Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: August 19, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
GCTK leads today's market-wide hard-to-borrow ranking at 295.8% annualized as of August 19, 2026, with 18 names falling in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on August 19, 2026, GCTK carries the highest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 295.8% annualized. RGC follows at 241.1%, and EZGO ranks third at 206.2%.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is GCTK at 295.8% annualized as of August 19, 2026. Fees on today's list span 4.5% to 295.8% annualized; the median is 17.9%. Ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names rather than conventional short squeeze setups, and today's top tier is no exception — several of these tickers have recently undergone reverse splits or trade with extremely low floats.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GCTK | 295.8% | −292.1% |
| 2 | RGC | 241.1% | −237.5% |
| 3 | EZGO | 206.2% | −202.5% |
| 4 | INM | 178.3% | −174.7% |
| 5 | GOVX | 128.8% | −125.2% |
| 6 | JZ | 118.5% | −114.9% |
| 7 | DRMA | 113.0% | −109.4% |
| 8 | PHIO | 40.1% | −36.5% |
| 9 | PARA | 34.5% | −30.9% |
| 10 | EBET | 27.2% | −23.6% |
| 11 | BBIG | 22.6% | −19.0% |
| 12 | NVNI | 19.4% | −15.7% |
| 13 | LCID | 17.9% | −14.3% |
| 14 | OPAD | 14.2% | −10.6% |
| 15 | MEGL | 11.9% | −8.3% |
| 16 | CGC | 11.0% | −7.4% |
| 17 | NRDY | 10.6% | −6.9% |
| 18 | DRTS | 10.4% | −6.8% |
| 19 | GETY | 9.9% | −6.3% |
| 20 | AISP | 7.6% | −3.9% |
| 21 | SPWR | 7.3% | −3.7% |
| 22 | ALPP | 7.0% | −3.3% |
| 23 | RUM | 5.8% | −2.1% |
| 24 | SOS | 5.1% | −1.4% |
| 25 | CHPT | 4.5% | −0.9% |
*Source: Securities Lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, August 19, 2026 10:50 PM ET. Market-wide ranking across all 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 19, 2026, 18 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. That concentration at the top is notable: seven names carry triple-digit fees, each indicating severe scarcity in the securities-lending pool. The remaining 11 names in the 10-50% band are more typical of what traders see when shares are tight but still locatable with effort.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays; a high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool; 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. While a rising borrow fee can indicate that short interest is building or that lenders are demanding more compensation for risk, the fee alone does not tell you whether a stock is poised to move higher. Borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, which also incorporates the methodology factors like price momentum, volume trends, and short interest positioning to separate true squeeze setups from merely expensive-to-borrow names.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of August 19, 2026, GCTK leads the market-wide ranking at 295.8% annualized, followed by RGC at 241.1% and EZGO at 206.2%. All three sit in the extreme tier, indicating that locating shares for short sale is exceptionally difficult and expensive.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines a borrow fee as elevated when it reaches 2-10%, hard-to-borrow when it falls in the 10-50% range, and extreme when it exceeds 50%. On today's list, 18 names qualify as hard-to-borrow or extreme, with the top seven all above the 100% threshold.
Where do these borrow rates come from?
Tapeboard compiles Securities Lending borrow fees daily and refreshes them each evening across the full market universe. These rates reflect the annualized cost to borrow shares as reported in stock-loan availability data; they are daily snapshots, not real-time intraday rates, and may differ from rates quoted at other brokers.
Data and Methodology
- Borrow fee: broker-dealer stock-loan data, updated daily each evening, market-wide.
- Rebate rate: Securities Lending data, where available; negative values indicate the borrower pays an additional cost beyond the standard 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 the daily stock-loan 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.