Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) Put/Call Volume History

Put/call volume ratio compares the number of put options traded to call options traded. Extreme readings can signal shifts in market sentiment relative to recent norms.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) operates in the Consumer Defensive sector, specifically the Discount Stores industry, with a market capitalization near $445.29B, listed on NASDAQ, employing roughly 333,000 people, carrying a beta of 0.91 to the broader market. Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. Led by Ron Vachris, public since 1986-07-09.

Snapshot as of May 28, 2026.

Spot Price

$997.74

Call Volume

30.3K

Put Volume

46.4K

Total Volume

76.7K

Put/Call Ratio

1.53

As of May 28, 2026, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) traded 76.7K total options contracts. Volume split was 30.3K calls and 46.4K puts. Put/call volume ratio is 1.53. Elevated flow relative to the ticker's recent average can signal institutional positioning, pending news, earnings expectations, or hedging activity. Daily volume is the most responsive short-term gauge of changing demand.

How COST put/call volume history Data Feeds Strategy Selection

Strategy selection on Costco Wholesale Corporation options does not derive from any single metric in isolation. The put/call volume history view above sits inside a broader read: ATM IV currently sits at 25.4% and dealer gamma exposure is negative, so dealer hedging amplifies directional moves. Combine the put/call volume 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 COST volume data

The volume time-series above tracks Costco Wholesale Corporation options trading activity day by day. Volume is a flow measure - contracts traded per day across all strikes and expirations - so spikes flag activity, not positioning. Current put/call ratio is 1.53, put-heavy - protective or bearish positioning dominates. Total call OI of 121.3K versus put OI of 150.1K gives a put/call OI ratio of 1.24 - structurally a slower-moving signal than the volume-based ratio.

COST flow vs positioning

Volume tells you what flows happened today; OI tells you what positions accumulated. Both can move in opposite directions: rising volume with falling OI means contracts are being closed (covering); rising volume with rising OI means new positions are being opened. The combination matters more than either alone for reading sentiment. Combined with the current negative dealer-gamma regime, large OI clusters tend to act as price repellents that accelerate moves through key strikes.

Using COST OI/volume data alongside other surfaces

Per-strike OI is the input to dealer-gamma calculations: strikes with elevated call OI generate gamma walls that dealers must hedge into as spot approaches them. The gamma-exposure page combines this distribution with the dealers' assumed-long-gamma assumption to project hedge flow. Volume cross-checks recent positioning shifts in the chain that haven't yet shown up in cumulative OI. Pair both with the term-structure view on the volatility page to determine whether the activity is concentrated in near-dated event hedging or longer-dated structural positioning. Front-month expiration for COST sits at 29 days, so near-dated volume currently dominates the flow reading.

Learn how options volume is reported and how to read the data →

Daily options volume for COST over the last ~30 trading days. Volume measures contracts traded per day across all strikes and expirations; combined with put/call ratio it tracks directional positioning flow.

Most recent 15 trading days (descending). Older history appears in the chart above.

COST most-active contracts

Top 1 contracts from the institutional-grade nightly options scan; ranked by volume within the broader S&P 500/400/600 + ETF universe.

Frequently asked COST put/call volume history questions

How much COST options volume traded today?

As of May 28, 2026, Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) traded 76.7K total options contracts, split as 30.3K calls and 46.4K puts. Volume measures today's flow only; standing inventory is captured by open interest, which reconciles after the close.

What is the COST put/call volume ratio?

As of May 28, 2026, the put/call volume ratio is 1.53. Equity-only PCR has three competing interpretations - sentiment-contrarian (extremes signal turning points), hedging-flow (high PCR can be portfolio insurance demand rather than bearish bets), and informed-flow (the volume signal carries short-horizon predictive content per Pan and Poteshman 2006). Resolving which frame applies requires context on whether the flow is opening or closing and which strikes carry the activity.

Is COST options volume elevated?

Elevated flow relative to the COST recent average is one of the strongest signals of institutional positioning, pending news, earnings expectations, or hedging activity. The most informative reads combine elevated volume with directional structure (single-leg or vertical), aggressive execution (at the ask or sweep), and an upcoming catalyst on the calendar.