Put Walls and Bull Bets: Options Markets Split on Earnings Week

Options markets sent conflicting signals this week. Defensive put-buying dominated earnings plays, yet a handful of names saw call positioning hit 52-week extremes. The week of July 27 produced more than 60 high-severity options pulses, with earnings catalysts driving the bulk of the volatility in PCR readings.

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Notable Positioning Shifts

RCL — PCR 2.30, 52-week high Royal Caribbean's put/call ratio hit 2.30, the highest level in a year. It sits 4.3 standard deviations above the 20-day mean of 1.38. The stock gained 13.6% over the week. Options traders loaded defensive hedges even as price rose.

RLI — PCR 6.23, nearly double the average RLI Corp posted the most extreme absolute PCR reading of the week at 6.23. That is nearly twice its 20-day average of 3.29. The stock had rallied 13% over the prior month. Options pessimism sharpened into that strength.

BBVA — PCR 2.43, highest since inception Banco Bilbao's put/call ratio reached 2.43 ahead of earnings. The signal here is unusual — a high PCR that the headline describes as extreme call buying. The ratio hit a new all-time high on the platform. It appeared twice in the data, on July 30 and July 31.

GVA — PCR 0.84, z-score +4.3, 52-week high Granite Construction's ratio surged to 0.84, the highest in 52 weeks, at 4.3 standard deviations above the 20-day mean of 0.12. The stock fell 26.5% in one month ahead of earnings. Put demand ran nearly seven times the recent average.

SMFG — PCR 1.71, z-score +4.3, 52-week high Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group's PCR exploded to 1.71. The 20-day mean sits at 0.29. That is a 4.3 standard deviation move. The reading held at that level across two consecutive days of pulses, July 30 and July 31.

APO — PCR 0.66–0.67, 52-week low Apollo Global's PCR collapsed to the lowest reading in a year. The 20-day mean is materially higher. Call buying dominated heading into Thursday earnings. This was one of the cleanest bull-skewed setups of the week.

APD — PCR 0.75, 4 standard deviations below mean Air Products' put/call ratio crashed to 0.75. That is the most call-heavy positioning in at least 52 weeks. The move registered 4 standard deviations below the 20-day mean.

WM — PCR 0.49, strongest call bias of year Waste Management's PCR fell nearly 4 standard deviations below its mean. The reading represented the strongest call bias seen all year. No earnings catalyst was flagged — the move stood on its own.

MAS — PCR 1.82, 4+ standard deviations above mean Masco surged to a PCR of 1.82 after an 11% single-day sell-off. Options traders piled into puts aggressively in the aftermath. The move registered more than 4 standard deviations above the 20-day mean.

LSTR — PCR 1.27, z-score +4.2 Landstar System's PCR hit 1.27, a 4.2 standard deviation move above the 20-day mean of 0.37. The spike followed an earnings miss and analyst downgrades. Put demand crystallised quickly after the print.

VOO — PCR 0.69, 4 standard deviations below mean of 3.20 The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF generated one of the more striking signals. Its PCR dropped to 0.69 against a 20-day mean of 3.20. A PCR this far below normal on a broad market ETF suggests a notable shift toward call positioning at the index level.

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Sector Themes

Earnings hedging dominated industrials and materials. GEF hit a 52-week PCR high of 1.75 despite a 16.5% monthly rally. ODFL reached 1.03, also a 52-week high, as the stock fell 4.6%. NUE and HUBB both registered 52-week PCR highs around earnings. Put demand in this group was broad and consistent.

Financials split between bulls and bears. APO and EEFT both hit 52-week PCR lows, reflecting aggressive call buying. RNR and RLI moved the other way, with put hedges surging post-earnings. The sector showed the clearest divergence of the week.

Utilities saw unusual defensive flow. WEC hit a 52-week PCR high at 4.3 standard deviations above its mean. CMS registered a similar extreme, 4.3 standard deviations above its 20-day average with shorts retreating 11%. Utilities are typically low-volatility options names. The clustering of put-buying in this sector stood out.

Broad market ETFs turned call-heavy. Beyond VOO, CTSH hit the most call-skewed positioning since at least January 2026. The macro-level signal leaned bullish even as individual earnings plays attracted defensive flow.