Today's Options Market Update

Wall Street greeted Democrats' historic midterm victory by rebounding dramatically from overnight losses. Uncertainty dissipated quickly on outcomes that were beyond dispute across most states, ending fears of a drawn-out process and cementing Democratic control of both congressional chambers starting early next year. Though chip stocks initially fell on concerns about more data center regulation, shares of health care and alternative energy stocks surged.

"The scope of the Democratic victory exceeded even the wildest of predictions," said Michael Townsend, Schwab's managing director of legislative and regulatory affairs. "Markets typically respond positively to midterm elections being over, no matter what the outcome. Elections are inherently uncertain events and markets generally don't like uncertainty."

Though the election is top of mind, the struggling tech market enjoyed good news after the close yesterday as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and several other AI-adjacent firms reported strong earnings and guidance. Results followed yesterday's tech-driven rally that lifted most major indexes as investors tentatively dipped a collective toe back in. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell 12% in three days, but the S&P 500 Index is only 3% off its high. Leadership is rotating, which is different from "risk-off" behavior.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (TNX) is down three bps to 4.91%.

The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) is slightly lower to 101.51.

The CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX) is down 17.00% to 17.29.

WTI Crude Oil (/CL) Futures are lower by $7.68 to $88.32/barrel.

Bitcoin (BTC) is higher by 3.41% to $80,720.

Ethereum (ETH) is up by 6.14% to $2,436.

Shares of Block Inc. (XYZ + $11.86 to $87.96) are rallying more than 15% to a 52-week high in early trading after the payments company posted third-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates. Net revenue rose 9.9% y/y to $6.72 billion, above the $6.59 billion estimate, while adjusted EPS of $1.13 per share beat the $1.02 analysts had expected. Gross profit increased 22% to $3.2 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $3.1 billion. Block also raised its full-year forecast and now expects $12.6 billion in gross profit for 2026, up from an earlier outlook of $12.5 billion.

Separately, Block reached a $964 million deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice related to alleged customer abuses, which will cost the company $764 million on a net basis.

Analysts responded favorably to the earnings report and revised guidance: BofA raised its price target to $117 from $115, Susquehanna lifted its target to $110 from $100, and TD Cowen increased its target to $109 from $105.

Option trading in XYZ currently stands at 27,351 contracts, 10x average volume, with calls outpacing puts roughly 4:1. The most active contracts are:

• December 18th, 2026, 95.00 call accounted for 6,059 contracts; open interest is 19,104 contracts.
• December 18th, 2026, 70.00 call accounted for 5,012 contracts; open interest is 17,749 contracts.
• November 6th, 2026, 88.00 call accounted for 1,243 contracts; open interest is 938 contracts.

New 52-week highs (296 new highs today): Apple Inc. (AAPL + $21.50 to $353.40), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT + $34.98 to $555.97), Coca-Cola Company (KO + $0.89 to $95.70), Block Inc. (XYZ + $11.86 to $87.96), Walt Disney Company (DIS + $5.31 to $119.49)

Call activity is elevated in Compass Diversified Holdings (CODI + $0.18 to $12.20), with 7,535 calls traded—26x average volume. Nearly all the early flow came from several large block sales of the January 15th, 2027, 13.00-strike calls at $0.80 each, slightly above the bid. With open interest of only 35 contracts entering the session, the sales likely represent new neutral-to-bearish positioning. The activity comes as Compass is set to report earnings after today's close.

Call activity is elevated in Shopify Inc. (SHOP + $9.30 to $151.87), with 106,346 calls traded—11x average volume and 15x put volume. Nearly all of the flow came from a large ratio call diagonal trade between the December 18th, 2026, and March 19th, 2027, expirations. Traders appear to be rolling 43,000 of their previous long call positions at the December 145.00 strike up and out to new positions of 50,000 contracts at the March 160.00 strike call, paying around $5.75 per spread. Shares of SHOP are up more than 6.50% today following last evening's earnings beat.

Shares of Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS - $8.82 to $30.17) are plummeting today, down roughly 22% to a 52-week low, after the financial products and services company cut its full-year sales and earnings guidance. The company now expects full-year revenue of $13.45 billion to $13.51 billion, down from its prior forecast of $13.61 billion to $13.70 billion, and adjusted EBITDA of $5.57 billion to $5.61 billion, also below its previous outlook. Fidelity National also lowered its fiscal year 2026 adjusted EPS target to a range of $5.82 to $5.89, down from the $6.15 to $6.24 it projected in August.

Separately, Fidelity National halted its share buyback program and paused "tuck-in M&A" activity to help reach its target gross leverage of about 2.8 times, at which point it said it would resume "meaningful" repurchases.

Option trading in FIS currently stands at 11,669 contracts, 14x the average daily volume with puts outpacing calls roughly 1.5:1. Leading the way are the following trades, expirations, and strikes:

• November 6th, 2026, 39.00 put accounted for 1,831 contracts; open interest is 1,781 contracts.
• November 6th, 2026, 33.00 call accounted for 627 contracts; open interest is 12 contracts.
• November 20th, 2026, 32.00 call accounted for 556 contracts; open interest is zero contracts.

New 52-week lows (151 new lows today): Iren Limited (IREN - $2.29 to $22.17), Coreweave (CRWV - $4.47 to $49.26), Cipher Digital Inc. (CIFR - $1.48 to $6.64), Cleanspark Inc. (CLSK - $1.10 to $7.05), Mara Holdings Inc. (MARA - $0.55 to $6.62), Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS - $8.82 to $30.17)

Put activity is elevated in Expand Energy Corp. (EXE - $2.63 to $87.30), with 14,867 puts traded—16x average volume and 30x call volume. Nearly all the flow came from a single large block sale in the December 18th, 2026, expiration, where traders sold 14,300 of the 80.00-strike puts at $0.80, just above the bid. With open interest of only 122 contracts entering the session, the sales likely represent new neutral-to-bullish positioning. The activity comes as EXE shares are down 4.00% today and roughly 31% below their 52-week high of $126.62, set last December.

Put activity is elevated in Peloton Interactive (PTON + $0.26 to $5.57), with 7,990 puts traded—13x average volume. Almost all the flow is concentrated in the November 20th, 2026, 5.50-strike puts, where more than 7,500 contracts have traded this morning as part of a combination spread. Traders bought 7,500 of the 5.50 puts and sold 7,500 of the 6.00 calls through multiple blocks for a net debit of $0.16. Given the open interest, these appear to be new positions with a bearish bias. The other possibility here is that if the traders are long PTON stock, they could be establishing a collar strategy for protection. Shares of PTON are up roughly 5.00% today heading into the company's earnings announcement, scheduled for tomorrow morning before the open.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 3.54 to 17.29) is lower by 17.00%, as equity markets are rallying in early trading (DJI + 1,465, SPX + 127, COMPX + 477). VIX movement has occurred within a wide range today (the intraday range is 16.86 to 19.22). The highest volume contract is currently the November 18th, 2026, 30.00 call (volume is 145,315 vs. open interest of 410,495).