Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: October 7, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
JZ carries the highest borrow fee in the market-wide ranking at 529.1% annualized as of October 7, 2026, with 13 names landing in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on October 7, 2026, JZ carries the highest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 529.1% annualized. The next most expensive names to borrow are TOPS at 197.8% and PARA at 57.7% annualized.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is JZ at 529.1% annualized as of October 7, 2026. Fees on today's list span 2.7% to 529.1% annualized; the median is 11.5%. Honest context matters here: ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed, very-low-float, or nearly un-locatable names rather than conventional short squeeze setups. A steep borrow fee means shares are scarce in the lending pool, which raises the cost of being short, but scarcity alone is not a squeeze signal.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JZ | 529.1% | −525.2% |
| 2 | TOPS | 197.8% | −193.9% |
| 3 | PARA | 57.7% | −53.8% |
| 4 | SES | 44.7% | −40.8% |
| 5 | CETX | 43.3% | −39.5% |
| 6 | WKHS | 31.8% | −27.9% |
| 7 | BYND | 26.1% | −22.2% |
| 8 | BBIG | 21.5% | −17.6% |
| 9 | GRRR | 15.5% | −11.6% |
| 10 | VVOS | 15.5% | −11.6% |
| 11 | ATER | 14.3% | −10.4% |
| 12 | BIRD | 13.0% | −9.1% |
| 13 | OPAD | 11.5% | −7.6% |
| 14 | LCID | 6.3% | −2.4% |
| 15 | SPWR | 6.1% | −2.2% |
| 16 | AISP | 5.6% | −1.7% |
| 17 | EVTL | 4.0% | −0.1% |
| 18 | CRMT | 3.9% | −0.0% |
| 19 | ACB | 3.8% | 0.1% |
| 20 | CHPT | 3.7% | 0.2% |
| 21 | RCEL | 3.5% | 0.4% |
| 22 | IMPP | 3.4% | 0.4% |
| 23 | RUM | 3.4% | 0.5% |
| 24 | HIVE | 2.7% | 1.1% |
| 25 | INO | 2.7% | 1.1% |
*Source: securities-lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, October 7, 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 October 7, 2026, 13 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. Three of those sit in the extreme band as of October 7, 2026: JZ, TOPS, and PARA. Names like TOPS, with a long history of reverse splits, illustrate why extreme fees so often reflect structural scarcity rather than bullish positioning.
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 of shares. It does not by itself predict a squeeze. Names carrying triple-digit fees are often distressed companies, very-low-float stocks, post-reverse-split issues, or recent IPOs 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 at 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, which also factors in 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 October 7, 2026, the three most expensive stocks to borrow are JZ at 529.1%, TOPS at 197.8%, and PARA at 57.7% annualized. All three sit in Tapeboard's extreme tier, above 50%.
What is considered a high stock borrow fee?
Tapeboard defines annualized borrow fees under 2% as normal, 2-10% as elevated, 10-50% as hard-to-borrow, and anything above 50% as extreme. Anything in the hard-to-borrow band or higher meaningfully raises the carrying cost of a short position.
Where do these borrow rates come from?
Tapeboard compiles stock-loan borrow fees daily and refreshes them each evening across the full market universe. Rates are daily snapshots, not real-time intraday figures, and may differ from rates quoted by other brokers.
Data and Methodology
The borrow fee is broker-dealer stock-loan data, updated daily each evening on a market-wide basis. The rebate rate is securities-lending data, shown where available; a negative rebate means the borrower pays additional cost. See the 7-factor composite squeeze ranking, the full daily archive, or the hard-to-borrow leaderboard for the live pillar.
What Changed vs the Previous Record
TOPS borrow fee moved from 373.5% to 197.8% annualized since the previous record, a decline of roughly 176 percentage points, though it remains the second-costliest borrow in the market-wide ranking as of October 7, 2026.
This record is for educational and informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Borrow fees reflect securities-lending conditions reported in daily securities-lending 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.