Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: October 21, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
JZ carries the highest borrow fee at 731.3% annualized on October 21, 2026, with 13 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on October 21, 2026, JZ carries the highest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 731.3% annualized. TOPS ranks second at 104.9% annualized, followed by SHFS at 83.7% annualized.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is JZ at 731.3% annualized as of October 21, 2026. Fees on today's list span 1.5% to 731.3% annualized; the median is 12.9%. Ultra-high rates in the triple-digit range typically flag distressed or nearly un-locatable names rather than conventional squeeze setups. A borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to borrow shares.
Today's Hard-to-Borrow Rate Table
| Rank | Symbol | Annualized Borrow Fee | Rebate Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JZ | 731.3% | −727.4% |
| 2 | TOPS | 104.9% | −101.0% |
| 3 | SHFS | 83.7% | −79.8% |
| 4 | SDEV | 49.5% | −45.6% |
| 5 | CETX | 35.3% | −31.4% |
| 6 | WKHS | 29.5% | −25.6% |
| 7 | FNGR | 27.2% | −23.3% |
| 8 | BYND | 24.3% | −20.4% |
| 9 | SES | 20.3% | −16.4% |
| 10 | OPTT | 19.2% | −15.3% |
| 11 | GRRR | 17.4% | −13.5% |
| 12 | ATER | 13.1% | −9.2% |
| 13 | OPAD | 12.9% | −9.1% |
| 14 | BIRD | 9.2% | −5.3% |
| 15 | EVTL | 7.6% | −3.7% |
| 16 | CRMT | 5.2% | −1.3% |
| 17 | ACB | 4.3% | −0.4% |
| 18 | HIVE | 2.8% | 1.1% |
| 19 | EH | 2.6% | 1.3% |
| 20 | INO | 2.4% | 1.5% |
| 21 | USAR | 2.4% | 1.5% |
| 22 | RCEL | 1.8% | 2.1% |
| 23 | XRX | 1.7% | 2.2% |
| 24 | CSIQ | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| 25 | OPAL | 1.5% | 2.4% |
*Source: securities-lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, October 21, 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 21, 2026, 13 names on today's market-wide list fell in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
What a High Borrow Fee Signals
An annualized borrow fee is the stock-loan cost a short seller pays to borrow shares from the lending pool. A high fee reflects scarcity of lendable shares, meaning the stock is difficult to locate for shorting. 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. Borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score, which also factors in short interest, price momentum, and volume. For more on how these inputs combine, see the methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
As of October 21, 2026, JZ leads the market-wide ranking at 731.3% annualized, followed by TOPS at 104.9% annualized and SHFS at 83.7% 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%).
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 data comes from broker-dealer stock-loan data, updated daily each evening across the market-wide universe. Rebate rate data comes 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
SHFS enters the top 5 at rank 3 with an annualized borrow fee of 83.6713%. SDEV enters the top 5 at rank 4 with an annualized borrow fee of 49.4814%. CETX enters the top 5 at rank 5 with an annualized borrow fee of 35.2877%. JZ's borrow fee moved from 786.9% to 731.2898% annualized since the previous record. EZGO drops out of the top 5, having previously ranked second at 172.5% annualized. PARA drops out of the top 5, having previously ranked fourth at 32.8% 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.