IBM options flow: unusual options activity in International Business Machines Corp.
Updated 28 September 2026, 09:54 ET
Over the last week the tape recorded 219 unusual options prints in International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), $15.8M of tracked premium, close to even between bullish and bearish premium. Bullish premium was $6.5M against $7.7M bearish; $9.7M went into calls and $6.1M into puts, a put call ratio of 0.63. The largest print was $1.6M of IBM 18 Dec 2026 $255 calls on 22 September 2026, executed at bid. The last session with prints, 28 September 2026, added 5 prints and $348K of premium. IBM closed at $225.51 on 25 September 2026, down 0.7%.
This week's unusual flow
Prints from 21 September 2026 to 28 September 2026, 6 sessions. Delayed tier: every print is shown twenty minutes after it executed, and the page is rebuilt after each session.
Net premium is bullish minus bearish premium. The put call ratio is put premium divided by call premium, weighted by money rather than by contract count. Sweeps is the share of prints executed across several exchanges at once. Read the guide: Reading the Pulse.
Largest prints of the week
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Sep 2026 | IBM 18 Dec 2026 $255 calls | Trade | 1,657 | 197 | $1.6M | At bid | Bearish | Whale |
| 22 Sep 2026 | IBM 15 Jan 2027 $240 puts | Sweep | 305 | 2,602 | $726K | At bid | Bullish | High conviction |
| 25 Sep 2026 | IBM 17 Sep 2027 $180 puts | Trade | 500 | 314 | $598K | Below bid | Bullish | High conviction |
| 23 Sep 2026 | IBM 20 Nov 2026 $290 puts | Sweep | 75 | 243 | $430K | At ask | Bearish | High conviction |
| 21 Sep 2026 | IBM 30 Oct 2026 $200 calls | Trade | 100 | 106 | $346K | At ask | Bullish | Notable |
| 25 Sep 2026 | IBM 17 Sep 2027 $180 puts | Trade | 275 | 314 | $333K | At bid | Bullish | Notable |
| 23 Sep 2026 | IBM 19 Mar 2027 $225 calls | Sweep | 100 | 146 | $312K | At bid | Bearish | High conviction |
| 25 Sep 2026 | IBM 19 Jan 2029 $225 puts | Trade | 70 | 2 | $302K | At bid | Bullish | Notable |
| 23 Sep 2026 | IBM 18 Dec 2026 $250 calls | Sweep | 222 | 2,583 | $281K | At ask | Bullish | High conviction |
| 24 Sep 2026 | IBM 20 Nov 2026 $255 puts | Trade | 50 | 176 | $167K | At ask | Bearish | |
| 22 Sep 2026 | IBM 15 Jan 2027 $200 calls | Trade | 39 | 950 | $163K | At ask | Neutral | |
| 23 Sep 2026 | IBM 15 Dec 2028 $220 calls | Sweep | 24 | 388 | $156K | At ask | Neutral |
Size above open interest means the trade opened a position larger than everything that existed in the contract the night before. Above ask and below bid are the most aggressive executions. Read the guide: Size versus open interest.
Where the money is aimed
| Expiry | Prints | Premium | Calls share | Net premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 2026 | 22 | $2.9M | 95% | -$1.2M |
| 15 Dec 2028 | 41 | $2.1M | 67% | -$161K |
| 15 Jan 2027 | 21 | $2.0M | 45% | +$332K |
| 20 Nov 2026 | 27 | $1.9M | 29% | -$757K |
| 17 Sep 2027 | 14 | $1.6M | 15% | +$636K |
| 19 Mar 2027 | 17 | $1.2M | 78% | -$246K |
The most premium, $2.9M, is aimed at the 18 Dec 2026 expiry; the nearest expiry with unusual prints is 20 Nov 2026.
A print in a contract expiring this week is a view about the next few days, often about a known event; a print months out is a different kind of statement. Read the guide: 0DTE options flow.
The last session, 28 September 2026
| Date | Contract | Type | Size | Open int. | Premium | Execution | Sentiment | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 2026 | IBM 15 Jan 2027 $220 calls | Trade | 77 | 990 | $154K | At bid | Bearish | |
| 28 Sep 2026 | IBM 15 Jan 2027 $205 calls | Sweep | 22 | 232 | $65K | At ask | Neutral | |
| 28 Sep 2026 | IBM 17 Sep 2027 $220 calls | Trade | 18 | 12 | $65K | At ask | Neutral | |
| 28 Sep 2026 | IBM 16 Apr 2027 $225 calls | Sweep | 15 | 17 | $38K | At bid | Bearish | Notable |
| 28 Sep 2026 | IBM 15 Jan 2027 $220 calls | Trade | 14 | 990 | $27K | At bid | Bearish |
Every print in IBM with its full detail, the live tape, one tap filters and saved screeners: open IBM in Options Sentiment Screener.
Price
The live quote and the price chart sit beside the ticker's flow in the app: open IBM in Options Sentiment Screener.
Analysts
The most recent analyst targets on file, from 16 firms, have a median of $250, 10.9% above the last close. The last 90 days brought 1 downgrade.
Calls bought at a strike above the average target are a bet that the analysts are too cautious; puts far below the price in a name they like are protection or a strong disagreement. Read the guide: Reading one ticker's flow.
About International Business Machines Corp.
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Sector
- Information Technology
- Industry
- Computer Hardware
- Headquarters
- Armonk, New York
- Website
- ibm.com
International Business Machines Corporation provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through four business segments: Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing. The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions, such as Red Hat, an enterprise open-source solutions. The Infrastructure segment provides on-premises and cloud-based server and storage solutions.
In the same sector
Flow pages for other Information Technology names in the S&P 500:
NVDA NVIDIA Corp.AAPL Apple Inc.MSFT Microsoft Corp.AVGO Broadcom Inc.MU Micron Technology Inc.AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc.INTC Intel Corp.PLTR Palantir Technologies Inc.
Learn
- What unusual options activity means
- Reading one ticker's flow
- Sweeps, blocks and where a trade printed
- Size versus open interest
- Bullish or bearish, how a print's sentiment is inferred
- The conviction score and whale prints
The live tape for IBM with every print's execution detail, one tap filters for calls, puts, sweeps and 0DTE, saved screeners and, for Realtime subscribers, push alerts and no delay. The same screen is in the iOS and Android apps.
Open IBM in Options Sentiment Screener