Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) 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.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) operates in the Consumer Cyclical sector, specifically the Specialty Retail industry, with a market capitalization near $28.14B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 19,600 people, carrying a beta of 1.51 to the broader market. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Led by Laura J. Alber, public since 1983-07-07.

Snapshot as of Jun 30, 2026.

Spot Price
$233.42
Expected Move
10.3%
Implied High
$257.58
Implied Low
$209.26
Front DTE
17 days

As of Jun 30, 2026, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) has an expected move of 10.35%, a one-standard-deviation implied price range of roughly $209.26 to $257.58 from the current $233.42. 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.

WSM Strategy Sizing to the Expected Move

With Williams-Sonoma, Inc. pricing an expected move of 10.35% from $233.42, 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 WSM 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 10.35%, anchoring an implied range of approximately $209.26 to $257.58. 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.

WSM 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. WSM term-structure is in contango (slope 0.003), 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 9.2%, the implied move is at the low end of the typical WSM range - cheap optionality for buyers, thin premium for sellers.

Sizing WSM 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. WSM put/call volume ratio currently at 1.20 indicates protective put flow dominates - look for hedged-money positioning into the move. 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 →

WSM one-standard-deviation implied price range by days-to-expiration, with current spot marked as the midpointWSM Implied Price Range by Expiration$150$200$250$300$350100d200d300d400d500dDays to ExpirationImplied Price Range ($)
Shaded band shows the ±1σ implied price range (~68% probability under lognormal assumptions) at each expiration; the center line marks current spot. Bands widen with longer DTE since volatility scales with √time.

Per-expiration expected move for WSM derived from ATM implied volatility at each listed expiration. Implied high/low bounds are computed as $233.42 × (1 ± expected move %). One standard-deviation range under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside.

ExpirationDTEATM IVExpected MoveImplied HighImplied Low
Jul 17, 20261736.1%7.8%$251.61$215.23
Aug 21, 20265236.4%13.7%$265.49$201.35
Sep 18, 20268040.5%19.0%$277.68$189.16
Nov 20, 202614341.3%25.9%$293.76$173.08
Dec 18, 202617140.9%28.0%$298.76$168.08
Jan 15, 202719940.5%29.9%$303.22$163.62
Feb 19, 202723440.2%32.2%$308.55$158.29
Mar 19, 202726241.5%35.2%$315.49$151.35
Jun 17, 202735242.1%41.3%$329.92$136.92
Jan 21, 202857042.7%53.4%$357.97$108.87

Frequently asked WSM expected move questions

What is the current WSM expected move?
As of Jun 30, 2026, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) has an expected move of 10.35% over the next 17 days, implying a one-standard-deviation price range of $209.26 to $257.58 from the current $233.42. The expected move is derived from at-the-money straddle pricing and represents the market consensus for a ±1σ price move.
What does the WSM 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 WSM 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.