A Comprehensive Look at Option Symbols
An option symbol identifies one option contract by four parts: the underlying ticker (root), the expiration date in YYMMDD format, C for call or P for put, and the strike price multiplied by 1,000 and padded to eight digits. For example, an AAPL $250 call expiring September 18, 2026 is written AAPL 260918C00250000 in the standard OSI format; MarketXLS uses QuoteMedia's version, @AAPL 260918C00250000, which you can build with =OptionSymbol("AAPL",DATE(2026,9,18),"C",250).
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What is an Option Symbol?
An option symbol encodes everything needed to identify a contract:
| Part | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Root | AAPL | The underlying stock or ETF, such as AAPL or SPY |
| Expiration | 260918 | September 18, 2026 (YYMMDD) |
| Type | C | Call (P for put) |
| Strike | 00250000 | $250 × 1,000, padded to eight digits |
Because a missing space or zero points to a different contract, build symbols with a formula rather than typing them. See Create and convert option symbols for details, including index options such as SPX.
Types of Options
There are two main types of options available for trading: call options and put options.
A call option is the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying asset at a given strike price on or before a specific date. This means that if the price goes up, the purchaser of the option can buy the underlying asset for a lower price.
Put options, on the other hand, are the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset at a given strike price before a specific date. This means that if the price goes down, the purchaser of the option can sell the underlying asset for a higher price.
Trading Strategies with Options
Options give traders leverage and ways to hedge or generate income, and they can also lose value quickly. Traders combine calls and puts into strategies such as covered calls, spreads, and straddles, and use the option symbol for each leg to price it. This article is educational and is not trading advice.
MarketXLS
MarketXLS is an Excel and Google Sheets add-in with options data functions. =OptionSymbol(...) builds a contract symbol, =QM_Last(A2) returns that contract's price, and =QM_GetOptionChain("AAPL") returns the full chain. Options data is end-of-day on the Standard plan and real-time on the Advanced and Business plans. See options data in Excel and ready-made workbooks in MarketXLS templates.
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