Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 3, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
BIAF carries the costliest borrow fee on the market at 689.6% annualized as of September 3, 2026, with 19 names sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on September 3, 2026, BIAF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 689.6% annualized. The next two most expensive names to borrow are ATPC at 653.5% annualized and JZ at 576.9% annualized, as of September 3, 2026.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is BIAF at 689.6% annualized as of September 3, 2026. Fees on today's list span 5.8% to 689.6% annualized; the median is 29.8%. Context matters here: a triple-digit borrow fee typically flags a distressed issuer, a very-low-float stock, or a post-reverse-split name where shares are nearly impossible to locate in the lending pool — not a conventional short squeeze setup. Behind BIAF, ATPC sits at 653.5% and JZ at 576.9% annualized as of September 3, 2026, both deep in the extreme tier where the cost of maintaining a short position compounds brutally fast.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIAF | 689.6% | −686.0% |
| 2 | ATPC | 653.5% | −649.9% |
| 3 | JZ | 576.9% | −573.2% |
| 4 | XPON | 340.2% | −336.6% |
| 5 | RGC | 237.8% | −234.2% |
| 6 | GCTK | 224.5% | −220.9% |
| 7 | EZGO | 209.1% | −205.4% |
| 8 | INM | 164.9% | −161.2% |
| 9 | VVOS | 130.9% | −127.2% |
| 10 | FNGR | 107.6% | −104.0% |
| 11 | NXTC | 92.2% | −88.6% |
| 12 | RITR | 50.2% | −46.6% |
| 13 | PARA | 29.8% | −26.1% |
| 14 | EBET | 27.6% | −24.0% |
| 15 | WKHS | 27.5% | −23.9% |
| 16 | GRRR | 26.9% | −23.2% |
| 17 | BBIG | 21.5% | −17.9% |
| 18 | OPAD | 17.1% | −13.5% |
| 19 | ZVSA | 15.6% | −12.0% |
| 20 | RCEL | 9.1% | −5.4% |
| 21 | DRTS | 8.3% | −4.7% |
| 22 | CYDY | 8.1% | −4.5% |
| 23 | TPST | 7.1% | −3.5% |
| 24 | AISP | 5.9% | −2.3% |
| 25 | SPWR | 5.8% | −2.2% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, September 3, 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 3, 2026, 19 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. Twelve of those — from BIAF at 689.6% down through RITR at 50.2% annualized as of September 3, 2026 — sit in the extreme band alone, an unusually crowded top of the table. The remaining six names on the list, from RCEL at 9.1% down to SPWR at 5.8% annualized as of September 3, 2026, fall in the elevated tier.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to maintain a bearish position. A high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool: when few shares are available to borrow, lenders can charge more. Critically, a high fee does not by itself predict a squeeze. Names carrying 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 borrow fee is weighted at 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score rather than treated as a standalone signal; the score also incorporates 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 September 3, 2026, the three most expensive stocks to borrow in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking are BIAF at 689.6% annualized, ATPC at 653.5% annualized, and JZ at 576.9% annualized. All three sit deep in the extreme tier, where carrying a short position costs several times the position's notional value per year.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines four tiers: normal (under 2%), elevated (2-10%), hard-to-borrow (10-50%), and extreme (above 50%) annualized. Anything in the hard-to-borrow tier or above represents a meaningful carrying cost that can erode or overwhelm a short thesis over time.
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 whose lending pools and locate availability differ.
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 indicates the borrower pays additional cost on top of the 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.