Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 11, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
GCTK tops the market-wide hard-to-borrow list at 351% annualized on August 11, 2026, with 9 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 11, 2026, GCTK carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 351% annualized. The #2 and #3 tickers are JZ at 110.5% and NXTC at 94.9%, respectively, both deep in the extreme tier.
Lede — The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is GCTK at 351% annualized as of August 11, 2026. Fees on today's list span 3.1% to 351% annualized; the median is 7.4%. While a high borrow fee often draws attention from traders, ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names rather than conventional short squeeze setups. The fee is a cost-to-short signal, not a predictor of upside.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GCTK | 351.0% | −347.4% |
| 2 | JZ | 110.5% | −106.9% |
| 3 | NXTC | 94.9% | −91.3% |
| 4 | FRTT | 82.5% | −78.8% |
| 5 | PARA | 32.0% | −28.4% |
| 6 | HTZ | 31.1% | −27.5% |
| 7 | LCID | 30.1% | −26.5% |
| 8 | CGC | 12.2% | −8.6% |
| 9 | RCEL | 10.4% | −6.8% |
| 10 | NRDY | 10.0% | −6.3% |
| 11 | BIRD | 9.3% | −5.7% |
| 12 | GRRR | 8.4% | −4.8% |
| 13 | BYND | 7.4% | −3.8% |
| 14 | AISP | 7.3% | −3.7% |
| 15 | RUM | 5.6% | −2.0% |
| 16 | CRMT | 5.6% | −1.9% |
| 17 | CHPT | 5.1% | −1.5% |
| 18 | SOS | 5.0% | −1.4% |
| 19 | ABCL | 4.8% | −1.1% |
| 20 | ALPP | 4.8% | −1.1% |
| 21 | INO | 4.6% | −0.9% |
| 22 | OPTT | 4.5% | −0.9% |
| 23 | IMPP | 4.3% | −0.7% |
| 24 | OCGN | 3.8% | −0.2% |
| 25 | FUBO | 3.1% | 0.5% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 11, 2026 10:50 PM ET. Market-wide ranking across all IBKR-tracked securities. Not investment advice.*
Borrow-Fee Tiers
Tapeboard categorizes annualized borrow fees as normal (under 2%), elevated (2-10%), hard-to-borrow (10-50%), and extreme (above 50%). On August 11, 2026, 9 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. The extreme tier (above 50%) holds four names — GCTK, JZ, NXTC, and FRTT — all with triple-digit or near-triple-digit fees. The hard-to-borrow tier (10-50%) adds PARA, HTZ, LCID, CGC, and RCEL, with NRDY just at the 10% threshold. The remaining 16 names are in the elevated band, with none in the normal range.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays; a high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool. It does NOT by itself predict a squeeze. Names with triple-digit fees are often distressed, very-low-float, post-reverse-split, or recently IPO'd stocks where shares are almost impossible to locate — high cost-to-short is not the same as squeeze potential. For example, GCTK at 351% suggests shares are extraordinarily hard to find, but that scarcity alone does not imply upward price pressure. Borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, alongside other factors like short interest, momentum, and volume. For a complete view, see the methodology behind that composite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
The top three are GCTK at 351.0%, JZ at 110.5%, and NXTC at 94.9%, all as of August 11, 2026. These are followed by FRTT at 82.5% and PARA at 32.0%, rounding out the five most expensive names to borrow.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines a hard-to-borrow stock as one with an annualized borrow fee of 10% or higher. Fees above 50% are considered extreme. On August 11, 2026, 9 names in the market-wide ranking met the hard-to-borrow or extreme threshold, with the top four exceeding 50%.
Where do these borrow rates come from?
Tapeboard compiles IBKR Securities Lending borrow fees daily and refreshes them each evening across the full market universe. These rates are daily snapshots, not real-time intraday figures, and may differ from rates at other brokers due to varying lending pools and availability.
Data and Methodology
- Borrow fee: IBKR Stock Loan Availability, updated daily each evening, market-wide.
- Rebate rate: IBKR Securities Lending data, where available.
See today's full squeeze analysis for the 7-factor composite ranking, or the hard-to-borrow leaderboard for the live pillar.
This post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Borrow fees reflect securities-lending conditions reported in IBKR's daily data; they are not real-time intraday rates and may differ from rates at other brokers. A high borrow fee does not constitute a buy or sell signal. Short selling carries unlimited downside risk. Editor: Marcus Reilly.