Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 25, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
JZ tops Tapeboard's market-wide hard-to-borrow ranking at 815.9% annualized on August 25, 2026, with 17 of 25 listed names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 25, 2026, JZ carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 815.9% annualized. The next costliest names are RGC at 246.6% and EZGO at 209.1% annualized.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is JZ at 815.9% annualized as of August 25, 2026. Fees on today's list span 2.3% to 815.9% annualized; the median is 23.3%. The borrow fee is the annualized cost a short seller pays to maintain a borrowed position, and rates in the triple-digit range — like those on JZ, RGC, and EZGO as of August 25, 2026 — typically flag distressed, very-low-float, or post-reverse-split names where shares are nearly impossible to locate, rather than conventional short squeeze setups. A high fee is a cost-to-short signal, not a buy signal.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JZ | 815.9% | −812.3% |
| 2 | RGC | 246.6% | −242.9% |
| 3 | EZGO | 209.1% | −205.4% |
| 4 | INM | 161.0% | −157.4% |
| 5 | BIAF | 148.3% | −144.6% |
| 6 | GOVX | 102.7% | −99.1% |
| 7 | DRMA | 93.8% | −90.1% |
| 8 | PHIO | 35.5% | −31.9% |
| 9 | PARA | 30.6% | −27.0% |
| 10 | GRRR | 29.8% | −26.2% |
| 11 | EBET | 27.6% | −24.0% |
| 12 | XPON | 24.9% | −21.3% |
| 13 | KITT | 23.3% | −19.7% |
| 14 | BBIG | 21.5% | −17.9% |
| 15 | LCID | 13.1% | −9.5% |
| 16 | OPAD | 12.9% | −9.3% |
| 17 | NRDY | 12.8% | −9.1% |
| 18 | CYDY | 7.2% | −3.6% |
| 19 | ALPP | 7.0% | −3.3% |
| 20 | AISP | 5.1% | −1.5% |
| 21 | SOS | 5.0% | −1.4% |
| 22 | CHPT | 4.7% | −1.1% |
| 23 | GLBS | 3.3% | 0.3% |
| 24 | SYRA | 3.3% | 0.4% |
| 25 | OCGN | 2.3% | 1.4% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 25, 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 25, 2026, 17 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. The extreme tier is anchored by JZ (815.9%), RGC (246.6%), EZGO (209.1%), INM (161.0%), BIAF (148.3%), GOVX (102.7%), and DRMA (93.8%), each as of August 25, 2026. Only GLBS, SYRA, and OCGN carried a positive rebate rate on today's list, meaning most borrowers here pay a negative rebate on top of the posted fee.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to keep a short position open. A high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable share pool — when few shares are available to borrow, lenders charge more. Critically, a high fee does not by itself predict a squeeze. Names with triple-digit fees are often distressed companies, very-low-float stocks, post-reverse-split names, or recent IPOs where shares are almost impossible to locate; high cost-to-short is not the same as squeeze potential. That is why the borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, which also factors in short interest, price momentum, and volume — see the methodology for the full breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of August 25, 2026, the three costliest stocks to borrow in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking are JZ at 815.9%, RGC at 246.6%, and EZGO at 209.1% annualized. All three sit deep in the extreme tier (above 50%).
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard categorizes annualized borrow fees as normal (under 2%), elevated (2-10%), hard-to-borrow (10-50%), and extreme (above 50%). Anything at or above 10% is generally considered expensive to maintain on the short side.
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 rates, not real-time intraday quotes, and they may differ from rates at other brokers.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee: IBKR Stock Loan Availability data, updated daily each evening, covering the full market-wide universe. Rebate rate: IBKR Securities Lending data, where available; a negative rebate represents an additional cost to the borrower. 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.