Ride-the-Wave Strategy – Best for Stock Traders

Ride-the-Wave targets multi-day price momentum following a company’s earnings announcement (EA). With this strategy:

Buy a stock one day post-EA if a stock reacts positively post-earnings:
1. Near the close of trading the EA-day for a pre-market-EA
2. Near the close of the following day for a post-market-EA
Sell-to-close after 7-10 days, or possibly earlier if a desired price target is reached

Similarly,

short a stock one day post-EA if a stock reacts negatively post-earnings:
1. near the close of trading the EA-day for a premarket-EA
2. near the close of the following day for a post-market-EA
then buy-to-close after 7-10 days, or possibly earlier if a desired price target is reached

Important: Ride-the-Wave is predicated on significant price momentum triggered by an EA. The 7-10 day scenario is the maximum trade hold-time. If you see post EA-momentum is halted or reversed by a significant opposite move, re-evaluate your presence in the trade.

This popular StockEarnings screen below will give you a list of stocks that historically exhibit significant price momentum following an EA for the next seven days:

Stocks exhibiting positive post-EA price moves are buy-candidates
Stocks exhibiting negative post-EA price moves are sell/short-candidates

The screen includes those stocks whose Earnings just came out in last two days.

Screen criteria:

Earnings Date Start Date : Current Date + -1 Day
Earnings Date End Date : Current Date + -2 Days
Predicted Move (Next Day) Max : 7%
Predicted Move (On 7th Day) Min : 7%

Strategy Guideline:

Buy the stock if stock has reacted positively. Short the stock if stock has reacted negatively (see above).
Close the position in 7-10 days, or possibly earlier based on price move.

Volatility Crush Strategy - Best for Options Traders

The Volatility Crush strategy is used with stocks that typically experience relatively low-to-moderate price moves (≤4%) following their Earnings Announcements (EA). The basic trade idea is to sell put or call options right before the EA, collecting a credit when options premium is very high due to elevated implied volatility (IV). You then close the position right after the EA by buying the option back much cheaper due to the significant drop in IV that occurs after the mystery of the EA disappears. In assessing this trade, you need to do your homework to ensure you collect sufficient premium to make the trade worthwhile.

This trade is practical due to the low-to-moderate price-move after the EA, which generally won’t significantly affect the options price, unlike an “action” stock, which experience great price moves post-EA. With these symbols, if you’re on the right side of the price move, that’s a great thing. But if you’re on the wrong side of the move, not so great. Consequently, by minimizing the effect of the post-EA price move, you have a much better chance to profit from the reduction in IV without it being ruined by a violent price move.

For this trade, open the position either (1) the night before the EA when the company announces earnings or (2) during the EA day when it announces post-market, generally capturing IV at or close to its peak.

This popular stockearnings screen will give you a list of stocks which do not react more than 4% fpost-EA. It includes only those stocks whose earnings are releasing next day.

Screen criteria:

Earnings Date Start Date : Current Date + 1
Earnings Date End Date : Current Date + 1
Predicted Move (Next Day) Max : 4%
Options Type: Weekly

Strategy Guideline:

Options Strategy: Sell Call and Put
Options Strike Price: Current Stock Price – (% Predicated Move x 2)
Expiration Date: It should generally be the closest expiry immediately after the EA.
Buy Insurance: Buying back Call and Put at Strike price which 10% lower than Sell Strike Price is optional but recommended.

Watch Video for More Detail

Volatility Rush Strategy - Best for Options Traders

The Volatility Rush takes advantage of increasing options premiums into earnings announcements (EA) caused by an anticipated rise in Implied Volatility (IV). With this strategy, Buy a Call and Put at-the-money (a long straddle) 2-3 weeks before the EA when IV is lower. Sell the position either (1) the night before the EA when the company announces earnings pre-market, or (2) during the EA day when it announces post-market, generally capturing IV at or close to its peak.

This popular screen will give you a list of stocks whose Options premiums tend to rise into Earnings. It includes only those stocks whose Earnings are at least two weeks away from today.

Screen criteria:

Earnings Date Start Date : Current Date + 15 Days
Earnings Date End Date : Current Date + 30 Days
Predicted Move (Next Day) Min : 5%
Options Type: Weekly or Monthly if that lines up with the two to three-week lead-time for entering the trade

Strategy Guideline:

Buy a Straddle at or close to the money two to three weeks pre-EA.
Sell the position either the night before the EA when the company announces earnings pre-market, or during the EA day when it announces post-market.
Expiration date should generally be the closest expiry immediately after the EA.
Straddle price should not be more 60% of predicted move.

Predicted Move (Volatility)

Similar to Implied Volatility in Options. Expected volatility % based on our Proprietary Volatility Predication Model. We are expecting that stock price will likely to reach % in either direction by the end of next trading session after Earnings are released and not necessarily the closing volatility %.

Why is it important?

This indicator helps

Knowing expected volatility in stocks after Earnings helps to decide trading stocks before Earnings Announcement.
Taking Advantage of volatility collapse following Earnings Results by using Advance Options strategies such as Spread and Straddles.

Since Last Earnings

Change in share price since last Earnings release.

Why is it Important?

When share has gained more than 10% since it's last Earning release, it tends to over react to minor bad news and give up some gains if not all. So, it contains more downside volatility than upside When share has dropped more than 10% since it's last Earning release, it tends to over react to minor good news and recover some drops if not all. So, it contains more upside volatility than downside.

EPS Surprise (%)

Occurs when a company's reported quarterly or annual profits are above or below analysts' expectations. Here is the formula to derive % EPS Surprice:

Actual EPS - Estimated EPS
------------------------------------- x 100
Estimated EPS

Why is it Important?

Earnings surprises can have a huge impact on a company's stock price. Several studies suggest that positive earnings surprises not only lead to an immediate hike in a stock's price, but also to a gradual increase over time. Hence, it's not surprising that some companies are known for routinely beating earning projections. A negative earnings surprise will usually result in a decline in share price.

Next Day Price Change (%)

Next Regular trading session Closing price following Earnings result.

For After Market Close Earnings, It is a next trading day closing price. For Before Market Open Earnings, It is the same trading day closing price.

Why is it Important?

Next Day price change is a reaction of Earnings result.

SK Hynix to Spend $28.7 Billion on Buybacks

Posted on Aug 19, 2026 by Ian Cooper

Keep an eye on SK Hynix (NASDAQ: SKHY). The company is reportedly spending billions of dollars to buy back its own shares as it tries to reassure investors that the company is worth more than its current stock price suggests.

The South Korean memory-chip maker said it will spend $28.7 billion to buy back shares over the next three months. The program will begin Thursday.

The announcement comes after a steep drop in SK Hynix’s stock. Shares in Seoul have fallen by nearly half since reaching a high in June. Even after that decline, however, the stock is still more than twice as valuable as it was at the start of the year. The company believes investors have become too pessimistic. SK Hynix said its current share price does not reflect what it calls the company’s “intrinsic value,” or what the business is really worth based on its future potential.

A Substantial Pile of Cash

SK Hynix has plenty of cash to work with because demand for memory chips has exploded. The company’s chips are an important part of the technology used to power artificial intelligence, including data centers and advanced computing systems.

The company’s financial results have improved dramatically as a result.

Analysts expect SK Hynix to generate about KRW 170 trillion in free cash flow in 2026, up from KRW 25 trillion in 2025. Profits have also jumped. SK Hynix’s profit rose 557% in its most recent quarter, and analysts expect full-year profit to increase by about 484%.

With that much cash coming in, the company is promising to give more of it back to shareholders. SK Hynix said it plans to return more than 50% of its cumulative free cash flow to investors. It is also considering both regular and special dividend payments.

Tomorrow, the company said it will start buying back about 24 million shares, equal to roughly 3.3% of all outstanding shares.

SK Hynix’s leadership has also shown confidence in the company.

During a major selloff in semiconductor stocks in July, CEO Chey Tae-won personally bought about KRW 4.8 billion worth of SK Hynix shares. Chey said last week that he believes memory-chip prices could remain strong for longer than investors expect.

SK Hynix is also getting some help from its biggest South Korean rival, Samsung Electronics (OTCMKTS: SSNLF).

Samsung announced that it would raise prices by 15% on some of its advanced foundry services. That move helped improve investor sentiment toward the broader memory and semiconductor industries.

Bigger problems for the market

However, investors have become increasingly worried about how long the current memory-chip boom can last. Demand has been extremely strong because of the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, but semiconductor companies are also spending huge amounts of money to expand production.

There are also growing questions about the substantial amount of money being spent on AI infrastructure. Companies are investing billions in data centers, chips and other equipment. Investors want to know whether those investments will eventually produce enough profits to justify the spending.

These broader concerns could continue to affect SK Hynix, even if the company’s own business remains strong.

What happens next?

Management believes the stock is worth more than the market currently thinks.

The company has strong profits, a large amount of free cash flow and exposure to the growing demand for AI-related technology. Its decision to spend $28.7 billion on a share buyback shows just how confident management is in the company’s future.

The bigger question is whether investors share that confidence. If demand for memory chips stays strong and AI spending continues, SK Hynix could benefit significantly. But if concerns about interest rates, AI investment or the semiconductor cycle grow, the company’s stock could remain under pressure. For now, SK Hynix is betting heavily on a strong future.

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Over the last 26 years, he’s taught thousands of investors how to trade news flow and herd mentality using a unique blend of technical and fundamental analysis. Cooper was among the few analysts to spot the financial crisis of 2008, the top of subprime and Alt-A, the death of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and New Century Financial, and even the Dow’s collapse to 6,500, as well as its recovery. He even called for gold to rally well above $1.500 when it traded under $600. At the moment, Cooper makes use of technical, fundamental and news analysis, to help individual investors grow their wealth. He’s a firm believer that hard work and thorough research will lead to investment success.

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Ride-the-Wave Strategy – Best for Stock Traders

Volatility Crush Strategy - Best for Options Traders

Volatility Rush Strategy - Best for Options Traders