The markets are seeing red as a wild earnings week takes center stage. From the "Tale of Two Techs" (Microsoft vs. Meta) to a massive volatility spike, the All-Star Panel breaks down the trades, the trends, and the unusual activity lighting up the tape. Plus, we dive into the "other" Wolf and an Argentinian oil play.

• Mark Longo: CEO and Founder of the Options Insider Media Group.

• Henry "The Flowmaster" Schwartz: Vice President of Institutional Derivatives at Cboe Global Markets.

• "Uncle" Mike Tosaw: Wealth Manager at St. Charles Wealth Management.

The panel discusses a volatile Thursday session with the S&P 500 seeing a 100-handle range. While tech takes a hit, other sectors like energy and financials are showing resilience.

• The Tale of Two Ms: Comparing the diametrically opposite reactions to Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) earnings.

  • META: Stock up ~10%; those who bought the 700-strike calls for $11 are seeing massive wins.

  • MSFT: Stock down ~12% (a $58 drop); the same call-buying strategy was a total wipeout.

• Tesla (TSLA) Tumbles: Down over 2% as the market reacts to a shift in focus toward robotics and AI over traditional EV growth.

• Small Cap Update: Henry Schwartz notes that while the Russell 2000 (IWM) is outperforming YTD (up 6%), historically, this "value over growth" rotation rarely sticks.

• VIX Volatility: VIX flirting with an 18 handle. Notable paper includes a massive 50,000 lot of the April 80 calls trading for $0.36.

The Flowmaster identifies massive directional bets in two very different names.

1. TeraWulf (WULF) A Bitcoin-related name seeing a $3 million directional bet.

• The Trade: Buyer of 36,000 Feb 16 Calls (Average price: $0.82).

• Context: This is a massive sweep that creates the largest regular listed position in the name, likely betting on M&A rumors or a Bitcoin rebound.

2. YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF) An Argentinian energy ADR seeing unusual size.

• The Trade: Buyer of 9,999 April 43 Calls.

• The "Conspiracy": Why 9,999 instead of 10,000? Henry suggests it might be to dodge block scanners set for five-digit minimums.

• Question of the Week: How are you trading this earnings week?

  • Current Results: 44% are selling premium to "live the dream," while the rest are split between buying "juice," trading 0DTE, or staying on the sidelines.

• VIX Poll: 75% of listeners would rather sell the April 80 calls for $0.36 than buy them.

• Apple (AAPL) Earnings: Reporting after the bell. The market is pricing in a 4% move—roughly double its historical average.

• Sector Rotations: Watching if the energy (XLE) and industrial (CAT) strength can offset the tech drag.

• Silver (SLV): Uncle Mike highlights silver's insane run, outperforming the S&P by 8x last year and up 60% this year.

Skeletor is lurking, the metals are screaming, and the earnings gauntlet has begun!

In episode 1439 of The Option Block, Mark Longo and the All-Star panel—including "Uncle" Mike Tosaw and Andrew "The Rock Lobster" Giovinazzi—take a trip back to the 1980s. With the massive trailer launch for the new Masters of the Universe film, the team kicks things off with some MOTU trivia before breaking down a market that is getting "weird, wild, and funk-delicious."

• The Trading Block: A look at the "insane" run in Gold ($5k/oz!) and Silver ($100+/oz). Is it a meme, or is inflation finally catching up? Plus, a preview of the "Big Tech" earnings week featuring Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla.

• The Odd Block: Unusual activity in Papa John's (PZZA) puts, a massive upside play in Aero Copper Corp (ERO), and the "Trump Bump" fade in newcomer USA Rare Earth (USAR).

• The Strategy Block: Uncle Mike discusses the vital importance of choosing the right benchmarks (BXY, CLL, AGG) to measure your options performance accurately.

• Around the Block: The team debates whether the "Zero Day" index options will cannibalize the market and what to expect from the looming Apple and Tesla earnings prints.

• Indices: SPY, IWM, VIX (hovering at 16), VVIX (100)

• Equities: NVDA, TSLA, AAPL, INTC, MSFT, MAT, USAR

• Metals: GLD, SLV (up 12% in a single day)

The Option Block goes on the road! This week, Mark Longo is coming to you live from the Securities Traders Association (STA) 100th Anniversary event in Chicago. Joined in person by Henry "The Flowmaster" Schwartz, the team breaks down the biggest highlights from the conference and the massive volatility shifts hitting the equity markets.

• Live from the Floor: Mark and Henry discuss the 100-year legacy of the STA and the evolution of the options industry from the birth of the CBOE in 1973 to today's high-volume digital environment.

• The State of the Industry: Henry shares key takeaways from his panel, including the explosion of volume in Single Stock, ETF, and Index options. Plus, a look at how Robinhood has reshaped retail education and reduced friction for a new generation of traders.

• Volume Predictions for 2026: With the market currently averaging 66-67 million contracts a day, are we on track for a record-shattering 17 billion contracts this year?

• Monday & Wednesday Expirations: It's a done deal! The team discusses the upcoming listing of Monday and Wednesday daily expirations for major names like Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple, and what this means for after-hours risk management.

• The "Greenland Trade": Navigating a week where the market swung 100 handles down and 100 handles back up on geopolitical volatility.

• The Odd Block: The Flowmaster provides an update on ARDX and CWEN, plus a deep dive into the Mag 10 (Magnificent 10 Index) where put volume is currently lighting up the tape at record levels.

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This episode of The Option Block is brought to you by Cboe Global Markets. To learn more about the suite of S&P 500 Index Options (SPX) and Mini S&P 500 (XSP) options, visit https:// cboe.com/spx