SPY implied volatility vs the volatility realized in the following month
Answered against 22 years of US equities and 12 years of US options data and published with the query that produced it. This result is stored as of 2026-08-03, from Nikkei 225 Options and SQ Settlement.
| month | implied_vol_pct | realized_vol_pct | premium_pct | avg_premium_pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08 | 15.4 | 13.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| 2024-09 | 14.9 | 11.1 | 3.8 | 1.5 |
| 2024-10 | 16.3 | 11.9 | 4.4 | 1.5 |
| 2024-11 | 13.4 | 13.9 | -0.5 | 1.5 |
| 2024-12 | 12.3 | 13.9 | -1.6 | 1.5 |
| 2025-01 | 14.2 | 13.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 |
| 2025-02 | 13.7 | 20.3 | -6.6 | 1.5 |
| 2025-03 | 18.8 | 49 | -30.2 | 1.5 |
| 2025-04 | 25.9 | 16.8 | 9.1 | 1.5 |
| 2025-05 | 18.2 | 10.2 | 8 | 1.5 |
| 2025-06 | 15.7 | 6.6 | 9.1 | 1.5 |
| 2025-07 | 14.8 | 11.9 | 2.9 | 1.5 |
| 2025-08 | 13.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 1.5 |
| 2025-09 | 13.5 | 13.6 | -0.1 | 1.5 |
| 2025-10 | 15.3 | 15.3 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 2025-11 | 16.3 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 1.5 |
| 2025-12 | 13.3 | 10.2 | 3.1 | 1.5 |
| 2026-01 | 13.8 | 13.4 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| 2026-02 | 16.2 | 18.1 | -1.9 | 1.5 |
| 2026-03 | 20.9 | 11.6 | 9.3 | 1.5 |
| 2026-04 | 16.9 | 9.7 | 7.2 | 1.5 |
| 2026-05 | 15.4 | 17.5 | -2.1 | 1.5 |
| 2026-06 | 15.4 | 12 | 3.4 | 1.5 |
- Rows × columns
- 23 × 5
- Period covered
- to
- Computed
- Completeness
- No missing values
- Source
- US exchange, SIP and OPRA market data
- Licence
- Strasmore terms · free, no signup
What each column holds
| Column | Type | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
month |
date | 2024-08 to 2026-06 | |
implied_vol_pct |
number | 12.3 to 25.9 | percent |
realized_vol_pct |
number | 6.6 to 49 | percent |
premium_pct |
number | -30.2 to 9.3 | percent |
avg_premium_pct |
number | every row is 1.5 | percent |
Computed from Strasmore's warehouse of US exchange, SIP and OPRA market data. Equity prices are delayed; options greeks and implied volatility are end-of-day. This result is stored, not recomputed on load — it is exactly the numbers that were returned on , and the query below is what returned them.
the exact SQL behind every number
WITH daily AS (
SELECT toDate(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) AS session_date,
argMax(close, window_start) AS session_close
FROM global_markets.delayed_stocks_minute_aggs
WHERE ticker = 'SPY'
AND toDate(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) >= toDate('2024-08-01')
AND toDate(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) <= toDate('2026-07-31')
AND (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60
+ toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959
GROUP BY session_date
),
rets AS (
SELECT session_date,
toFloat64(session_close) AS close_px,
any(toFloat64(session_close)) OVER (ORDER BY session_date ASC
ROWS BETWEEN 1 PRECEDING AND 1 PRECEDING) AS prior_close
FROM daily
),
realized AS (
SELECT toStartOfMonth(session_date) AS month_start,
round(stddevSamp(close_px / prior_close - 1) * sqrt(252) * 100, 1) AS realized_vol_pct,
count() AS sessions
FROM rets
WHERE prior_close > 0
GROUP BY month_start
),
implied AS (
SELECT toStartOfMonth(date) AS month_start,
addMonths(toStartOfMonth(date), 1) AS next_month_start,
round(quantileDeterministic(0.5)(toFloat64(implied_volatility) * 100, cityHash64(ticker)), 1) AS implied_vol_pct
FROM global_markets.options_greeks
WHERE underlying_symbol = 'SPY'
AND date >= toDate('2024-08-01')
AND date <= toDate('2026-06-30')
AND iv_converged = 1
AND volume > 0
AND days_to_expiry BETWEEN 20 AND 45
AND abs(toFloat64(strike_price) / toFloat64(underlying_close) - 1) < 0.05
GROUP BY month_start, next_month_start
)
SELECT formatDateTime(i.month_start, '%Y-%m') AS month,
i.implied_vol_pct AS implied_vol_pct,
r.realized_vol_pct AS realized_vol_pct,
round(i.implied_vol_pct - r.realized_vol_pct, 1) AS premium_pct,
round(avg(i.implied_vol_pct - r.realized_vol_pct) OVER (), 1) AS avg_premium_pct
FROM implied AS i
INNER JOIN realized AS r ON i.next_month_start = r.month_start
WHERE r.sessions >= 15
ORDER BY month
Run your own version of this
The same 22 years of US equities and 12 years of options data are queryable in SQL or plain English. A free account runs 100 queries a day and takes no card.
More from this analysisNikkei 225 Options and SQ Settlement
SPY on monthly settlement Fridays: the opening gap, and where the session went afterwards
series 16×4
→
Median theta and implied volatility by days to expiry: near-the-money SPY contracts, H1 2026
table 60×4
→
Opening prints on settlement morning, May 15, 2026: twelve large US constituents
ranking 12×3
→
Implied vs realized volatility, six heavily traded US underlyings, twelve months to June 30, 2026
ranking 6×4
→
SPY volume by ET clock minute around the open, 13 March vs 20 March 2026
series 46×3
→
Share of SPY session volume printed in the opening minute, third Friday vs other Fridays
series 11×4
→
See all 2,170 queries →