The Alertsify Options Report: September 2026
Alertsify members traded over 1.7 million option contracts in September. This report looks at what they traded: which expiries, calls or puts, which underlyings, what time of day, and how long they held.
September 2026 at a glance.
Real filled option trades placed through Alertsify in members' own brokerage accounts. Duplicate fills are removed.
Same-day options led.
Most activity was same-day: 0DTE made up 7 of every 10 opening contracts (70.9%). The further out the expiry, the more trades leaned to calls, from 52% calls on 0DTE to 94% at 30+ days.
Show the data as a table
| Days to expiry | Share of opening contracts | Calls |
|---|---|---|
| 0DTE | 70.9% | 52% |
| 1–2 days | 12.9% | 68% |
| 3–7 days | 6.6% | 73% |
| 8–30 days | 6.5% | 79% |
| 30+ days | 3.0% | 94% |
Index products drew more than half.
Index ETFs and indexes such as SPY, QQQ, IWM and SPX made up 58.1% of opening contracts, split evenly between calls and puts. Single stocks made up 41.9%, and leaned to calls: 71%.
Show the data as a table
| Underlying type | Share of opening contracts | Calls |
|---|---|---|
| Index ETFs and indexes | 58.1% | 50% |
| Single stocks | 41.9% | 71% |
Calls outnumbered puts.
Across all contracts, 58.5% were calls and 41.5% were puts.
Show the data as a table
| Side | Share of contracts |
|---|---|
| Calls | 58.5% |
| Puts | 41.5% |
The morning was busiest.
The first half hour after the open alone drew 17.8% of entries, and 10:00 to noon drew the most, 39.6%. Activity thinned through the afternoon.
Show the data as a table
| Entry time (ET) | Share of entries |
|---|---|
| 9:30–10:00 | 17.8% |
| 10:00–12:00 | 39.6% |
| 12:00–14:00 | 21.4% |
| 14:00–15:00 | 10.3% |
| 15:00–16:00 | 10.7% |
Index ETFs first, then big tech.
Ranked by how many members traded each one. The two big index ETFs led, followed by large-cap tech and chip stocks.
- QQQ
- SPY
- TSLA
- NVDA
- AAPL
- MSFT
- META
- INTC
- AMZN
- MU
Ranked by number of members trading each underlying.
Most closed positions were short.
Under 5 minutes (31.1%) and 5 to 30 minutes (33.1%) were the two biggest groups. 14.1% of closed positions were held overnight or longer.
Options that expired are not counted as closed, so short holds are over-represented.
Show the data as a table
| Time held | Share of closed positions |
|---|---|
| Under 5 min | 31.1% |
| 5–30 min | 33.1% |
| 30 min–2 h | 15.1% |
| Same day, over 2 h | 6.6% |
| Overnight or longer | 14.1% |
Single-leg options.
Almost every trade was a single-leg option: one call or one put, not a multi-leg spread.
Methodology & limits
This report counts real filled option trades placed through Alertsify in members' own brokerage accounts from 1 to 30 September 2026, in New York time. Duplicate fills are removed.
- One platform, not the whole market. These are Alertsify members' trades only. They don't describe the options market as a whole.
- A few accounts weigh a lot. A few very active accounts make up a large share of contracts, so the figures reflect them more than an even split would.
- Premium is gross. $278.3M is the premium paid and received on buys and sells added together. It is not notional value and not profit or loss.
- Holding time. Options that expired are not counted as closed positions, so short holds are over-represented.
Not investment advice. Past activity does not predict future results. Options carry substantial risk.
Cite this report: Alertsify Options Report, September 2026, alertsify.com/reports/options-september-2026