Gamma Exposure Heatmap: QQQ by Strike and Expiration

As of 2026-10-23 15:59 ET, computed QQQ dealer gamma is -$6.10B per 1% move across 30 expirations; captured spot $705.84.

As of 2026-10-23, SquawkFlow computes total QQQ dealer gamma at -6.1B per 1% move with spot at $705.84.

That total spans all 30 expiries in the chain. The 10 expiries and 25 strikes shown in the grid sum to -2.1B.

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The grid above covers 25 strikes nearest spot across 10 expirations, drawn from 10,172 contracts spanning 30 expiries in the full chain.

This total is summed from the gamma published with each contract on the delayed option chain, across every expiration dated today or later. The SPX total on the /gex levels page is a different book, where every contract is re-priced with Black-Scholes at the evaluation spot from an archived implied volatility surface, so the two totals are not directly comparable. Both derive from daily-settled open interest.

Dealer positioning is an assumption, not an observable: open interest shows that a contract exists, never which side a dealer holds. Machine-readable version.

Building on this data? Welcome, it is free to reuse with attribution (a visible link to squawkflow.com). The open dataset updates every trading day and is more stable than parsing this page; questions via contact.

1. Dealers are net short about $6.1B of gamma per 1% move, so their hedging trades in the same direction as price; this state has historically meant faster, trend-prone sessions. That figure spans all 30 expiries in the chain; the 10 expiries and 25 strikes shown in the grid sum to -$2.1B.
2. The heaviest same-day positive gamma near spot sits at 710; dealers hedging there lean against moves away from that strike, which tends to make price sticky around it into the close.
3. Time decay alone shifts the aggregate dealer hedge by about $4.7B of index delta per day, and rebalancing that drift implies steady mechanical buying, heaviest into the close.
4. Today's volume is concentrating at 705 rather than the overnight structure at 710; if that persists to settlement, tomorrow's map shifts toward the new strike.
5. Since the prior session's settlement, open interest at 720 grew by 26,492 contracts, the largest overnight change on this grid; those added positions carry gamma at that strike for as long as they stay open.

Composed from the numbers on this page, not opinion: each sentence restates one figure on this page and its mechanical consequence. Descriptive only, never advice.

How to read it

Scan down a column to see where hedging is concentrated for one expiration. Scan across a row to see whether a strike matters today or only later in the month. The All column is the strike summed across every expiration in the chain, which is the number a conventional gamma chart would show you on its own. A run of strikes above spot that each carry more call gamma than the last is what desks call a gamma ramp, and the grid is where its shape is actually legible, because it separates the near-dated gamma from the rest.

The near-dated columns dominate in absolute size, and that is real rather than a display artefact: gamma rises steeply as expiration approaches for strikes near the money. Each column is therefore shaded against its own range, so a quiet expiry stays readable next to a loud one. Compare tint within a column, never across two.

QQQ strikes are quoted in one-dollar increments near the money, so the grid is denser than the five-point SPX ladder. Each column is still shaded against its own range.

Questions

What does this QQQ gamma heatmap show?

Net dealer gamma exposure in dollars per 1% move in the Invesco QQQ ETF, split by strike (rows) and expiration date (columns). The grid is built from daily-settled open interest, updated each session. Positive cells mean dealers are estimated to be long gamma at that strike and expiry; negative cells mean short gamma.

How is QQQ different from the SPX heatmap on this site?

QQQ options are American-style on an ETF with physical delivery at exercise. SPX options are European-style on a cash-settled index. QQQ lists dense weekly and monthly cycles around Nasdaq-100 exposure. Strikes are quoted in one-dollar increments near the money, so the grid is tighter than the five-point SPX ladder.

Why does QQQ have so many expiration columns?

QQQ is one of the most actively listed ETF option chains, with multiple weeklies and standard monthlies. The heatmap shows the nearest expirations, capped for readability. Each column is shaded against its own range because gamma near expiration dominates in absolute size.

How are the numbers calculated?

For every QQQ contract: gamma multiplied by open interest, by the 100-share contract multiplier, by spot squared, by 0.01, which converts to dollars of delta per 1% move in the ETF. Calls are counted positive and puts negative under the standard dealer-sign convention. Values are summed per strike and expiration across the full chain.

Is dealer positioning actually known?

No. Open interest shows that a contract exists, not which side a dealer holds. Every published gamma figure inherits the assumption that dealers are long calls and short puts against customer flow. Treat the grid as a map of where hedging pressure would concentrate if that convention holds.

What are the charm and vanna numbers?

Charm is dollar delta the estimated dealer hedge gains or sheds per day from time decay; vanna is dollar delta it gains or loses per one-point rise in implied volatility. Both are Black-Scholes model outputs summed with the same dealer sign convention as gamma. How much of the charm comes from same-day contracts is measured rather than assumed: charm on strikes right beside spot grows roughly with one over time-to-expiry while strikes further out lose theirs, so the same-day share moves through the session.

What is overnight open interest change?

The net change in contracts open at each strike between the two most recent daily settlements, summed across expirations and both calls and puts. Open interest is published once per session after the close, so this compares settlement snapshots only. Intraday opens and closes never appear until the next settlement.

How often does the data refresh?

The page revalidates every four minutes. The underlying figures are daily-settled open interest, updated each session after settlement, not an intraday tape.

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