Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 4, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
BIAF is the costliest stock to borrow at 689.6% annualized as of September 4, 2026, with 17 names on today's market-wide list sitting in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on September 4, 2026, BIAF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 689.6% annualized. ATPC ranks #2 at 642.2% annualized, and JZ ranks #3 at 606.1% annualized, both as of September 4, 2026.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is BIAF at 689.6% annualized as of September 4, 2026. Fees on today's list span 2.5% to 689.6% annualized; the median is 27.6%. This ranking covers the full IBKR securities-lending universe, so ultra-high borrow fee rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names — very-low-float, post-reverse-split, or recently listed stocks — rather than conventional short squeeze setups.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIAF | 689.6% | −686.0% |
| 2 | ATPC | 642.2% | −638.6% |
| 3 | JZ | 606.1% | −602.4% |
| 4 | NCPL | 476.6% | −473.0% |
| 5 | RGC | 236.8% | −233.2% |
| 6 | GCTK | 231.2% | −227.6% |
| 7 | EZGO | 209.1% | −205.4% |
| 8 | INM | 161.0% | −157.4% |
| 9 | GOVX | 103.4% | −99.8% |
| 10 | VVOS | 87.4% | −83.8% |
| 11 | CDIO | 68.3% | −64.7% |
| 12 | SOAR | 31.1% | −27.4% |
| 13 | EBET | 27.6% | −24.0% |
| 14 | GRRR | 24.2% | −20.5% |
| 15 | BBIG | 21.5% | −17.9% |
| 16 | ZVSA | 15.6% | −12.0% |
| 17 | ACON | 10.2% | −6.6% |
| 18 | CYDY | 8.5% | −4.9% |
| 19 | LCID | 6.0% | −2.4% |
| 20 | ALPP | 6.0% | −2.4% |
| 21 | SPWR | 6.0% | −2.3% |
| 22 | SOS | 4.9% | −1.3% |
| 23 | CRMT | 3.1% | 0.5% |
| 24 | SVRA | 2.8% | 0.8% |
| 25 | FUBO | 2.5% | 1.2% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, September 4, 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 4, 2026, 17 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. Eleven of those sit in the extreme band above 50%, led by BIAF at 689.6% as of September 4, 2026 — a level that typically reflects shares that are nearly impossible to locate in the lending pool.
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 charge more. It 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. Several of today's top names fit that profile: micro-cap and post-reverse-split issuers dominate the upper ranks, and elevated fees there say more about fragile capital structures than about crowded bearish positioning.
That is why borrow fee is weighted at 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, alongside factors like short interest, price momentum, and volume. Traders reviewing their short-side entries in a journal — whether in TraderVue or any other tool — should treat the fee as a carrying cost first and a signal second. See the methodology for the full weighting breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of September 4, 2026, BIAF leads at 689.6% annualized, followed by ATPC at 642.2% and JZ at 606.1%. 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 meaningfully expensive to hold short on an ongoing basis.
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. Rates are daily, not real-time intraday, and may differ from rates quoted by other brokers.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee: IBKR Stock Loan Availability data, updated daily each evening, market-wide across all 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 fee. See the full squeeze candidates 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.