Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 26, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
JZ tops Tapeboard's market-wide hard-to-borrow ranking at an 815.9% annualized borrow fee as of August 26, 2026, with 14 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 26, 2026, JZ carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 815.9% annualized. The next two names are RGC at 258.9% and EZGO at 209.1% annualized, also as of August 26, 2026.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is JZ at 815.9% annualized as of August 26, 2026. Fees on today's list span 1.6% to 815.9% annualized; the median is 12.8%. Before reading too much into any single number, it is worth stating plainly what a triple-digit borrow fee usually means in a market-wide dataset: rates in that range typically flag distressed issuers, very-low-float stocks, recent IPOs, or post-reverse-split names where shares are nearly impossible to locate in the lending pool — not conventional short squeeze setups. Scarcity of borrowable shares is a cost-to-short signal, not a directional call, and the composite squeeze score — which also weighs short interest, price momentum, and volume — is the right tool for evaluating squeeze potential.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JZ | 815.9% | −812.3% |
| 2 | RGC | 258.9% | −255.2% |
| 3 | EZGO | 209.1% | −205.4% |
| 4 | GCTK | 195.0% | −191.4% |
| 5 | BIAF | 119.6% | −116.0% |
| 6 | GOVX | 105.1% | −101.4% |
| 7 | DRMA | 97.0% | −93.3% |
| 8 | XPON | 96.4% | −92.7% |
| 9 | CDIO | 68.3% | −64.7% |
| 10 | GRRR | 34.4% | −30.8% |
| 11 | KITT | 24.9% | −21.3% |
| 12 | ZVSA | 16.2% | −12.6% |
| 13 | AERT | 12.8% | −9.2% |
| 14 | LCID | 11.1% | −7.5% |
| 15 | VVOS | 10.0% | −6.3% |
| 16 | CGC | 9.7% | −6.1% |
| 17 | FNGR | 7.1% | −3.4% |
| 18 | ALPP | 7.0% | −3.3% |
| 19 | SOS | 5.0% | −1.4% |
| 20 | CHPT | 4.7% | −1.1% |
| 21 | RUM | 4.2% | −0.5% |
| 22 | SYRA | 3.3% | 0.4% |
| 23 | OCGN | 2.5% | 1.1% |
| 24 | ARCT | 1.6% | 2.0% |
| 25 | EVTL | 1.6% | 2.0% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 26, 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 26, 2026, 14 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. The top of the table is heavily concentrated in the extreme band: nine names — JZ, RGC, EZGO, GCTK, BIAF, GOVX, DRMA, XPON, and CDIO — carry annualized fees above 50% as of August 26, 2026. At the other end, only two names on the list (ARCT and EVTL) sit in the normal tier, and the rest of the bottom half falls in the elevated band, including familiar large-float names like LCID at 11.1% and CGC at 9.7% annualized as of August 26, 2026.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to maintain a bearish position, quoted as a yearly percentage of the position's value. A high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool: when few shares are available to borrow and demand to short is persistent, the fee rises until the market clears. It does not, by itself, predict a squeeze. Names with triple-digit fees are often distressed companies, very-low-float stocks, post-reverse-split issues, 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 rather than treated as a standalone signal; see the methodology for how the factors combine. For traders who review their short-side entries and exits after the fact, journaling borrow costs alongside fills — the way tools like TradeZella frame post-trade review — makes the drag from high fees visible in the P&L rather than hidden in it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of August 26, 2026, the three highest borrow fees in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking are JZ at 815.9%, RGC at 258.9%, and EZGO at 209.1% annualized. GCTK (195.0%) and BIAF (119.6%) round out the top five.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard classifies annualized borrow fees as normal (under 2%), elevated (2-10%), hard-to-borrow (10-50%), and extreme (above 50%). Anything in the hard-to-borrow tier or higher represents a meaningful carrying cost for short sellers; extreme-tier fees can make holding a short position uneconomical within weeks.
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 snapshots, not real-time intraday rates, and they may differ from the rates quoted by other brokers, since each broker's lendable pool and locate availability is different.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee: IBKR Stock Loan Availability data, updated daily each evening, covering the full market-wide universe of IBKR-tracked securities. Rebate rate: IBKR Securities Lending data, where available; a negative rebate means the borrower pays an additional cost on top of the quoted fee. 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.