December 2025
Domino’s (DMP) finished December as the ASX’s most shorted stock at 17.85% (+1.12% MoM), with Guzman y Gomez (GYG) next at 13.85% (+0.87%). The month’s biggest new shorts hit Silex (SLX) (+1.99% to 8.15%) and WiseTech (WTC) (+1.84% to 4.63%), while Flight Centre (FLT) saw meaningful covering (-1.12% to 10.27%). Overall shorting was flat across 318 names (average change -0.04%), so the moves were deliberate and stock-specific.
The market’s most crowded shorts aren’t miners or banks. They’re lunch. DMP at 17.85% and GYG at 13.85% is a clean read: traders are pressing the consumer-facing growth names where expectations are high and the margin story is fragile — and they added to both positions in December.
1) DMP: 17.85% (+1.12%) Still the ASX’s most shorted name, and it got more crowded. That’s positioning for a catalyst where “fine” won’t cut it — any wobble in sales momentum or cost control gets punished when 17.85% of the register is already leaning the same way. 2) GYG: 13.85% (+0.87%) Shorts kept building in a premium-growth fast-casual story. The message isn’t about burritos. It’s about valuation meeting a consumer that’s harder to upsell. 3) PDN: 12.91% (-0.24%) A small cover, but it matters because it sits next to fresh shorting elsewhere in uranium. PDN looks like the “bigger, more established exposure” that shorts are less keen to press right now. 4) IEL: 12.69% (+0.30%) Still heavily shorted and still inching higher. Education services remains a policy-sensitive trade, and the short base isn’t leaving. 5) PNV: 11.57% (+0.46%) Shorts added again. In healthcare growth, that usually means the market is demanding proof that momentum can justify the price. 6) FLT: 10.27% (-1.12%) The standout cover inside the top 10. Shorts stepped back in size, suggesting the easy money in the travel sceptic trade has been taken. 7) CUV: 9.46% (+0.05%) Basically unchanged — a steady, persistent short. 8) NAN: 9.32% (+0.24%) A small lift, consistent with mild scepticism building rather than peaking. 9) IPH: 9.03% (-0.23%) Modest covering in a steadier services name. 10) DYL: 8.35% (+1.34%) New pressure pushed DYL into the top 10. Shorts piled in after a month where uranium positioning split sharply by stock.
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this month.
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this month.
Biggest risers (where shorts piled in): - SLX: 6.17% → 8.15% (+1.99%) That’s not a drift. That’s a decision. SLX sits in the nuclear-adjacent “technology and approvals” bucket, where timelines and regulatory complexity can stretch longer than the bull case allows. - WTC: 2.79% → 4.63% (+1.84%) A big move for a large-cap software name. This reads like a valuation/expectations trade: when a stock is priced for consistent execution, shorts only need a small crack to make the maths work. - LNW: 0.59% → 1.96% (+1.37%) Still low in absolute terms, but the direction is clear — more traders are willing to fade gaming exposure. - DYL: 7.01% → 8.35% (+1.34%) Shorts added hard. With DYL expanding its project portfolio via the Vimy acquisition, the market is pricing execution and integration risk. - MYX: 0.99% → 2.10% (+1.12%) A sharp lift for a small-cap pharma name — typically the market demanding evidence on delivery. Biggest fallers (where shorts covered): - BRN: 4.51% → 3.16% (-1.35%) Shorts backed away from a speculative AI name — often a sign the risk/reward of staying short into headline risk isn’t attractive. - RMS: 2.69% → 1.47% (-1.23%) A clear reduction in short appetite. - FLT: 11.39% → 10.27% (-1.12%) Profit-taking and de-risking in size. - SGM: 2.72% → 1.74% (-0.98%) Covering in a cyclical/materials-linked name. - ILU: 8.33% → 7.51% (-0.82%) Still heavily shorted, but less crowded than last month — a sign the trade is being managed rather than pressed.
Two trades dominated December. First: consumer-facing growth got targeted. DMP (+1.12%) and GYG (+0.87%) both attracted fresh shorts at already-elevated levels, while IEL stayed high at 12.69% (+0.30%). With overall shorting basically flat (average change -0.04%), this wasn’t broad fear — it was selective pressure on names where the market thinks expectations are doing the heavy lifting. Second: uranium fractured into “producer exposure” versus “execution risk”. PDN saw slight covering (-0.24%), while DYL (+1.34%) and SLX (+1.99%) wore the new shorts. That looks like investors differentiating between established scale and names where delivery, integration, or regulatory pathways can trip you up. And then there’s the tell from outside those themes: WTC (+1.84%) says the market is willing to short expensive software even without a broad sell-off.
Watch WiseTech (WTC) next month: if short interest pushes through 5% from 4.63%, it confirms institutions are actively leaning against “priced-for-perfection” large-cap tech. In the top end, DMP at 17.85% is the pressure point — any company update that isn’t clean risks a violent move because positioning is already jammed.
DMP is 17.85% short (+1.12% MoM) and GYG is 13.85% short (+0.87% MoM). The common thread is consumer-facing growth where margins and volume assumptions matter; shorts are betting expectations are too high and any disappointment will be punished.
It means 17.85% of DMP’s shares are sold short by traders borrowing stock to bet on a price fall. At that level, results and guidance can trigger sharp moves because positioning is crowded.
The +1.84% move suggests a deliberate build in shorts in a high-expectations software stock. It’s typically a valuation and execution bet: if growth or margins show any sign of normalising, the share price can re-rate quickly.
No. PDN’s short interest fell slightly from 13.15% to 12.91% (-0.24%), while DYL rose from 7.01% to 8.35% (+1.34%) and SLX rose from 6.17% to 8.15% (+1.99%). The positioning looks stock-specific, focused on execution, integration and regulatory timelines.
That -1.12% move is meaningful covering. It usually reflects shorts taking profit or reducing risk, especially in a month where overall shorting across the market was basically unchanged (average change -0.04%).
Data sourced from ASIC short position reports (T+4 delayed). This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Short selling data may not reflect real-time market conditions.