FINRA reports short interest twice a month. Learn the reporting schedule, what's covered, and why the lag matters for short squeeze plays.
FINRA collects short interest data from broker-dealers twice per month and publishes it about 8 calendar days after the settlement date. So the data you see today reflects positions from about a week ago — meaningful lag in a fast-moving market.
The reports cover all Nasdaq, NYSE, NYSE American, and OTC-listed securities, giving you total shares sold short, prior-period short interest, average daily trading volume, and days-to-cover. Settlement dates are the 15th and the last business day of each month. The bi-monthly cadence means intra-period shifts (when most squeezes happen) are invisible in the official data.