Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 2, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
BIAF carries the costliest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 689.6% annualized as of September 2, 2026, with 18 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on September 2, 2026, BIAF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 689.6% annualized. The #2 and #3 costliest names are ATPC at 651.3% and NCPL at 640.2% annualized.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is BIAF at 689.6% annualized as of September 2, 2026. Fees on today's list span 2.6% to 689.6% annualized; the median is 23.4%. The borrow fee is the annualized cost a short seller pays to maintain a borrow, and triple-digit readings like the top three names on today's list typically flag distressed, very-low-float, or nearly un-locatable stocks 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 | BIAF | 689.6% | −686.0% |
| 2 | ATPC | 651.3% | −647.7% |
| 3 | NCPL | 640.2% | −636.6% |
| 4 | XPON | 420.7% | −417.1% |
| 5 | RGC | 231.3% | −227.7% |
| 6 | GCTK | 213.1% | −209.5% |
| 7 | INM | 164.3% | −160.7% |
| 8 | FNGR | 144.7% | −141.1% |
| 9 | VVOS | 99.5% | −95.9% |
| 10 | NXTC | 84.7% | −81.1% |
| 11 | WKHS | 28.4% | −24.8% |
| 12 | EBET | 27.6% | −24.0% |
| 13 | KITT | 23.4% | −19.8% |
| 14 | BBIG | 21.6% | −18.0% |
| 15 | LXEH | 12.1% | −8.4% |
| 16 | NVNI | 11.4% | −7.8% |
| 17 | NRDY | 10.3% | −6.7% |
| 18 | BIRD | 10.3% | −6.6% |
| 19 | CYDY | 8.4% | −4.8% |
| 20 | LCID | 6.4% | −2.8% |
| 21 | ALPP | 6.2% | −2.5% |
| 22 | CRMT | 3.3% | 0.3% |
| 23 | CTRM | 3.3% | 0.3% |
| 24 | ZEO | 2.9% | 0.7% |
| 25 | SVRA | 2.6% | 1.1% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, September 2, 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 September 2, 2026, 18 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
The top of the table is dominated by extreme-tier readings: ATPC at 651.3% and NCPL at 640.2% annualized as of September 2, 2026, followed by XPON at 420.7% and RGC at 231.3%. Rates in this range usually reflect names where shares are nearly impossible to locate in the lending pool — very-low-float stocks, post-reverse-split names, or recent IPOs — rather than heavily shorted large caps. Further down the list, familiar retail names like WKHS at 28.4% and BBIG at 21.6% sit in the hard-to-borrow band, while LCID at 6.4% and CYDY at 8.4% remain merely elevated as of September 2, 2026.
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 pool: when few shares are available to borrow, the price of borrowing rises. 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 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, alongside short interest, price momentum, and volume, per the methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of September 2, 2026, the three costliest names in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking are BIAF at 689.6%, ATPC at 651.3%, and NCPL at 640.2% annualized. All three sit deep in the extreme tier above 50%.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard's tiers classify fees under 2% as normal, 2-10% as elevated, 10-50% as hard-to-borrow, and above 50% as extreme. Anything in the hard-to-borrow band or higher represents a meaningful carrying cost for short sellers.
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 at other brokers.
Data and Methodology
The annualized borrow fee comes from IBKR Stock Loan Availability data, updated daily each evening across the full market-wide universe of IBKR-tracked securities. The rebate rate is drawn from 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.