H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) Expected Move
Expected move estimates the probable price range for a given period based on at-the-money options pricing. It reflects the market consensus for volatility over the selected timeframe.
H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) operates in the Consumer Cyclical sector, specifically the Personal Products & Services industry, with a market capitalization near $6.87B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 4,300 people, carrying a beta of 0.35 to the broader market. H&R Block, Inc. Led by Curtis A. Campbell, public since 1973-02-21.
Snapshot as of Aug 14, 2026.
- Spot Price
- $53.95
- Expected Move
- 9.9%
- Implied High
- $59.30
- Implied Low
- $48.60
- Front DTE
- 35 days
As of Aug 14, 2026, H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) has an expected move of 9.92%, a one-standard-deviation implied price range of roughly $48.60 to $59.30 from the current $53.95. Expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market's pricing of a ±1σ move. Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within this range under lognormal assumptions, though empirical markets have fatter tails.
HRB Strategy Sizing to the Expected Move
With H&R Block, Inc. pricing an expected move of 9.92% from $53.95, risk-defined strategies sized to the implied range structurally target the modal outcome distribution. Iron condors with wings at the ±1σ expected move boundaries collect premium against the ~68% probability that spot stays inside the range under lognormal assumptions; strangles set wider at ±1.5σ or ±2σ target the tails but pay smaller per-trade premium. Long-vol structures (long straddles, ratio backspreads) profit when realized move exceeds the implied move, the inverse trade: they bet against the lognormal assumption itself, capitalizing on the empirically fatter equity-return tails.
How to read the HRB implied-range chart
The shaded range above shows the one-standard-deviation implied price band at each listed expiration, derived from ATM implied volatility scaled to days-to-expiration. The front-tenor expected move is 9.92%, anchoring an implied range of approximately $48.60 to $59.30. Under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside that band; 95% fall inside ±2σ; 99.7% inside ±3σ. The empirical equity-return distribution has fatter tails than lognormal, so true tail-outcome frequency is moderately higher than these closed-form numbers suggest.
HRB expected move and event pricing
Expected move widens with √time: a 5% 30-day move corresponds to roughly a 2.5% 7.5-day move and a 10% 120-day move. HRB term-structure is in contango (slope 0.010), so longer-dated tenors price in proportionally more vol than √time scaling alone would suggest - typically because long-dated cycles include uncertain macro states. With IV rank at 5.9%, the implied move is at the low end of the typical HRB range - cheap optionality for buyers, thin premium for sellers.
Sizing HRB structures to the expected move
Iron condors with wings at ±1σ collect the modal-outcome premium; ±1.5σ widens probability of inside-range to ~87% but cuts collected premium roughly in half. Strangles do the inverse trade - they pay against the same lognormal distribution, profiting when realized exceeds implied. Calendar spreads bet on the slope of the term structure rather than the level. HRB put/call volume ratio currently at 0.28 indicates speculative call flow dominates - look for upside-skewed sentiment. The expected move is the inputs the chain is pricing, not a forecast - realized moves above or below are normal under any distribution.
Learn how expected move is reported and how to read the data →
Per-expiration expected move for HRB derived from ATM implied volatility at each listed expiration. Implied high/low bounds are computed as $53.95 × (1 ± expected move %). One standard-deviation range under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside.
| Expiration | DTE | ATM IV | Expected Move | Implied High | Implied Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | 7 | 34.2% | 4.7% | $56.51 | $51.39 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 35 | 34.6% | 10.7% | $59.73 | $48.17 |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 63 | 35.6% | 14.8% | $61.93 | $45.97 |
| Nov 20, 2026 | 98 | 37.1% | 19.2% | $64.32 | $43.58 |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 154 | 38.5% | 25.0% | $67.44 | $40.46 |
Frequently asked HRB expected move questions
- What is the current HRB expected move?
- As of Aug 14, 2026, H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) has an expected move of 9.92% over the next 35 days, implying a one-standard-deviation price range of $48.60 to $59.30 from the current $53.95. The expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market consensus for a ±1σ price move.
- What does the HRB expected move mean for traders?
- Roughly 68% of outcomes should fall within ±1 expected move and 95% within ±2 under lognormal assumptions, though equity returns have empirically fatter tails than log-normal predicts. Strategies sized to the expected move (iron condors at ±1σ, strangles at ±1.5σ) target the typical outcome distribution; strategies that profit from tail moves (long-vol structures, ratio backspreads) target the tails the lognormal model under-prices.
- How is HRB expected move calculated?
- The expected move displayed here is derived from at-the-money implied volatility scaled to the chosen tenor: expected move % is approximately ATM IV times sqrt(T / 365), where T is days to expiration. An equivalent straddle-based form: the ATM straddle (call + put at the same strike) is roughly sqrt(2/pi) times spot times IV times sqrt(T/365), so the implied one-standard-deviation move is approximately 1.25 times ATM straddle divided by spot. The two formulations agree once the sqrt(2/pi) constant is reconciled.