[Winning Trades] Earnings Season = Options Season? These Tigers Crushed It.

Earnings season isn’t just for analysts — it’s become prime time for options traders looking to capitalize on big moves in short windows. And this quarter, a few Tigers absolutely nailed their plays. $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ $Alphabet(GOOG)$

Just look at these big wins from Tigers recently👇

🏆 Gains from Tiger Investors

• @Envyapple — AMZN Options: +3,228

• @FAESORCERESS — AMZN Options: +543%

• @assassinyj — META Put: +5,501

• @Gochi — META Put: +2,569

Why Options Are Built for Earnings

When a company reports earnings, the stock can explode or crash based on how the results compare to Wall Street’s expectations. Options, with their built-in leverage, let traders bet on both the direction and magnitude of that move.

4 Common Earnings Option Strategies (Explained Simply)

• Buy a Call or Put：Expect the stock to jump or drop after earnings? A long call (bullish) or put (bearish) can pay off big — if the move is large enough to overcome the high premium caused by inflated IV. This is high risk, high reward.

• Straddle / Strangle：Not sure which direction, but expect a big move? Buy both a call and a put — this pays if the stock explodes up or crashes down. The bigger the move, the higher the chance of profit. But if the move is small, IV crush can destroy both sides.

• Short Straddle：Think the market is overestimating the move? You can sell volatility using an Iron Condor — selling near-the-money options and buying wings for protection. This earns premium if the stock stays in a range. But beware: if the stock makes a huge move, you could face steep losses.

• Calendar Spread：Bet on moderate moves and IV changes by selling near-term options (with high IV) and buying longer-dated ones (with lower IV). It’s a way to benefit from the IV crush and time decay mismatch.

The Real Game: Beating Market Expectations

Here’s the twist: the market already has expectations priced in. So it’s not about whether the company beats or misses earnings — it’s about whether the result beats the market’s guess.

That’s why even “good earnings” can lead to a stock drop — the results weren’t better than expected. It’s all about the expectation gap.And then there’s IV crush. Right before earnings, option prices shoot up because of all the uncertainty. But once the results come out, that volatility drops — fast. If the move isn’t big enough, your options could get crushed, even if the direction was right.

So... How Do You Win?

Timing, sizing, and a good read on sentiment. Most of all, it’s about understanding how much of the earnings story is already “priced in.”

The biggest winners often come from unexpected beats or misses — those moments when the market gets caught off guard.

That’s why this earnings season, more traders are rolling the dice with options.

👉So here’s the question for you:

• Have you ever played options on earnings?

• What’s your best (or worst) trade?

🧭 Share positions: