What is short interest, and how is it reported?
Short interest is the number of a company's shares that have been sold short and not yet bought back, counted on a settlement date. Under FINRA Rule 4560, brokers report their short positions in every stock twice a month, by 6 p.m. Eastern on the second business day after each settlement date, and FINRA publishes the totals about seven business days after the settlement date.
Who reports
FINRA member firms, for their customers' accounts and their own
How often
Twice a month: a mid-month and a month-end settlement date
When it is due
6 p.m. Eastern, second business day after settlement
Days to cover
Shares short divided by average daily volume
Biggest changes at the newest settlement, to 30 Sep 2026
| Settlement | Ticker | Shares short | Change | Days to cover | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep 2026 | RY | 6,095,117 | +140.9% | 5.64 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | MDT | 39,974,230 | +132.0% | 2.72 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | NWG | 2,228,659 | +84.5% | 1 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | LYG | 16,730,546 | +81.6% | 1.08 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | HMC | 3,380,686 | +70.5% | 3.67 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | NTR | 12,813,233 | +69.4% | 4.79 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | TRP | 56,768,076 | +64.0% | 14.19 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | HTO | 2,012,314 | -61.0% | 3.88 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | NMR | 1,742,567 | +59.6% | 2.62 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | JBHT | 3,227,884 | +58.5% | 2.1 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | AAMI | 1,693,662 | +58.0% | 3.79 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | AMSF | 484,637 | -56.7% | 1 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | MFC | 12,021,942 | +55.8% | 8.39 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | NOK | 86,495,412 | +55.8% | 1 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | SONO | 14,464,055 | +55.4% | 6 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | ROL | 27,371,805 | +50.2% | 2.81 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | EGP | 4,349,056 | +46.0% | 6.33 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | MSCI | 1,940,637 | +45.3% | 3.12 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | VRRM | 7,961,941 | -44.4% | 1 | Open ↗ |
| 30 Sep 2026 | HUBS | 4,583,508 | +44.2% | 2.03 | Open ↗ |
The whole dataset: Short interest for US stocks
How to read it
The raw number of shares short means little alone, so it is compared with how much the stock trades. Days to cover divides the shares short by the average daily volume: at 5, it would take five days of normal trading for short sellers to buy every share back. A sharp rise between two settlements shows more investors betting against the stock, and a fall shows them closing those bets.
Why it lags
Each figure is a count on the settlement date, and it is published about seven business days later, so by the time you read it the position is already some days old. The schedule is on the FINRA reporting dates page.
Questions
Short interest: common questions
How often is short interest reported?
Twice a month, for a mid-month settlement date and the last business day of the month.
When is short interest published?
FINRA publishes it about seven business days after each settlement date. In 2026 the figures for 15 October were published on 26 October, and those for 30 October come out on 10 November.
What does a high days to cover mean?
The higher the number, the more days of normal trading short sellers would need to buy their shares back. If many of them rush to cover at once, that buying can add to a sharp rise in the price.
Who has to report short positions?
FINRA member firms, for short positions in all customer and proprietary accounts in all equity securities, under FINRA Rule 4560.
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