Twenty Call Blocks - every large near-dated call buy of 2026, marked to settlement

THE FIVE TAKEAWAYS

The year in five findings.

We scanned every SPX series inside 10 days to expiry on every trading day of 2026 for firm-origin call blocks, then marked each block at the bid from its first print through settlement. Five findings made the cut.

Firms bought 20 large near-dated call blocks this year, and 14 of the 19 that settled expired worthless.

Every SPX series inside 10 days to expiry, every trading day since January 2: 20 firm-origin call blocks of 3,000 lots or more, bought outright, cleared the screen, with $30.0M of premium on the first prints. Five settled in the money. The scoreboard is in section 02.

Two April blocks account for the year's dollars.

The Apr 17 6800 call (firms paid $53.80 on 2.0k) settled at $295.15 and the Apr 9 6700 call (paid $11.05 on 3.6k) at $125.58: +$89.5M between them on the first prints. The other 17 settled blocks net to +$13.4M. Both are in section 04.

The median block lost 45% by the close of the print day and settled at zero.

Marked at the bid against the offer paid, 6 of 20 were above water at that close. 9 doubled at some point before expiry, and most of those gave the gain back. The full distribution is in section 03.

SPX closed in the call's direction 60% of the time on the print day.

12 of 20 print days closed with the index above its level at the first print. The wider set of firm blocks, puts included, ran at 49%. Size and origin carried no directional read on their own.

The Sep 9 7825 call remains open, marked +400% at the Sep 3 close.

Firms paid about $1.10 on 4.8k in the first print and 18k on the day; the bid closed Sep 3 at $5.50. It has the shape every winner in the set shared, near the money with days to run, and it is one block of 20. Section 05.

TWENTY CALL BLOCKS · SEPTEMBER 3, 2026TAKEAWAYS

BY THE NUMBERS

Six figures, computed from the 20 blocks.

Every number below comes from the study's own marks: the offer around the first print, the bid at each horizon, and intrinsic value at the settlement level.

BLOCKS · JANUARY 2 TO SEP 3

Firm-origin call blocks of 3,000 lots or more, bought outright. Boxes and same-window spread legs were set aside; $30.0M of premium on the first prints.

SETTLED IN THE MONEY

5 of 19

14 expired worthless. 5 of those were 0DTE prints; 5 were struck 200 points or more above the index.

MEDIAN · CLOSE OF THE PRINT DAY

-45%

The median block at the bid against the offer paid. 6 of 20 were above water at that close.

NET AT SETTLEMENT · FIRST PRINTS

+$102.9M

+$112.7M of it from 5 blocks. The Apr 17 6800 and Apr 9 6700 calls alone: +$89.5M.

DOUBLED BEFORE EXPIRY

Blocks whose bid reached twice the offer paid at some point. 4 of them still settled worthless.

SPX UP ON THE PRINT DAY

60%

Print days that closed with the index above its level at the first print. 12 of 20; the wider firm-block set, puts included, ran at 49%.

TWENTY CALL BLOCKS · SEPTEMBER 3, 2026BY THE NUMBERS

THE YEAR IN ONE CHART

Return at settlement, block by block.

Each dot is one block on the day it printed; height is the settlement value against the offer paid, area is the premium on the first print.

RETURN AT SETTLEMENT · 20 BLOCKS · SEP 3 MARKS

GREEN = SETTLED IN THE MONEY · RED = EXPIRED WORTHLESS · BLUE = STILL OPEN, MARKED AT THE LATEST CLOSE · RETURNS ABOVE +600% SIT ON THE TOP LINE · SETTLEMENT = INTRINSIC VALUE AT THE CLOSING SPX LEVEL (OPENING LEVEL FOR AM-SETTLED MONTHLIES)

Both blocks that account for the year's dollars printed in the April rally, two days apart, on calls 40 to 150 points above the index with a week or less to expiry. The index moved through both strikes inside that window. Every block since June has settled worthless except the one still open, and the 5 blocks struck 200 points or more above the index never came within reach of their strikes.

The distribution is the finding. A settlement value of zero is the median outcome, the mean is carried by two prints, and nothing in the origin tag or the size of the print separates the two groups in advance. The blocks that paid shared a shape, near the money with days to run, and a market that moved their way.

TWENTY CALL BLOCKS · SEPTEMBER 3, 2026THE YEAR

THE BLOCKS, ONE BY ONE

20 prints, in the order they traded.

Each case names the series and the first block-sized print, then follows the bid from that print through settlement. Sizes are the first print's lots, with the day's total where firms kept buying.

FIRST PRINT · OFFER PAID · BID PATH · SETTLEMENT · ORDERED FROM JANUARY OUT

01 · JAN 5, 4:00 PM ET · 4 TRADING DAYS TO EXPIRY