Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 31, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
ATPC carries the costliest borrow fee on August 31, 2026 at 663.6% annualized, with 19 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 31, 2026, ATPC carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 663.6% annualized. The next costliest names are JZ at 546.9% and XPON at 530.6% annualized.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is ATPC at 663.6% annualized as of August 31, 2026. Fees on today's list span 6.4% to 663.6% annualized; the median is 27.6%. Context matters here: a triple-digit borrow fee usually flags a distressed, very-low-float, or post-reverse-split stock where shares are nearly impossible to locate — not a conventional short squeeze setup. A high fee tells you shorting is expensive; it does not tell you a squeeze is likely.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ATPC | 663.6% | −660.0% |
| 2 | JZ | 546.9% | −543.3% |
| 3 | XPON | 530.6% | −527.0% |
| 4 | RGC | 236.8% | −233.2% |
| 5 | EZGO | 209.1% | −205.4% |
| 6 | INM | 161.0% | −157.4% |
| 7 | FNGR | 110.7% | −107.0% |
| 8 | SHOT | 87.5% | −83.8% |
| 9 | SOAR | 50.7% | −47.0% |
| 10 | CDIO | 39.6% | −35.9% |
| 11 | PARA | 29.6% | −26.0% |
| 12 | WKHS | 29.5% | −25.8% |
| 13 | EBET | 27.6% | −24.0% |
| 14 | VVOS | 25.4% | −21.8% |
| 15 | GRRR | 24.8% | −21.2% |
| 16 | KITT | 21.9% | −18.3% |
| 17 | BBIG | 21.5% | −17.9% |
| 18 | DUO | 19.8% | −16.2% |
| 19 | AERT | 12.6% | −9.0% |
| 20 | CGC | 9.4% | −5.7% |
| 21 | CYDY | 9.0% | −5.3% |
| 22 | ACON | 8.9% | −5.3% |
| 23 | ALPP | 7.0% | −3.3% |
| 24 | SPWR | 6.8% | −3.1% |
| 25 | RVPH | 6.4% | −2.8% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 31, 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 31, 2026, 19 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. The extreme tier is dominated by the top of the table: ATPC, JZ, XPON, RGC, EZGO, INM, FNGR, SHOT, and SOAR all carry fees above 50% annualized as of August 31, 2026. Names in this tier — particularly the triple-digit group — are frequently distressed issuers, very-low-float stocks, or post-reverse-split names where lendable shares barely exist. The elevated tier rounds out the list with CGC, CYDY, ACON, ALPP, SPWR, and RVPH, all between 6.4% and 9.4% as of August 31, 2026.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to maintain a short 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, lenders charge more. Critically, a high fee 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. That is why the borrow fee is weighted at 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, alongside factors like 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 31, 2026, the three costliest stocks to borrow are ATPC at 663.6% annualized, JZ at 546.9%, and XPON at 530.6%. All three sit deep in Tapeboard's extreme tier (above 50%).
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 or extreme tier represents a meaningful cost burden for maintaining a short position.
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 figures, and they may differ from rates quoted by other brokers.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee data comes from IBKR's Stock Loan Availability feed, updated daily each evening on a market-wide basis. Rebate rates come 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.