Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: September 25, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
INLF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 313.3% annualized as of September 25, 2026, with 5 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on September 25, 2026, INLF carries the highest IBKR borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 313.3% annualized. SUGP is second at 114.3% and CTNT is third at 72.2%.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is INLF at 313.3% annualized as of September 25, 2026. Fees on today's list span 0.3% to 313.3% annualized; the median is 3.5%. Today's borrow fee ranking covers the full IBKR-tracked securities universe, not just squeeze candidates — and that matters for interpretation. Ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names rather than conventional short squeeze setups: think very-low-float stocks, recent IPOs, or post-reverse-split names where shares are almost impossible to source in the lending pool.
Behind INLF, SUGP sits at 114.3% annualized as of September 25, 2026, followed by CTNT at 72.2% and ONCO at 70.6%. A fifth name, APUS, clears the 10% threshold at 37.4%. From there, fees fall off sharply — AIFF at 8.4% is the only other name above 2% — and the bottom of the list is populated by large, liquid names like MSFT at 0.3%, where borrow is essentially free and rebates are positive.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | INLF | 313.3% | −309.4% |
| 2 | SUGP | 114.3% | −110.4% |
| 3 | CTNT | 72.2% | −68.4% |
| 4 | ONCO | 70.6% | −66.8% |
| 5 | APUS | 37.4% | −33.5% |
| 6 | AIFF | 8.4% | −4.5% |
| 7 | ONDS | 3.5% | 0.3% |
| 8 | MGLD | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| 9 | FTHM | 0.7% | 3.2% |
| 10 | HBAN | 0.4% | 3.5% |
| 11 | SMCI | 0.4% | 3.5% |
| 12 | AKAM | 0.4% | 3.5% |
| 13 | AAL | 0.3% | 3.6% |
| 14 | MSFT | 0.3% | 3.6% |
*Source: IBKR Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, September 25, 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 25, 2026, 5 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
Breaking that down: INLF, SUGP, CTNT, and ONCO sit in the extreme tier above 50%, while APUS lands in the hard-to-borrow band at 37.4%. AIFF at 8.4% is the lone elevated name, and the remaining eight names on the list carry normal-tier fees under 2%.
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, the price of borrowing them 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. Evaluating whether a squeeze is genuinely likely requires looking at short interest, price momentum, volume, and other factors together. That is why the borrow fee is weighted at 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score rather than treated as a standalone signal — see the methodology for the full breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of September 25, 2026, the three highest borrow fees in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking are INLF at 313.3% annualized, SUGP at 114.3%, and CTNT at 72.2%. ONCO (70.6%) and APUS (37.4%) round out the top five.
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 in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tiers represents a meaningful cost to hold a short position 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.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee data comes from IBKR Stock Loan Availability, updated daily each evening on a market-wide basis. Rebate rates are drawn from IBKR Securities Lending data where available; a negative rebate represents an additional cost to the borrower 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.