Apple Inc. (AAPL) IV/HV History
Comparing implied volatility to historical (realized) volatility reveals whether options are priced rich or cheap relative to actual price movement. Persistent gaps can signal trading opportunities.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) operates in the Technology sector, specifically the Consumer Electronics industry, with a market capitalization near $4.89T, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 166,000 people, carrying a beta of 1.10 to the broader market. Apple Inc. Led by Timothy D. Cook, public since 1980-12-12.
Snapshot as of Jul 24, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $332.60
- ATM IV
- 29.1%
- HV 20-Day
- 26.9%
- HV 60-Day
- 28.7%
- IV Rank
- 74.3%
- IV Percentile
- 89.3%
As of Jul 24, 2026, Apple Inc. (AAPL) ATM implied volatility is 29.1%. 20-day realized volatility is 26.9%, producing an IV-HV spread of +2.3 vol points. Options are pricing in more volatility than the stock has recently delivered, the volatility risk premium. IV rank is 74.3%.
How AAPL iv/hv history Data Feeds Strategy Selection
Strategy selection on Apple Inc. options does not derive from any single metric in isolation. The iv/hv history view above sits inside a broader read: ATM IV currently sits at 29.1% and dealer gamma exposure is positive, so dealer hedging is mechanically mean-reverting. Combine the iv/hv history data here with the volatility-skew surface, dealer-gamma exposure, max-pain level, and upcoming-events calendar to build a positioning thesis. Risk-defined structures (credit spreads, debit spreads, iron condors) are usually safer than naked positions while the regime is uncertain; the data on this page anchors the inputs but does not by itself constitute a trade thesis.
How to read the AAPL IV vs HV chart
The dual-line chart above tracks ATM implied volatility (forward-looking, what the chain is pricing) against 20-day realized historical volatility (backward-looking, what actually happened). ATM IV currently prints at 29.1%, 74.3% IV rank, against 26.9% realized over the trailing 20 trading days. Implied is pricing above realized by 2.3 vol points, the typical variance-risk-premium positive state in which premium sellers earn the gap. Persistent IV-above-HV is the variance-risk-premium-positive state typical of equity markets; persistent IV-below-HV is rare and usually marks underpriced vol that often expands.
AAPL IV/HV regimes and trade selection
AAPL sits in the top quartile of its 1-year IV range. High-IV-rank regimes statistically favor premium-selling - the elevated implied is more likely to mean-revert than to expand further. Iron condors, covered calls, and cash-secured puts collect more premium per unit of notional risk; size wings to the implied move and exit on first sign of HV catching up.
Using AAPL vol history alongside the term structure
The IV/HV gap on this page captures the level of premium; the term-structure slope on the volatility page captures its shape across expirations. Term structure is roughly flat at -0.008, no strong near vs far premium being priced. Pair the rank read with the slope read with the event calendar to choose the right tenor for the structure.
AAPL IV/HV signal in volatility-cycle context
Equity-vol cycles tend to compress and expand on multi-month timeframes: a typical sequence runs low-IV-rank consolidation (months of flat tape, decaying premium) into a vol-expansion catalyst (earnings miss, macro shock, regime change) into elevated-IV-rank stress (premiums fat, dispersion high) back to mean-reverting compression. AAPL's current 74.3% IV rank places the ticker in the expansion or stress phase of that cycle. Premium-selling carries the typical structural tailwind here, but the mean-reverting compression that completes the cycle has historically arrived sharply rather than gradually. The ratio of HV-20 (26.9%) to HV-60 (28.7%) gives a second cycle indicator: when 20-day exceeds 60-day, recent realization is running hotter than the trailing-quarter average - typically a sign that recent days have already started expanding vol regardless of where IV rank prints. Use the time series above to spot inflection points: meaningful IV/HV gap closures and openings tend to precede regime shifts by a few sessions.
Learn how implied vs realized volatility is reported and how to read the data →
Daily ATM implied volatility and 20-day realized (historical) volatility for AAPL over the last ~38 trading days. The IV-HV gap measures the variance risk premium - when IV trades persistently above realized HV, premium-sellers earn the spread; when IV dips below HV, vol is structurally underpriced.
Most recent 15 trading days (descending). Older history appears in the chart above.
| Date | ATM IV | HV 20d | HV 60d | IV Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2026 | 29.1% | 26.9% | 28.7% | 74.3% |
| Jul 23, 2026 | 29.7% | 37.1% | 27.9% | 77.6% |
| Jul 22, 2026 | 29.4% | 36.8% | 27.9% | 75.9% |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 29.8% | 36.6% | 28.0% | 78.5% |
| Jul 20, 2026 | 30.6% | 36.6% | 27.9% | 83.4% |
| Jul 17, 2026 | 30.7% | 35.6% | 27.9% | 83.9% |
| Jul 16, 2026 | 30.0% | 36.3% | 28.4% | 79.7% |
| Jul 15, 2026 | 28.2% | 35.9% | 28.2% | 68.5% |
| Jul 14, 2026 | 27.5% | 34.8% | 27.9% | 64.4% |
| Jul 13, 2026 | 28.4% | 35.6% | 27.9% | 69.9% |
| Jul 10, 2026 | 27.5% | 35.7% | 28.4% | 64.4% |
| Jul 9, 2026 | 27.8% | 35.8% | 28.4% | 65.8% |
| Jul 8, 2026 | 27.8% | 39.8% | 28.5% | 66.1% |
| Jul 7, 2026 | 28.5% | 40.5% | 28.5% | 70.2% |
| Jul 6, 2026 | 28.4% | 40.7% | 28.5% | 69.9% |
AAPL highest implied-volatility contracts
| Type | Strike | Expiration | Volume | OI | IV | Bid | Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALL | $345.00 | Aug 21, 2026 | 3.5K | 46.6K | 28.5% | $5.75 | $5.95 |
| CALL | $360.00 | Oct 16, 2026 | 952 | 75.5K | 27.1% | $8.10 | $8.40 |
| CALL | $350.00 | Sep 18, 2026 | 1.2K | 43.0K | 27.6% | $8.10 | $8.30 |
| CALL | $330.00 | Aug 21, 2026 | 2.6K | 27.0K | 29.6% | $12.45 | $12.80 |
| CALL | $340.00 | Aug 21, 2026 | 2.4K | 25.7K | 28.6% | $7.60 | $7.80 |
| CALL | $335.00 | Jul 27, 2026 | 43.6K | 2.0K | 19.0% | $1.28 | $1.33 |
| CALL | $320.00 | Sep 18, 2026 | 483 | 36.3K | 29.3% | $22.95 | $23.30 |
| CALL | $330.00 | Jul 27, 2026 | 31.0K | 2.0K | 20.1% | $3.85 | $4.10 |
| PUT | $332.50 | Jul 27, 2026 | 17.5K | 469 | 19.4% | $2.22 | $2.32 |
| CALL | $332.50 | Jul 27, 2026 | 30.9K | 946 | 19.4% | $2.30 | $2.46 |
Top 10 contracts from the institutional-grade nightly options scan; ranked by iv within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.
Frequently asked AAPL iv/hv history questions
- Is AAPL options pricing rich or cheap right now?
- As of Jul 24, 2026, Apple Inc. (AAPL) ATM IV is 29.1% against 20-day realized volatility of 26.9%. IV rank is 74.3%. AAPL options are pricing in more volatility than the stock has recently realized: a positive variance risk premium worth 2.3 vol points.
- What is the AAPL variance risk premium?
- The variance risk premium is the persistent gap between implied and subsequently realized volatility. In equity markets it averages positive because option sellers demand compensation for bearing variance shocks. AAPL is currently priced consistently with this premium, which is one input to whether short-vol or long-vol structures carry their typical edge.
- What does AAPL IV rank mean for strategy selection?
- IV rank normalizes the current ATM IV to its 1-year range: 0% is the low, 100% is the high. AAPL's current rank of 74.3% signals where current pricing sits in its own 1-year history. High-rank regimes typically favor premium-selling structures (credit spreads, condors, covered calls); low-rank regimes typically favor premium-buying or long-volatility structures.