When do US stock options expire?

Standard US equity options expire on the 3rd Friday of every month at the market close (4:00 PM ET). If that Friday is a market holiday, expiration moves to the preceding Thursday.

What is the difference between monthly and quarterly options expiration?

Every month has a monthly expiration on the 3rd Friday. March, June, September, and December are also quarterly cycles, which serve as the reference expirations for futures and index options and are typically the most liquid.

What is DTE in options trading?

DTE stands for Days To Expiration — the number of calendar days remaining until an option contract expires. Many premium-selling strategies target 30–45 DTE to balance theta decay against gamma risk.

Do all stocks have weekly options?

No. Only highly liquid underlyings such as SPY, QQQ, AAPL, TSLA, NVDA, and SPX have weekly expirations. Index products increasingly list multiple weeklies per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), which power 0DTE trading.

Options Expiration Calendar

Illustrative US equity-options expiration dates for the next 12 months. Confirm contract-specific dates and earnings with your broker or the issuer.

3rd Friday ruleMonthly & QuarterlyEarnings windows

August 2026

13 DTE

Fri, Aug 21, 2026

September 2026 (Q)

41 DTE

Fri, Sep 18, 2026

October 2026

69 DTE

Fri, Oct 16, 2026

Next 12 Monthly Expirations

Month	Expiration Date	DTE	Type
August 2026Current	Fri, Aug 21, 2026	13	Monthly
September 2026	Fri, Sep 18, 2026	41	Quarterly
October 2026	Fri, Oct 16, 2026	69	Monthly
November 2026	Fri, Nov 20, 2026	104	Monthly
December 2026	Fri, Dec 18, 2026	132	Quarterly
January 2027	Fri, Jan 15, 2027	160	Monthly
February 2027	Fri, Feb 19, 2027	195	Monthly
March 2027	Fri, Mar 19, 2027	223	Quarterly
April 2027	Fri, Apr 16, 2027	251	Monthly
May 2027	Fri, May 21, 2027	286	Monthly
June 2027	Fri, Jun 18, 2027	314	Quarterly
July 2027	Fri, Jul 16, 2027	342	Monthly

When do US options expire?

Standard US equity and index options expire on the 3rd Friday of every month at market close (4:00 PM ET). If the Friday is a holiday, expiry shifts to the preceding Thursday.

Monthly vs. Quarterly

All months have a monthly expiration. March, June, September, and December are also quarterly cycles — used as reference dates for futures and index options, and typically more liquid.

Weekly options

Most liquid underlyings (SPY, QQQ, AAPL, TSLA, NVDA, SPX) also list weekly expirations every Friday — and increasingly Monday/Wednesday for index products. Weeklies are the standard for 0DTE trading.

Earnings and options

Implied volatility expands into earnings and collapses (vol crush) immediately after the report. Pricing models that ignore the earnings event will mis-price short-dated options around the announcement.

What is DTE?

DTE = Days To Expiration. A 30-DTE option expires 30 calendar days from today. Most retail premium-selling strategies target 30–45 DTE for a balance of theta decay and gamma risk.

AM vs. PM settlement

Single-stock and most ETF options settle PM (at the close). Several index options (SPX AM-settled) settle on the opening print of the 3rd Friday — relevant when carrying positions overnight into expiry.

Trade Around Expirations Without Risk

Paper trading supports calculated Greeks when market data is available. Check freshness before practicing weeklies, monthlies, or earnings scenarios.

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