Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 14, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
As of August 14, 2026, GCTK leads the market-wide borrow-fee ranking at 297.5% annualized, with 12 names falling into the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 14, 2026, GCTK carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 297.5% annualized. The #2 and #3 tickers are INM at 213.7% and JZ at 118.8%, respectively, both reflecting extreme scarcity in the lendable pool.
Lede
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is GCTK at 297.5% annualized as of August 14, 2026. Fees on today's list span 4.4% to 297.5% annualized; the median is 9.4%. Ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names — such as post-reverse-split or very-low-float tickers — rather than conventional short squeeze setups. A high borrow fee is a cost-to-short signal, but it does not by itself indicate that a stock is a squeeze candidate.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GCTK | 297.5% | −293.9% |
| 2 | INM | 213.7% | −210.1% |
| 3 | JZ | 118.8% | −115.1% |
| 4 | CYCU | 105.9% | −102.2% |
| 5 | NXTC | 94.7% | −91.1% |
| 6 | BYND | 64.4% | −60.8% |
| 7 | CETX | 47.5% | −43.9% |
| 8 | WKHS | 27.1% | −23.4% |
| 9 | BBIG | 22.7% | −19.1% |
| 10 | LCID | 22.5% | −18.9% |
| 11 | KITT | 20.9% | −17.3% |
| 12 | OPAD | 14.0% | −10.3% |
| 13 | CAPR | 9.4% | −5.8% |
| 14 | BIRD | 9.4% | −5.8% |
| 15 | RCEL | 9.4% | −5.7% |
| 16 | NRDY | 8.9% | −5.3% |
| 17 | AISP | 7.2% | −3.6% |
| 18 | ALPP | 7.0% | −3.3% |
| 19 | MDXH | 5.4% | −1.8% |
| 20 | CRMT | 5.3% | −1.7% |
| 21 | RUM | 5.3% | −1.7% |
| 22 | SOS | 5.1% | −1.5% |
| 23 | FUBO | 4.8% | −1.1% |
| 24 | CHPT | 4.6% | −0.9% |
| 25 | ABCL | 4.4% | −0.8% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 14, 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 14, 2026, 12 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. That means nearly half of the top-25 most expensive names to borrow are trading with fee structures that indicate significant difficulty in locating shares for short sellers.
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. Borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score. For a fuller picture, see the methodology behind that score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of August 14, 2026, the three costliest names to borrow are GCTK at 297.5% annualized, INM at 213.7%, and JZ at 118.8%. All three sit in the extreme tier, indicating that shares are exceptionally scarce in the lending pool.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines a borrow fee above 10% as hard-to-borrow, and above 50% as extreme. Fees between 2% and 10% are elevated, while anything under 2% is considered normal. Today, 12 names on the top-25 list fall into the hard-to-borrow or extreme tiers.
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. Rates are daily, not real-time intraday, and may differ from other brokers due to variations in lending supply and demand.
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.