Volatility surface
Implied volatility across every listed expiry and strike of one underlying, drawn as a surface.
One row per listed expiry — never an invented maturity — and one column per point on a moneyness, strike or standard-deviation axis. Columns are interpolated so they line up; the quoted points are drawn on top, so what was observed and what was filled in stay distinct.
How to read it
A smile or skew (higher IV for out-of-the-money puts) is normal for stocks. IV rising with expiry is calm; the nearest expiries sitting highest is stress, or an event such as earnings just ahead.
How to use it
Find which expiries and strikes are expensive relative to the rest, and compare at-the-money IV with the volatility cone to judge whether options are cheap or rich against what the stock usually does.
Limitations
Each strike's IV is the data vendor's. Nothing is extrapolated beyond the strikes actually quoted, and each row stops at four standard deviations. Outside market hours it shows the last surface from the session's close.
In Kereon
Charts · Volatility Surface. The out-of-the-money side at each strike (calls above the price, puts below) by default, on a standard-deviation axis; an expiry needs at least four usable points.
Also called: vol surface, iv surface, smile, skew, volatility smile.