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 $20.48B, listed on NYSE, employing roughly 19,600 people, carrying a beta of 1.49 to the broader market. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Led by Laura J. Alber, public since 1983-07-07.

Snapshot as of May 15, 2026.

Spot Price
$168.56
Expected Move
15.0%
Implied High
$193.83
Implied Low
$143.29
Front DTE
34 days

As of May 15, 2026, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) has an expected move of 14.99%, a one-standard-deviation implied price range of roughly $143.29 to $193.83 from the current $168.56. 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 14.99% from $168.56, 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.

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 $168.56 × (1 ± expected move %). One standard-deviation range under lognormal assumptions, roughly 68% of outcomes fall inside.

ExpirationDTEATM IVExpected MoveImplied HighImplied Low
Jun 18, 20263452.3%16.0%$195.47$141.65
Jul 17, 20266346.9%19.5%$201.40$135.72
Aug 21, 20269844.9%23.3%$207.78$129.34
Sep 18, 202612646.9%27.6%$215.01$122.11
Nov 20, 202618946.4%33.4%$224.84$112.28
Dec 18, 202621745.5%35.1%$227.70$109.42
Jan 15, 202724544.8%36.7%$230.43$106.69
Mar 19, 202730845.6%41.9%$239.17$97.95
Jan 21, 202861646.1%59.9%$269.51$67.61

Frequently asked WSM expected move questions

What is the current WSM expected move?
As of May 15, 2026, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) has an expected move of 14.99% over the next 34 days, implying a one-standard-deviation price range of $143.29 to $193.83 from the current $168.56. 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.