DMP ends 2025 at 17.85% short after a +5.46% year-end surge
ASX Short Selling — 2025 Annual Review
The ASX’s short book shrank hard into year-end: 318 stocks shorted with an average short % of 1.22% and a WoW average change of -0.16% [ref-1]. But the crowd didn’t leave — it concentrated, with DMP finishing No.1 at 17.85% (+5.46%) and GYG exploding to 13.85% (+9.75%) [ref-2]. The year’s big rotation was away from the Q1 uranium/lithium pile-on (BOE 24.80%, PDN 15.67%, DYL 13.09%, PLS 12.98%, MIN 12.63%) and into consumer and growth names by Q4 [ref-3] [ref-4].
The Year in Short Selling
If you only look at the market averages, you’ll miss the story. By 2025-12-31, total stocks shorted collapsed to 318 and the average short % fell to 1.22% [ref-1]. Yet the top end got nastier: DMP finished the year as the ASX’s most shorted stock at 17.85% after a +5.46% WoW jump, and GYG ripped to 13.85% with a +9.75% WoW surge [ref-2]. That’s not passive hedging — that’s funds picking fights in specific names.
The Q4 leaderboard is a very different beast to Q1. In Q1 (2025-03-31), the short book was dominated by uranium and lithium: BOE 24.80%, PDN 15.67%, DYL 13.09%, PLS 12.98%, MIN 12.63% [ref-3]. By Q4 (2025-12-31), the top five was DMP 17.85%, GYG 13.85%, PDN 12.91%, IEL 12.69%, PNV 11.57% [ref-4] [ref-2]. DMP’s year-end positioning lines up with a business that just printed FY2025 revenue down -3.1% to 2,303.7 and a statutory net loss of -3.7 [ref-5]. When a consumer brand is losing money and the register is 17.85% short, the market is telling you it wants proof — not promises. GYG is the other headline. Shorts still piled in even after FY25 revenue of 436.0 (change_pct 27.4) and NPAT of 14.5 (change_pct 151.8), plus a fully franked maiden dividend of 12.6 cents per share [ref-6]. That’s a classic “great numbers, priced for perfection” setup — and the short tape says perfection is being challenged.
Top Shorted Stocks — Year End 2025
Year's Biggest Risers
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest across 2025.
Year's Biggest Fallers
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest across 2025.
The Year's Biggest Stories
The year-end week was full of violent moves. PNV jumped from 1.49% to 11.57% (+10.08%), GYG from 4.10% to 13.85% (+9.75%), and IPH from 0.83% to 9.03% (+8.20%) [ref-2]. Those are not normal weekly changes. Start with PNV: FY25 total revenue was up 23.3% to 129.186 and NPAT was up 151.2% to 13.214 [ref-7]. Shorts still hit it anyway. That’s the market leaning against valuation and forward expectations, not last year’s result. IPH’s surge is harder to ignore because the fundamentals look fine on paper: FY25 revenue up 16.6% to 706.2 and profit after tax attributable to members up 13.2% to 68.8 [ref-8]. When short interest jumps to 9.03% in a week, it usually means someone thinks the next leg is down — or there’s a catalyst risk the market is underpricing. On the other side, the biggest covers were brutal. SYR collapsed from 12.82% to 2.19% (-10.63%) and MP1 from 10.13% to 1.74% (-8.39%) [ref-2]. That’s not “sentiment improving”; that’s shorts getting out of the way in size.
Sector Trends
The sector rotation is clean in the quarterly snapshots. Q2 still had PDN at 16.03% and BOE at 15.07% at the top, with MIN 13.84% and PLS 13.23% keeping lithium crowded [ref-9]. By Q3, BOE (18.31%) and PLS (17.82%) were still leading, but DMP (11.94%) had entered the top five and IEL (12.79%) was entrenched [ref-10]. By Q4, BOE and PLS are gone from the top five entirely, replaced by DMP and GYG [ref-4]. That doesn’t mean uranium vanished — PDN still sits at 12.91% and DYL at 8.35% [ref-2]. But the trade changed from “short the whole uranium complex” to “stay selective”. PDN itself is a good example: it finished the year at 12.91% after a -2.67% WoW move [ref-2], and its Q1 FY2026 filing showed revenue of 35.969 USD and a loss after tax of -9.928 USD [ref-11]. Meanwhile, education stayed a grind. IEL ended at 12.69% (+0.31% WoW) [ref-2] after FY2025 revenue fell -15% to 882.201 and statutory net profit fell -66% to 45.516 [ref-12]. Shorts didn’t need a new story — the numbers did the work.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The setup into early 2026 is simple: watch whether the new consumer/growth shorts (DMP 17.85%, GYG 13.85%, PNV 11.57%) keep building, or whether we see another fast unwind like SYR (-10.63%) and MP1 (-8.39%) just delivered [ref-2]. Also keep an eye on WTC at 4.63% after a +3.65% WoW jump — shorts don’t usually move that quickly into a large-cap compounder unless they’re positioning for a specific disappointment [ref-2] [ref-13].
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the biggest short position at the end of 2025?
DMP finished 2025 as the most shorted stock at 17.85% (WoW change +5.46%) [ref-2].
Did the market stay heavily short overall into year-end?
No — total stocks shorted fell to 318 and the average short % was 1.22% as at 2025-12-31 [ref-1].
What was the big sector shift across the year?
Q1’s top five was dominated by uranium/lithium (BOE 24.80%, PDN 15.67%, DYL 13.09%, PLS 12.98%, MIN 12.63%) [ref-3], while Q4’s top five shifted to DMP 17.85% and GYG 13.85% alongside PDN 12.91%, IEL 12.69% and PNV 11.57% [ref-4].
Which stocks saw the most extreme week-on-week moves at year-end?
On the way up: PNV +10.08% (1.49% → 11.57%), GYG +9.75% (4.10% → 13.85%), IPH +8.20% (0.83% → 9.03%) [ref-2]. On the way down: SYR -10.63% (12.82% → 2.19%) and MP1 -8.39% (10.13% → 1.74%) [ref-2].
Why are shorts still leaning into GYG despite strong FY25 growth?
GYG reported FY25 revenue of 436.0 (change_pct 27.4) and NPAT of 14.5 (change_pct 151.8), plus a fully franked dividend of 12.6 cents per share [ref-6], yet short interest still finished at 13.85% [ref-2] — a sign the market thinks expectations are too high.
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.