Ticker expiration calendar

Options Expiration Calendar by Ticker 2026

Search demand is asking for a calendar list of expiring stocks, but the useful answer is ticker-specific listed option expirations. This article shows the 2026 monthly anchors, the ticker list to check first, and the API sequence that turns a static calendar into reliable contract discovery.

Direct answer

Options expire

Stocks do not expire; listed option contracts expire for a ticker, date, type, and strike.

Best structure

Ticker first

Use a ticker universe, fetch listed expirations, then classify each date.

2026 holiday caveat

June 18

The June 2026 monthly and quarterly cycle moves from Friday to Thursday for Juneteenth.

Why this page exists

A static expiring-stock list is not enough

The query "calendar list of names of expiring stocks 2026" is imprecise but valuable. It usually means the reader wants to know which popular option underlyings have contracts expiring on upcoming 2026 dates. The correct technical answer starts by separating the stock from its option contracts.

A static date table can answer monthly OpEx, but it cannot prove that a weekly or long-dated contract exists for SPY, QQQ, AAPL, NVDA, TSLA, IWM, or TLT. A stronger page gives the human calendar first, then shows the exact discovery workflow a developer should run before requesting contracts or market data.

Ticker-by-ticker 2026 expiration planning list

Use the monthly anchor as the calendar answer, then fetch listed expirations for each ticker before building chains or scanners.

TickerTypeUseful 2026 anchorWhy check this ticker
SPYETFMay 15, 2026High-liquidity S&P 500 ETF options. Start with listed expirations, then inspect chains around May and June OpEx.
QQQETFMay 15, 2026NASDAQ-100 ETF options. Weekly searches often need a separate Friday-cycle table before chain requests.
AAPLSingle stockFebruary 20, 2026Exact-date AAPL searches should be verified because non-standard dates may not be listed.
NVDASingle stockMay 15 and June 18, 2026GSC already shows May-June NVDA demand, so keep monthly and holiday-adjusted dates explicit.
TSLASingle stockMay 15, 2026High-activity single-name options where weekly availability should be discovered from listings.
IWMETFMay 15, 2026Small-cap ETF options used in index-adjacent and macro workflows.
TLTETFMay 15, 2026Rate-sensitive ETF options where expiration windows support macro event studies.

2026 monthly options expiration anchors

The monthly table is the shared calendar backbone. Ticker-specific weekly, quarterly, and LEAPS availability should still be fetched from listed data.

MonthDateCycleNote
JanuaryFriday, January 16, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
FebruaryFriday, February 20, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
MarchFriday, March 20, 2026QuarterlyQuarterly OpEx month
AprilFriday, April 17, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
MayFriday, May 15, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
JuneThursday, June 18, 2026QuarterlyMoved from June 19, 2026 for a market holiday
JulyFriday, July 17, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
AugustFriday, August 21, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
SeptemberFriday, September 18, 2026QuarterlyQuarterly OpEx month
OctoberFriday, October 16, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
NovemberFriday, November 20, 2026MonthlyStandard monthly OpEx
DecemberFriday, December 18, 2026QuarterlyQuarterly OpEx month

Ticker expiration workflow

This is the practical workflow behind a search-friendly expiration calendar by ticker.

StepInputResult
Choose ticker universeSPY, QQQ, AAPL, NVDA, TSLA, IWM, TLTStart from liquid option underlyings before fetching date lists. This keeps the page useful for humans and deterministic for code.
Fetch listed dates/v1/tickers/expirations/{ticker}/Ticker-level discovery prevents generated Friday calendars from creating dates that are not listed for the underlying.
Classify each dateweekly, monthly, quarterly, LEAPSClassification is the bridge between a search-answer calendar and downstream contract, quote, trade, snapshot, or aggregate requests.
Request contractsexpiration_date=2026-05-15After a date exists for the ticker, request contracts or chains and preserve the full OCC ticker for every later market-data join.

API example

Fetch ticker expirations before requesting contracts

The endpoint sequence below keeps the page answer and the production workflow aligned. First discover listed dates. Then request contracts for a selected ticker-date pair. After that, use the returned OCC tickers for quotes, trades, snapshots, aggregates, Greeks, or open-interest checks.

curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/tickers/expirations/SPY/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/tickers/expirations/NVDA/" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

curl "https://api.cutemarkets.com/v1/options/contracts/?underlying_ticker=SPY&expiration_date=2026-05-15&limit=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Last verified

Date-sensitive calendar references on this page were checked on April 28, 2026. Calendar math is useful for planning, but listed contracts and exchange calendars should still be verified before production workflows run.

Ticker expiration calendar FAQ

Do stocks themselves expire in 2026?

No. Stocks do not expire. Listed option contracts on those stocks or ETFs expire by ticker, date, type, and strike.

Why use an options expiration calendar by ticker?

Ticker-level expiration discovery avoids assuming that every underlying lists the same weekly, monthly, quarterly, or LEAPS dates.

Which tickers should be checked first?

Start with liquid ETF and single-stock options such as SPY, QQQ, AAPL, NVDA, TSLA, IWM, and TLT, then verify listed dates for each one.

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