Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: October 19, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
EZGO carries the highest borrow fee at 138.5% annualized as of October 19, 2026, with 11 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier across today's market-wide ranking.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on October 19, 2026, EZGO carries the highest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 138.5% annualized. TOPS follows at rank two with a 92.9% annualized fee, and ZEO ranks third at 38.8% annualized.
Lede. The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is EZGO at 138.5% annualized as of October 19, 2026. Fees on today's list span 1.5% to 138.5% annualized; the median is 6.7%. Ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names rather than conventional squeeze setups. The annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to borrow shares, and a high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool rather than a guaranteed short squeeze setup.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EZGO | 138.5% | −134.7% |
| 2 | TOPS | 92.9% | −89.0% |
| 3 | ZEO | 38.8% | −34.9% |
| 4 | PARA | 37.0% | −33.1% |
| 5 | WKHS | 26.1% | −22.3% |
| 6 | BYND | 25.4% | −21.6% |
| 7 | FNGR | 24.6% | −20.7% |
| 8 | SES | 21.8% | −18.0% |
| 9 | GRRR | 14.3% | −10.4% |
| 10 | ATER | 13.9% | −10.0% |
| 11 | OPAD | 13.1% | −9.2% |
| 12 | EVTL | 8.8% | −4.9% |
| 13 | CRMT | 6.7% | −2.8% |
| 14 | AISP | 5.1% | −1.2% |
| 15 | ACB | 4.0% | −0.1% |
| 16 | CHPT | 3.9% | 0.0% |
| 17 | OCGN | 3.6% | 0.3% |
| 18 | USAR | 3.3% | 0.6% |
| 19 | RUM | 3.1% | 0.8% |
| 20 | HIVE | 3.0% | 0.9% |
| 21 | UUUU | 2.9% | 1.0% |
| 22 | INO | 2.6% | 1.3% |
| 23 | CSIQ | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| 24 | BARK | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| 25 | OPAL | 1.5% | 2.4% |
*Source: securities-lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, October 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 October 19, 2026, 11 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier. The top five names—EZGO, TOPS, ZEO, PARA, and WKHS—all sit above 25% annualized, putting them in the extreme band where locating shares to borrow can be difficult or costly.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the cost a short seller pays to borrow shares through the stock-loan market. A high fee reflects scarcity in the lendable pool, not necessarily bullish momentum. 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; many of the highest-fee names carry weak fundamentals rather than a genuine squeeze setup. Borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, which also factors in short interest, price momentum, and volume. For the full scoring model, see the methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of October 19, 2026, EZGO leads at 138.5% annualized, followed by TOPS at 92.9% and ZEO at 38.8%. These three names sit in Tapeboard's extreme fee tier, above 50% annualized.
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%). On October 19, 2026, 11 names fell into the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
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, not real-time intraday, and may differ from rates at other brokers.
Data and Methodology
Borrow fee figures come from broker-dealer stock-loan data, updated daily each evening across the market-wide universe. Rebate rates come from securities-lending data where available. See the Short Squeeze Score ranking, the full daily archive, or the hard-to-borrow leaderboard for the live pillar.
What Changed vs the Previous Record
EZGO enters the top 5 at rank 1 (138.5473% annualized)—new to the leader board. TOPS enters the top 5 at rank 2 (92.8862% annualized)—new to the leader board. ZEO enters the top 5 at rank 3 (38.8199% annualized)—new to the leader board. PARA enters the top 5 at rank 4 (37.0137% annualized)—new to the leader board. WKHS enters the top 5 at rank 5 (26.1449% annualized)—new to the leader board. BIAF drops out of the top 5 (was rank 1, 346.1% annualized).
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.