Options/KMX

KMXCarMax Inc.

Options Analysis Report•RETAIL-AUTO DEALERS & GASOLINE STATIONS

Market Cap $8.8B|NYSE

● 2026-08-31$62.11

BULLISH

Analysis: 2026-08-28 EOD data

1Y +4.1%YTD +58.1%7D -1.1%

Options Vol

890

30D

Implied Move

±10.8%

IV Rank

KMX Options Overview

IV is elevated with bullish flow. Conditions favor premium sellers.

REWARDS

RISK ANALYSIS

Snowflake Analysis

Favorable conditions for premium sellers

Learn

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KMX Gamma Walls

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KMX Hedge Radar

No action needed

Full Hedge Radar

Fragility reads low; protection is priced cheap. Neither axis is a forecast — this is where KMX sits on protection cost vs. fragility today.

Protection is priced in the cheap band (3.32) — implied vol sits in the 0th percentile of its own past year, and near-dated vol is priced 18% below far-dated, measured against this name's own rolling 19-trading-day realized moves (485 overlapping windows). Fragility reads resilient (1.88): it is trading 20% above its hedge wall on a wall graded MEDIUM for reliability, and its realized-vol regime is contracting.

Protection cost

3.32/ 10cheap

Basis: cross_sectional

Fragility

1.88/ 10resilient

Basis: per_ticker

Value

Is IV priced right?

5.3

ExpensiveCheap

Measures whether options are cheap, fair, or rich relative to historical and peer

levels.

Risk Checks5/9 checks passed

IV Rank

≤35%

IV Rank 73.8% — elevated vs history

IV/HV Ratio

<1.05x

IV/HV 1.67x — IV premium over HV

Sector Relative≤50%

Sector percentile 74% — above sector median

Term Structure

<1.1x

Front/Back 0.77x — contango

Skew Normal

<1.25x

Put/Call IV 1.16x — elevated

Absolute IV

<80%

ATM IV 47.9% — normal range

Spread-Adjusted Value

<80%

Effective IV 60.2% (ATM 47.9% + spread 6.1% + bias) — good value

Execution Efficiency

<3.0%

Total drag 8.24% (spread 6.13% + slippage 2.11%) — high friction

Vega Efficiency

≥5.0

Vega efficiency 9.68 (vega 5.934 / spread 6.13%) — efficient

Sentiment

Bullish or bearish?

6.7

BearishBullish

Analyzes

put/call ratios

open interest skew

, and flow direction to determine market bias.

Risk ChecksNeutral - Moderate signal (Conviction: +6%, Raw: +6%)

Flow Direction

|net sentiment| ≥25%

Conviction-weighted: +6% (neutral) — Raw: +6%

OI Skew Magnitude

≥15%

|OI skew| 33.8% — call-heavy

Volume-OI Alignment

Same sign, |vol skew| ≥10%

Vol skew +42.9%, OI skew +33.8% — aligned

Conviction Quality

≥2/3 conditions

0-DTE 0%, far-OTM 15%, avg DTE 30

OI Momentum

|change| ≥3%

OI change +0.0% (5d) — stable

Smart Money Flow

|weighted flow| ≥20%

ITM: +25%, ATM: -27%, OTM: +7% — neutral (ITM/ATM divergent)

Sector Relative≤40% or ≥60%

Sector P/C percentile 32% — bullish vs sector

Activity

Unusual activity?

2.2

QuietActive

Detects volume surges,

block trades

, and unusual options activity that may signal moves.

Risk Checks0/8 checks passed

Volume Surge

≥1.5x

Volume 0.7x avg — normal

Turnover Rate

≥15%

Vol/OI 1.4% — normal turnover

Multi-Day Persistence

≥2 days

1 day(s) elevated — may be one-day event

OI Build

≥5%

OI change +2.4% (5d) — building

Sector Relative≥60%

Sector activity percentile 42% — neutral vs sector

Trade Quality

≥30%

Large trade volume 0% — mostly retail

Execution Urgency

≥60%

Aggressive execution 23% — patient

Flow Conviction

≥30

Conviction +6 (bullish) — mixed

Liquidity

Can I trade efficiently?

4.5

IlliquidLiquid

Evaluates

bid-ask spreads

, volume depth, and open interest for trade execution quality.

Risk Checks4/8 checks passed

Tradeable Spread

≤5.0%

Spread 6.1% — wide

Adequate OI

≥10,000

OI 61,667 — deep

Active Volume

≥500

Volume 890/day — adequate

Reasonable Cost

≤$0.50

$0.31 to cross — cheap

Strike Coverage

≥5 strikes

0 liquid strikes — limited options

Sector Relative≤40%

Sector spread percentile 86% — much wider than sector

Order Book Depth

≥100 contracts

Depth 233.5 contracts (bid:141.5 ask:92.0) — adequate

Execution Quality

<1.0%

Avg slippage 2.11% — poor

Timing

Is now a good time?

7.3

RiskyFavorable

Considers earnings proximity,

time decay

, and event calendar for optimal entry timing.

Risk Checks6/9 checks passed

Term Structure Clarity

|slope| ≥5%

Slope -23.4% — contango

IV Percentile Clarity

<30 or >70

IV percentile 74% — seller opportunity

Event Detection

≥10pts kink

IV kink -12.3pts — no clear event

Theta/Vega Clarity

<0.5 or >2.0

θ/ν ratio 109.89 — favors income trades

Expiration Distribution

≥3 expirations

4 liquid expirations — flexible

Event Risk

≥60% (safe)

safe window: Earnings in 29d (low risk)

Spread Momentum

<1.2 ratio

Spread ratio 1.00x — stable

Flow Momentum

≥25% strength + ≥50% consistency

Flow +6% @ 53% consistency — unclear

Smart Money Timing

≥40 composite score

Score 30 (ITM 20% + inst 0%) — retail dominated

Directional Strategy Fit

Option Buyers

Long Calls6.7

bullishIV fair, bullish flow

Long Puts4.8

bearishIV fair, bullish flow

Premium Sellers

Cash-Secured Put5.8

bullishIV fair, bullish flow

Covered Call4.6

bearishIV fair, bullish flow

For educational purposes only. Not investment advice.

The Options Desk tracks the move options price into every US earnings report the week of Aug 31, next to how much each stock has actually moved on its past prints — plus the SPY, QQQ and IWM expected ranges and the gamma walls that box them in.

More on KMX

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