Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 13, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
OFAL leads the market-wide hard-to-borrow ranking at 382.1% annualized as of August 13, 2026, with 11 names falling in the hard-to-borrow or extreme fee tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 13, 2026, OFAL carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 382.1% annualized. The #2 name is GCTK at 347.0%, and #3 is JZ at 114.2% as of August 13, 2026. All three sit in the extreme tier, where annualized borrow fee rates exceed 50%.
Lede
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is OFAL at 382.1% annualized as of August 13, 2026. Fees on today's list span 1.2% to 382.1% annualized; the median is 6.1%. The triple-digit rates at the top of this ranking typically flag distressed names, very-low-float issues, or stocks that recently completed a reverse split — where shares are nearly impossible to locate in the lending pool — rather than conventional short squeeze setups. A high cost-to-short is a scarcity signal, not a momentum signal.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OFAL | 382.1% | −378.5% |
| 2 | GCTK | 347.0% | −343.3% |
| 3 | JZ | 114.2% | −110.6% |
| 4 | NXTC | 95.9% | −92.3% |
| 5 | BYND | 64.4% | −60.8% |
| 6 | WKHS | 26.6% | −23.0% |
| 7 | BBIG | 22.7% | −19.1% |
| 8 | TOPS | 19.9% | −16.3% |
| 9 | LIMN | 17.7% | −14.0% |
| 10 | OPAD | 14.0% | −10.4% |
| 11 | NRDY | 11.0% | −7.4% |
| 12 | ALPP | 7.0% | −3.3% |
| 13 | RUM | 6.1% | −2.4% |
| 14 | SOS | 5.3% | −1.6% |
| 15 | OPTT | 5.1% | −1.4% |
| 16 | CHPT | 4.6% | −0.9% |
| 17 | INO | 4.4% | −0.7% |
| 18 | FUBO | 3.4% | 0.3% |
| 19 | OCGN | 2.6% | 1.0% |
| 20 | SPCE | 2.3% | 1.3% |
| 21 | EVTL | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| 22 | XRX | 1.6% | 2.0% |
| 23 | GRPN | 1.6% | 2.1% |
| 24 | GDS | 1.5% | 2.1% |
| 25 | EVGO | 1.2% | 2.4% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 13, 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 13, 2026, 11 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. That means nearly half of the top-25 list is trading with a cost-to-borrow that is meaningfully above the broad-market median. The extreme tier alone — five names at or above 64.4% — is dominated by issues where the lending pool is effectively frozen.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to hold a position; 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. The borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, alongside short interest, price momentum, volume, and other factors. For a full picture, investors should reference the methodology rather than reading any single fee in isolation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of August 13, 2026, OFAL tops the market-wide ranking at 382.1% annualized, followed by GCTK at 347.0% and JZ at 114.2%. These are the most expensive names to borrow across the full IBKR-tracked universe today.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines a normal borrow fee as under 2%, elevated as 2-10%, hard-to-borrow as 10-50%, and extreme as above 50%. On August 13, 2026, 11 names on today's list fell into the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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 are daily, not real-time intraday, rates and may differ from rates at other brokers.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee data is sourced from IBKR Stock Loan Availability, updated daily each evening on a market-wide basis. Rebate rates are sourced from 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.