Pre-Earnings Options Flow Sends Mixed Signals

Options sentiment is diverging sharply across two big names reporting this week, with Amazon carrying the most bullish flow and Tesla far more cautiously positioned.

AMZN shows 74.6% positive options flow over the past seven days. The company announced 300,000 new US holiday hires today. That hiring signal points to confidence in demand. Analysts see 26.4% upside to current prices.

Tesla reports Q3 results tomorrow. Its one-week options positive flow sits at just 56.9%, only a thin lean toward calls. That is unusually muted for a stock of this profile heading into earnings. The stock is already down 18% year to date. ORTEX alt data tracking German car registrations shows that metric running 269% above the same quarter last year. That dataset has a 43-day lead on Tesla revenue with a strong historical fit. Options traders appear cautious ahead of the print regardless.

GE Aerospace released Q3 results today. Its 7-day options positive flow reads 67.9%. The RSI sits at 44. That combination suggests call buyers moved in ahead of numbers, but the stock remains technically weak.

On the bearish end, Norfolk Southern shows 0% positive options flow. Every tracked options bet over the past week was negative. The stock is up 12% year to date. That puts it among the starkest sentiment reversals in the large-cap universe right now.

Barclays also shows 0% positive flow, with an RSI of 22.8. The stock has dropped nearly 13% year to date.