Highest Borrow-Fee Stocks Today: October 23, 2026 — Hard-to-Borrow Rates
JZ carries the highest borrow fee at 759.7% annualized on October 23, 2026, with 14 names in the hard-to-borrow or extreme tier.
TL;DR: As of 10:50 PM ET on October 23, 2026, JZ carries the highest borrow fee in Tapeboard's market-wide ranking at 759.7% annualized. EZGO ranks second at 154.7%, followed by CETX at 36.0%.
The costliest name to borrow on a market-wide basis is JZ at 759.7% annualized as of October 23, 2026. Fees on today's list span 2.6% to 759.7% annualized; the median is 13%. 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 | 759.7% | −755.8% |
| 2 | EZGO | 154.7% | −150.8% |
| 3 | CETX | 36.0% | −32.1% |
| 4 | PARA | 29.4% | −25.5% |
| 5 | WKHS | 28.6% | −24.7% |
| 6 | BYND | 26.4% | −22.5% |
| 7 | FNGR | 23.5% | −19.6% |
| 8 | VVOS | 19.8% | −15.9% |
| 9 | SES | 19.5% | −15.7% |
| 10 | GRRR | 19.4% | −15.5% |
| 11 | ZEO | 18.6% | −14.7% |
| 12 | OPTT | 17.1% | −13.3% |
| 13 | OPAD | 13.0% | −9.1% |
| 14 | ATER | 12.7% | −8.8% |
| 15 | BIRD | 9.2% | −5.3% |
| 16 | SPWR | 6.1% | −2.2% |
| 17 | EVTL | 5.4% | −1.6% |
| 18 | OCGN | 5.0% | −1.1% |
| 19 | CRMT | 4.9% | −1.1% |
| 20 | AISP | 4.2% | −0.3% |
| 21 | CHPT | 3.6% | 0.2% |
| 22 | HIVE | 3.0% | 0.9% |
| 23 | RUM | 2.9% | 1.0% |
| 24 | FUBO | 2.7% | 1.1% |
| 25 | INO | 2.6% | 1.3% |
*Source: securities-lending rates as compiled by Tapeboard, October 23, 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 23, 2026, 14 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, and 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. Borrow fee is weighted 25% in Tapeboard's composite squeeze score. Short interest and price momentum also feed into the score, which is the appropriate tool for identifying genuine short squeeze candidates. Read more about the methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stocks have the highest borrow fees today?
JZ leads at 759.7% annualized as of October 23, 2026, followed by EZGO at 154.7% and CETX at 36.0%.
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%). Fees at or above 10% fall 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 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
JZ enters the top 5 at rank 1 (759.7197% annualized), new to the leaderboard. CETX enters the top 5 at rank 3 (35.9819% annualized), new to the leaderboard. PARA enters the top 5 at rank 4 (29.3793% annualized), new to the leaderboard. WKHS enters the top 5 at rank 5 (28.565% annualized), new to the leaderboard. PFSA drops out of the top 5 (was rank 2, 102.8% annualized). TOPS drops out of the top 5 (was rank 3, 88.4% 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.