The Lab
May 21, 2026

IV Term Structure

What the Options Market Expects, Expiration by Expiration.

The IV Term Structure tool reads what the options market expects, expiration by expiration. Implied volatility is the market's best guess for how much a stock will move, and the term structure lays that guess out across every upcoming expiration. The tool plots the ATM IV curve, splits it into calls and puts, distills the skew into a single risk-reversal line, and translates it all into an implied move by date, for any liquid US ticker.

Most traders look at a single IV number and stop. But the shape of the curve carries the real information: a curve sloping up to the right is the calm, normal state, while a curve that humps on the front end is the market bracing for something specific, usually an earnings report. The decision-relevant question is not just how high IV is, it is where the market is paying up across time, and which side of the trade, calls or puts, that demand is leaning.

A rich front month is not always a warning and a flat curve is not always calm: what it means depends on the slope of the term structure, the gap between put and call IV, and the expiration you are trading. A steep front-end bump points to a dated event, a persistent put-over-call skew is routine downside hedging, and calls bid over puts is the unusual, squeeze-flavored case. The tool shows all four views at once so you read the curve in context rather than from a single strike or a single date.

What the Tool Shows You

The ATM IV term-structure curve, calls vs puts, the risk-reversal skew, the implied move by expiry, and a full expiry table, for any liquid US ticker.

Curve

IV Term-Structure Curve

ATM implied volatility by days-to-expiration, the shape that flags calm, contango, or an event.

Sides

Calls vs Puts

Separate ATM and 25-delta IV lines, so you see which side the market is paying up for.

Skew

Risk Reversal

Put IV minus call IV by expiration, the skew distilled into a single line above or below zero.

Move

Implied Move by Expiry

The expected plus-or-minus percentage swing the market is pricing in by each date.

Event

Event Detection

A front-end hump in the curve usually flags an earnings report or other dated catalyst.

Table

Full Expiry Table

Every expiration laid out with its IV and implied move, for any liquid US ticker.

How Traders are using the IV Term Structure Tool

1

Read the curve shape

See whether IV slopes up (normal), is flat, or humps on the front end. The shape tells you if an event is priced in.

2

Compare calls and puts

Check which side is more expensive. A higher put line is routine hedging; a higher call line is unusual upside demand.

3

Read the skew

Use the risk-reversal line to see how far, and which way, the market is leaning, and whether deep-crash protection is bid.

4

Size the expected move

Read the implied move by expiration to set realistic targets and spot the date a catalyst is priced around.

See what the options market is pricing in today

Open the IV Term Structure Tool

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