is 30-trading-day close-to-close realized volatility. Month start and end are each ticker's first and last stored session in the month. Dealer gamma sessions come from the nightly capture of the full SPY and QQQ chains. Names with fewer than 30 stored tickers in a month produce no IV section.

Cite this report

OptionScout, “Options market report: January 2026”, https://optionscout.ai/reports/options-market/2026-01. Data is free to quote with a link; the per-ticker pages behind every number are at /implied-volatility and /gamma-exposure.

Not advice.