U.S.\Canadian Short Profitability
Author:
Ihor Dusaniwsky
Managing Director of Predictive Analytics
The U.S. markets have reversed their January rally (S&P 500 +2.7%, Nasdaq +1.6% and Russell 3000 +3.1%) with a weak February (S&P 500 -3.0%, Nasdaq -5.5% and Russell 3000 -3.5%). Markets are now down for the year with the Nasdaq index taking the brunt of the sell off (S&P 500 -0.3%, Nasdaq -4.0% and Russell 3000 -0.6%).
U.S. short sellers were down -$45.8 billion, -3.42%, in January mark-to-market losses. Two-thirds of every dollar shorted in January was un-profitable and only 33% were profitable. The most and least profitable stocks in January were:
Jan US\Can MTM P\L
Ticker
Short Interest
Jan MTM P\L
P\L %
NVIDIA CORP
NVDA US
$38,873,885,293
$3,847,762,100
9.90%
APPLE INC
AAPL US
$32,727,502,605
$2,212,901,431
6.76%
BROADCOM INC
AVGO US
$12,750,626,930
$585,745,541
4.59%
SOUNDHOUND AI INC
SOUN US
$1,508,699,686
$505,274,518
33.49%
MICROSOFT CORP
MSFT US
$26,553,778,155
$396,779,778
1.49%
ON SEMICONDUCTOR
ON US
$1,612,419,231
$302,679,520
18.77%
FTAI AVIATION LTD
FTAI US
$640,148,850
$252,346,981
39.42%
CNX RESOURCES CORP
CNX US
$826,378,563
$251,337,739
30.41%
ASTERA LABS INC
ALAB US
$1,065,353,211
$243,563,267
22.86%
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES
AMD US
$6,849,592,888
$238,874,676
3.49%
Jan US\Can MTM P\L
Ticker
Short Interest
Jan MTM P\L
P\L %
META PLATFORMS INC
META US
$16,130,129,515
($2,680,412,964)
-16.62%
AMAZON.COM INC
AMZN US
$18,075,314,475
($1,443,898,220)
-7.99%
MICROSTRATEGY INC
MSTR US
$8,364,468,239
($1,013,385,246)
-12.12%
ALPHABET INC A
GOOGL US
$12,540,995,550
($923,134,971)
-7.36%
JPMORGAN CHASE CO
JPM US
$7,515,333,058
($819,739,776)
-10.91%
HIMS HERS HEALTH INC
HIMS US
$1,580,917,338
($743,346,493)
-47.02%
IBM CORP
IBM US
$4,701,543,764
($714,300,356)
-15.19%
VISA INC
V US
$8,789,312,206
($668,984,107)
-7.61%
REDDIT INC
RDDT US
$3,207,904,305
($655,159,125)
-20.42%
ALIBABA GROUP ADR
BABA US
$3,678,514,175
($648,545,209)
-17.63%
Total MTM P\L
$1,339,917,963,499
($45,798,032,522)
-3.42%
U.S. short sellers are up +$57.4 billion, +4.22%, in February mark-to-market profits. In a virtual reversal from January, 63% of every dollar shorted in February was a profitable trade and only 33% were un-profitable. The most and least profitable stocks in February were:
Feb US\Can MTM P\L
Ticker
Short Interest
Feb MTM P\L
P\L %
TESLA INC
TSLA US
$21,618,575,154
$7,336,991,313
33.94%
MICROSTRATEGY INC
MSTR US
$7,513,055,864
$2,241,402,146
29.83%
ALPHABET INC A
GOOGL US
$11,727,620,917
$2,176,070,329
18.56%
AMAZON.COM INC
AMZN US
$16,106,213,777
$2,036,826,179
12.65%
ALPHABET INC C
GOOG US
$8,225,250,180
$1,527,454,223
18.57%
MICROSOFT CORP
MSFT US
$23,868,683,501
$1,354,321,322
5.67%
BROADCOM INC
AVGO US
$11,476,275,623
$1,172,784,140
10.22%
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR ADR
TSM US
$6,943,119,847
$942,572,904
13.58%
APPLOVIN CORP
APP US
$5,539,582,454
$874,587,328
15.79%
META PLATFORMS INC
META US
$19,185,938,180
$864,492,311
4.51%
Feb US\Can MTM P\L
Ticker
Short Interest
Feb MTM P\L
P\L %
ALIBABA GROUP ADR
BABA US
$6,207,458,477
($1,914,811,040)
-30.85%
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC
SMCI US
$4,201,022,122
($1,386,900,762)
-33.01%
ELI LILLY CO
LLY US
$6,048,788,191
($650,787,930)
-10.76%
INTEL CORP
INTC US
$2,701,423,233
($512,512,691)
-18.97%
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY B
BRK/B US
$6,980,795,590
($488,932,407)
-7.00%
UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC
UBER US
$4,553,728,935
($463,798,958)
-10.19%
CHEVRON CORP
CVX US
$9,528,404,249
($458,308,803)
-4.81%
TMOBILE US INC
TMUS US
$3,657,146,227
($447,567,380)
-12.24%
ABBVIE INC
ABBV US
$3,764,099,714
($406,526,079)
-10.80%
VISA INC
V US
$8,722,429,888
($355,942,945)
-4.08%
Total MTM P\L
$1,358,062,646,946
$57,361,715,331
4.22%
February 19th was the high point for the markets in 2025 and we have seen a significant downturn over the last two weeks. U.S. short sellers are up +$83.2 billion, +6.17%, from February 19-27 mark-to-market profits. 78% of every dollar shorted in February was a profitable trade and only 22% were un-profitable. The most and least profitable stocks over the last two weeks were:
2/19 US\Can MTM P\L
Ticker
Short Interest
2/19 MTM P\L
P\L %
NVIDIA CORP
NVDA US
$35,550,216,231
$5,062,189,890
14.24%
TESLA INC
TSLA US
$20,287,897,213
$4,739,717,415
23.36%
APPLOVIN CORP
APP US
$5,727,886,037
$2,441,969,074
42.63%
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC
PLTR US
$7,520,742,199
$2,081,847,040
27.68%
MICROSTRATEGY INC
MSTR US
$6,870,745,428
$1,864,362,234
27.13%
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC
SMCI US
$5,187,575,840
$1,692,232,099
32.62%
BROADCOM INC
AVGO US
$10,958,560,223
$1,567,891,736
14.31%
HIMS HERS HEALTH INC
HIMS US
$2,780,331,212
$1,471,068,998
52.91%
MICROSOFT CORP
MSFT US
$24,234,638,792
$1,326,127,614
5.47%
AMAZON.COM INC
AMZN US
$15,617,170,749
$1,273,794,454
8.16%
2/19 US\Can MTM P\L
Ticker
Short Interest
2/19 MTM P\L
P\L %
ALIBABA GROUP ADR
BABA US
$7,284,243,328
($517,444,493)
-7.10%
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY B
BRK/B US
$7,092,946,625
($264,725,482)
-3.73%
ELI LILLY CO
LLY US
$6,324,848,459
($264,120,834)
-4.18%
AMGEN INC
AMGN US
$4,572,912,033
($176,358,710)
-3.86%
LI AUTO INC ADR
LI US
$928,644,663
($167,992,029)
-18.09%
ABBVIE INC
ABBV US
$3,927,290,289
($148,168,171)
-3.77%
MERCK & CO
MRK US
$2,690,349,456
($147,527,719)
-5.48%
XPENG INC ADR
XPEV US
$658,457,995
($143,954,256)
-21.86%
JD.COM INC ADR
JD US
$1,585,269,085
($124,874,603)
-7.88%
UNITY SOFTWARE INC
U US
$730,482,519
($121,817,853)
-16.68%
Total MTM P\L
$1,348,674,206,349
$83,233,610,977
6.17%
With markets trending downward we have seen an increase in short selling across most of the sectors in the US/Canadian markets. Total short interest has declined by $68 billion to $1.32 trillion but that consisted of $16 billion of new short selling which only partially offset the $84 billion decline in the mark-to-market value of shares shorted. Software & Services, Financial Services, Capital Goods, and Automobiles & Components had the largest increase in short selling over the last two weeks:
Industry Group (in $millions)
2-27 Short Int
Change Short Int
Change Shs Shorted
Change MTM
Automobiles & Components
$34,156
($3,455)
$2,032
($5,487)
Banks
$53,369
($3,416)
($924)
($2,492)
Capital Goods
$87,023
($2,880)
$2,094
($4,975)
Commercial & Professional Services
$23,178
($727)
($27)
($700)
Consumer Disc Distribution & Retail
$71,208
($1,524)
$1,621
($3,145)
Consumer Durables & Apparel
$24,934
($950)
$144
($1,095)
Consumer Services
$52,222
($2,263)
$770
($3,033)
Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
$23,189
($785)
$450
($1,234)
Energy
$79,279
($3,863)
($37)
($3,826)
Equity Real Estate Inv Trusts (REITs)
$36,923
$795
$326
$469
Financial Services
$95,143
($2,862)
$2,222
($5,084)
Food Beverage & Tobacco
$30,532
$1,149
$717
$433
Health Care Equipment & Services
$57,459
($2,623)
$752
($3,376)
Household & Personal Products
$9,673
$477
$254
$222
Insurance
$28,166
$1,003
$593
$410
Materials
$44,778
($1,330)
$244
($1,575)
Media & Entertainment
$86,309
($7,188)
($998)
($6,189)
Pharma Biotech & Life Sciences
$99,915
($2,630)
$913
($3,543)
Real Estate Management & Dev
$5,492
($67)
$96
($163)
Semiconductors & Semi Equipment
$101,008
($14,410)
($198)
($14,212)
Software & Services
$134,953
($14,523)
$2,308
($16,831)
SPAC
$32
$11
$11
$0
Technology Hardware & Equipment
$63,987
($4,191)
$1,358
($5,549)
Telecommunication Services
$16,940
$18
$176
($158)
Transportation
$29,479
($1,336)
$660
($1,996)
Utilities
$33,863
($642)
$294
($935)
Grand Total
$1,323,211
($68,211)
$15,851
($84,063)
The most shorted stocks over the last two weeks were:
Stock
Ticker
Industry Group
12/27 Short Int
Change Shs Shorted
TESLA INC
TSLA US
Autos & Components
$19,299,509,642
$1,881,649,997
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC
PLTR US
Software & Svcs
$6,890,021,847
$605,578,824
MICROSOFT CORP
MSFT US
Software & Svcs
$22,727,664,816
$469,195,819
CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS INC
CRWD US
Software & Svcs
$3,905,949,238
$334,616,904
MASTERCARD INC
MA US
Financial Services
$3,148,247,374
$231,104,575
FISERV INC
FI US
Financial Services
$1,780,547,757
$224,049,250
QUANTA SERVICES INC
PWR US
Capital Goods
$1,194,960,710
$203,037,136
BOEING COMPANY
BA US
Capital Goods
$3,481,479,756
$202,213,136
ROBINHOOD MARKETS INC
HOOD US
Financial Services
$1,012,237,829
$192,789,975
SALESFORCE INC
CRM US
Software & Svcs
$3,056,580,405
$186,495,350
The stocks with the most short covering over the last two weeks were:
Stock
Ticker
Industry Group
12/27 Short Int
Change Shs Shorted
APPLOVIN CORP
APP US
Software & Svcs
$4,114,177,883
($487,175,567)
PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC
PANW US
Software & Svcs
$4,175,162,813
($194,845,875)
ORACLE CORP
ORCL US
Software & Svcs
$4,042,978,088
($176,384,807)
CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP
COF US
Financial Services
$3,585,977,958
($153,477,558)
CHARLES SCHWAB CORP
SCHW US
Financial Services
$1,526,477,443
($115,426,294)
If the market weakness continues, we should see increased short selling as short sellers replenish their dollar short exposure as stock prices decline. There seems to be several sectors where short selling has and will be strongest. Long selling and short selling will be affecting stock prices the most in Automobiles & Components, Capital Goods, Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail, Financial Services and Software & Services.
Our Blacklight SaaS platform and Black App provides an up-to-date view of short selling and short covering on an equity, sector, index, or country-wide basis allowing investors\traders to better manage their existing long and short positions. The Black MaP and Black App products provide a total view of long and short positioning in the market with a breakdown between Active\Passive long investors, 24 Fund type entities, over 50k securities globally across 108 countries and data from 58 regulatory exchanges.
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The information herein (some of which has been obtained from third party sources without verification) is believed by S3 Partners, LLC (“S3 Partners”) to be reliable and accurate. Neither S3 Partners nor any of its affiliates makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of the information herein or accepts liability arising from its use. Prior to making any decisions based on the information herein, you should determine, without reliance upon S3 Partners, the economic risks, and merits, as well as the legal, tax, accounting, and investment consequences, of such decisions.
