What happened: On Sunday, October 25, 2026, Benzinga published its weekly list of the 12 largest expected earnings movers among U.S. stocks with a market cap of at least $50 billion, based on Benzinga Pro options data. Eleven of the 12 are priced for a post-earnings swing of at least 10% in either direction, and seven of them sell chips, power, cooling, fiber or storage into AI data centers. None of the four trillion-dollar companies reporting this week (Microsoft, Alphabet, Eli Lilly and Amazon) made the list.

The timing stacks event risk. The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision on Wednesday, October 28 at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT), about two hours before Microsoft and Alphabet report, and third-quarter GDP and the September core PCE price index are due Thursday morning, according to Benzinga and Reuters. Reuters noted the Nasdaq Composite had its biggest daily drop since June on Thursday, October 22, after disappointing reports from Meta and Lam Research.

Educational content only, not financial advice. Options involve significant risk and are not suitable for every investor.

The Implied Moves Options Are Pricing

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These are the figures Benzinga reported. An implied move is the percentage swing, up or down, that options prices suggest right after the report.

| Company | Implied move | Reports (per Benzinga) | Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR)13.76%Oct. 29, after the close Intel (INTC)12.98%Oct. 29, after the close Robinhood (HOOD)12.28%Oct. 27, after the close Quanta Services (PWR)12.05%Oct. 29, before the open Carvana (CVNA)11.87%Oct. 28, after the close Vertiv (VRT)11.74%Oct. 28, before the open Fortinet (FTNT)11.04%Oct. 28, after the close Honeywell Aerospace (HONA)10.73%Oct. 28, after the close Corning (GLW)10.41%Oct. 27, before the open Amphenol (APH)10.24%Oct. 28, before the open Howmet Aerospace (HWM)10.00%Oct. 29, before the open | SanDisk (SNDK) | 9.44% | Oct. 29, after the close |

Benzinga also listed recent reactions that show how wide the outcomes can be: Honeywell Aerospace fell 23.2% after its August 6 report, Vertiv fell 17.26% after its July 29 report, Quanta rose 17.3% on July 30, and Monolithic Power traded as much as 19% higher on July 31 before closing up 8.3%. The backdrop is a weak month for chips, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) down 15.7% since the start of October.

How an Implied Move Is Read

The implied move is usually estimated from the price of the at-the-money straddle (a call plus a put at the same strike) in the first expiration after earnings, divided by the stock price. Our expected move guide walks through the math.

Three things are worth keeping in mind:

  • It is a range, not a forecast of direction. A 12% implied move says nothing about whether the stock goes up or down.
  • It is roughly a one-standard-deviation estimate. Actual moves land outside it a meaningful share of the time, and sometimes by a lot.
  • It is priced in. If the stock moves less than the implied move, option buyers generally lose even if they picked the right direction.

    • What It Means for Options Traders

    1. Expect IV crush. Implied volatility in the expiration that covers the report tends to be elevated before the event and to fall sharply after it, once the uncertainty is resolved. That drop, called IV crush, can erase much of an option's value overnight. Long calls, puts and straddles need the move to beat what was priced in.

    2. Long-volatility structures are a bet on "more than expected." Buying a straddle or strangle before earnings profits only if the actual move exceeds the premium paid. See straddles on earnings day and buying calls before earnings for how that plays out.

    3. Short-premium structures are a bet on "less than expected," with tail risk. Selling premium through iron condors or credit spreads benefits from IV crush when the stock stays inside the range. The risk is a move like the 23% or 17% reactions listed above, which can push a position to max loss. Defined-risk structures cap that loss; naked short options do not.

    4. Calendars trade the term structure. A calendar spread sells the inflated front-week option and buys a later expiration, aiming to benefit as front-week IV collapses. It can still lose if the stock moves far from the strike.

    5. This week adds macro risk on top of single-stock risk. With the Fed decision on Wednesday and GDP and core PCE on Thursday, a report-day move can be amplified or offset by a market-wide move. Several of these names report on the same days, so positions across similar AI-hardware stocks may behave as one correlated bet. Our earnings risk management rules cover sizing for that.

    6. Watch liquidity and assignment details. Bid-ask spreads widen around events, and short in-the-money options can be assigned early, especially ahead of ex-dividend dates. Check the specific chain before trading.

    Key Takeaways

  • Benzinga's October 25, 2026 list shows 11 of the 12 largest expected movers above $50 billion priced for at least 10% earnings swings, led by Monolithic Power (13.76%), Intel (12.98%) and Robinhood (12.28%).
  • Most of the list is AI-infrastructure hardware, after SOXX fell 15.7% so far in October.
  • The Fed decision (Oct. 28, 2 p.m. ET) and GDP plus core PCE (Oct. 29 morning) land in the same window as many of the reports.
  • Implied moves are priced-in ranges. Buyers need a bigger move than expected; sellers need a smaller one and must plan for the tail.

    • Sources

  • Benzinga: "Earnings Volatility Watch: SanDisk and 11 Other Stocks Are Priced for at Least 10% Swings This Week" (Oct. 25, 2026)
  • Reuters via Investing.com: "Earnings flood, Fed meeting will test rickety AI market rally"
  • Federal Reserve: FOMC meeting calendar
  • OCC: Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options

    • By the OptionsPilot Editorial Team. Published October 25, 2026, 9:45 AM PT. This article is for education only and is not investment advice. Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors.