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 →
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.
| Expiration | DTE | ATM IV | Expected Move | Implied High | Implied Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 2026 | 17 | 36.1% | 7.8% | $251.61 | $215.23 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 52 | 36.4% | 13.7% | $265.49 | $201.35 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 80 | 40.5% | 19.0% | $277.68 | $189.16 |
| Nov 20, 2026 | 143 | 41.3% | 25.9% | $293.76 | $173.08 |
| Dec 18, 2026 | 171 | 40.9% | 28.0% | $298.76 | $168.08 |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 199 | 40.5% | 29.9% | $303.22 | $163.62 |
| Feb 19, 2027 | 234 | 40.2% | 32.2% | $308.55 | $158.29 |
| Mar 19, 2027 | 262 | 41.5% | 35.2% | $315.49 | $151.35 |
| Jun 17, 2027 | 352 | 42.1% | 41.3% | $329.92 | $136.92 |
| Jan 21, 2028 | 570 | 42.7% | 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.