Throughout this year, options trading has been performing exceptionally well, with options volume and liquidity remaining exceptionally strong. According to the Options Clearing Corporation, popularly known as OCC, July 2025 options volume reached 1.23 billion contracts, representing a 12.6% year-over-year increase, with a more than 20% increase seen in equity options alone. This growth signifies that stock options trading has not just become the instrument traders are choosing for hedging, but also for speculation, income generation, and most importantly, volatility trading. Single-stock options, in particular, have benefitted from both retail enthusiasm and institutional hedging strategies. Here are 10 stocks that traders are making money from with options right now.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Microsoft is one of the most active tickers in options trading. Institutional overlay activity is also common. The setup that would ideally work in such a scenario is a protective collar, which would be ideal around earnings season for core holders. Traders can sell OTM calls to finance OTM puts. Cash-secured puts can turn out to be a great game changer when the breadth of the activity slows down, as it will help in earning decay while targeting buy-the-dip entries.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

Whether it is equity trading or options trading, Alphabet is always in the limelight. Recently, advertising and AI updates have been delivering tradable gaps. Liquidity is high, and implied volatility is also at its peak, typically due to pre-earnings, which provide good leverage for put credit spreads after positive surprises when skew remains high. Iron condor strategies can be effective, considering the current trading activity at a volume of 36.9 million. The only thing that traders should be aware of is the calendars for key AI and advertising events, as these have historically shown a significant impact on elevated IV.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD)

Most of the stocks on this list have one thing in common: they are all powered or backed by AI. Since 2025 is the year of AI and technological revolution, these stocks are highly dominant in options trading. With an average volume of 68.79 million and a market cap of $288 billion, it provides great grounds of implied volatility of around 44% providing neutral grounds for both calls and puts. Traders should be cautious about the headlines that drift between conference remarks and product roadmap details.

Arm Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ: ARM)

As AI and edge silicon narratives broaden, ARM’s popularity has grown in the field of options trading. ARM’s 90k+ daily contracts record and bullish options activity in late July and at the start of August, make it an ideal candidate for tactical spreads. This has provided traders with great opportunities, and it seems to continue even in the months to come, where most advantage can be taken by applying defined-risk call spreads and collars to hedge against any AI-narrative drawdowns while leaving potential for sweet gains.

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META)

Meta Platforms is consistently one of the top stocks on the list of all traders, particularly options traders, due to its highly associated volatility. Recently, Meta has been developing a series of products and is working on advancing its AI-driven innovations, particularly the metaverse. With a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a 30-day IV of 28.07%, and its earnings release last month, it provides a perfect scenario where traders took advantage of the volatility in the preceding month. They can also take advantage in the coming days, as the capex announcements have created tradable bursts that can be utilized if put butterflies are adopted just below the spot to hedge.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)

The tech giant, Apple Inc., has consistently delivered strong returns to its investors. With the planned 2026 launch of its innovative products, such as a foldable iPhone, Apple appears to be setting the standards for all tech companies. With its July earnings release, Apple showed positive growth and provided its traders who played around the volatility circling the earnings release with good gains and creating a space for gains even in the coming month with a current 30-day IV of 23.55%, which is slightly less but worth trading as the high IV was around 68% on 4th August after the earnings release. It is expected to have a fast bullish crossover, suggesting the implementation of a call debit spread positioned for a modest rally ahead of the announcements. If some traders have a neutral take about the earnings, they can also use covered calls for range-bound movements.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)

The EV giant has been volatile since the start of the year, yet it has managed to maintain a deep liquidity. Whenever it comes to suggesting stocks for options trading, Tesla somehow always manages to make the list due to its frequent 3-5% intraday range in deliveries and company headlines. Currently, after its business expansion announcements, traders are benefitting and can continue to benefit if strategies like short-dated strangles is applied with tight, delta-based risk controls on catalyst days and cash-secured puts are applied if the trader is already owning the stock, to maximize the returns from this stock, which exhibits an implied volatility of 44.76%.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Netflix is one stock where traders took advantage of the post-earnings IV crush after its earnings release in July, and since then, options traders are eyeing it as the company not only showed positive results but also showed subscriber growth, which is a key indicator when it comes to the entertainment industry. Netflix is a great candidate for double calendars when implied volatility increases. While the volume is low, the consistent IV of around 25-26% makes it a safe bet for options traders.

NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA)

NVIDIA, the epicenter of the AI saga, has always dominated the data center sector. Having become the most valuable company, it is expected to have an even higher IV, and this volatility is expected to continue, given that the earnings release is scheduled for August 27, 2025, making it an ideal stock for options trading in the current times. Since the outlook is bullish, strategies like bull-call spreads would benefit the options traders as they help in lowering the costs and benefits from directional upside.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO)

The 1.44 trillion-dollar semiconductor company has been performing consistently well, with annual revenues of around $30 billion. With earnings expected on 4th September 2025, it has already provided grounds for options trading pre-earnings, featuring a significant IV of 50.39% and an average options volume of 166,039 contracts, enabling structural liquidity.

Throughout this year, options trading has been performing exceptionally well, with options volume and liquidity remaining exceptionally strong. According to the Options Clearing Corporation, popularly known as OCC, July 2025 options volume reached 1.23 billion contracts, representing a 12.6% year-over-year increase, with a more than 20% increase seen in equity options alone. This growth signifies that stock options trading has not just become the instrument traders are choosing for hedging, but also for speculation, income generation, and most importantly, volatility trading. Single-stock options, in particular, have benefitted from both retail enthusiasm and institutional hedging strategies. Here are 10 stocks that traders are making money from with options right now.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Microsoft is one of the most active tickers in options trading. Institutional overlay activity is also common. The setup that would ideally work in such a scenario is a protective collar, which would be ideal around earnings season for core holders. Traders can sell OTM calls to finance OTM puts. Cash-secured puts can turn out to be a great game changer when the breadth of the activity slows down, as it will help in earning decay while targeting buy-the-dip entries.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

Whether it is equity trading or options trading, Alphabet is always in the limelight. Recently, advertising and AI updates have been delivering tradable gaps. Liquidity is high, and implied volatility is also at its peak, typically due to pre-earnings, which provide good leverage for put credit spreads after positive surprises when skew remains high. Iron condor strategies can be effective, considering the current trading activity at a volume of 36.9 million. The only thing that traders should be aware of is the calendars for key AI and advertising events, as these have historically shown a significant impact on elevated IV.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD)

Most of the stocks on this list have one thing in common: they are all powered or backed by AI. Since 2025 is the year of AI and technological revolution, these stocks are highly dominant in options trading. With an average volume of 68.79 million and a market cap of $288 billion, it provides great grounds of implied volatility of around 44% providing neutral grounds for both calls and puts. Traders should be cautious about the headlines that drift between conference remarks and product roadmap details.

Arm Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ: ARM)

As AI and edge silicon narratives broaden, ARM’s popularity has grown in the field of options trading. ARM’s 90k+ daily contracts record and bullish options activity in late July and at the start of August, make it an ideal candidate for tactical spreads. This has provided traders with great opportunities, and it seems to continue even in the months to come, where most advantage can be taken by applying defined-risk call spreads and collars to hedge against any AI-narrative drawdowns while leaving potential for sweet gains.

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META)

Meta Platforms is consistently one of the top stocks on the list of all traders, particularly options traders, due to its highly associated volatility. Recently, Meta has been developing a series of products and is working on advancing its AI-driven innovations, particularly the metaverse. With a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a 30-day IV of 28.07%, and its earnings release last month, it provides a perfect scenario where traders took advantage of the volatility in the preceding month. They can also take advantage in the coming days, as the capex announcements have created tradable bursts that can be utilized if put butterflies are adopted just below the spot to hedge.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)

The tech giant, Apple Inc., has consistently delivered strong returns to its investors. With the planned 2026 launch of its innovative products, such as a foldable iPhone, Apple appears to be setting the standards for all tech companies. With its July earnings release, Apple showed positive growth and provided its traders who played around the volatility circling the earnings release with good gains and creating a space for gains even in the coming month with a current 30-day IV of 23.55%, which is slightly less but worth trading as the high IV was around 68% on 4th August after the earnings release. It is expected to have a fast bullish crossover, suggesting the implementation of a call debit spread positioned for a modest rally ahead of the announcements. If some traders have a neutral take about the earnings, they can also use covered calls for range-bound movements.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)

The EV giant has been volatile since the start of the year, yet it has managed to maintain a deep liquidity. Whenever it comes to suggesting stocks for options trading, Tesla somehow always manages to make the list due to its frequent 3-5% intraday range in deliveries and company headlines. Currently, after its business expansion announcements, traders are benefitting and can continue to benefit if strategies like short-dated strangles is applied with tight, delta-based risk controls on catalyst days and cash-secured puts are applied if the trader is already owning the stock, to maximize the returns from this stock, which exhibits an implied volatility of 44.76%.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Netflix is one stock where traders took advantage of the post-earnings IV crush after its earnings release in July, and since then, options traders are eyeing it as the company not only showed positive results but also showed subscriber growth, which is a key indicator when it comes to the entertainment industry. Netflix is a great candidate for double calendars when implied volatility increases. While the volume is low, the consistent IV of around 25-26% makes it a safe bet for options traders.

NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA)

NVIDIA, the epicenter of the AI saga, has always dominated the data center sector. Having become the most valuable company, it is expected to have an even higher IV, and this volatility is expected to continue, given that the earnings release is scheduled for August 27, 2025, making it an ideal stock for options trading in the current times. Since the outlook is bullish, strategies like bull-call spreads would benefit the options traders as they help in lowering the costs and benefits from directional upside.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO)

The 1.44 trillion-dollar semiconductor company has been performing consistently well, with annual revenues of around $30 billion. With earnings expected on 4th September 2025, it has already provided grounds for options trading pre-earnings, featuring a significant IV of 50.39% and an average options volume of 166,039 contracts, enabling structural liquidity.