--- title: "Is Berkshire Hathaway Stock Halal?" canonical: https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/berkshire-hathaway-stock publisher: HalalWallet license: CC BY 4.0 verdict: not_halal verdict_label: Not Halal entity_type: stock ticker: BRK-B exchange: NYSE last_reviewed: 2026-06-14 data_as_of: 2026-03-31 authorities_with_position: 3 authority_agreement: unanimous --- # Is Berkshire Hathaway Stock Halal? **Authority consensus:** All 3 halal screening authorities with a published position rate Berkshire Hathaway Inc. not halal. **Verdict: Not Halal** (Not permissible) Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) does not pass Shariah screening: its core business fails the activity screen (Berkshire fails the Shariah business-activity screen because conventional insurance (GEICO and reinsurance) is a core, n), and cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap is 37.7% against the < 30% limit (data as of 2026-03-31), and impermissible income / total revenue is 6.3% against the < 5% limit (data as of 2026-03-31). It is not held by Shariah-screened ETFs SPUS or HLAL. Screened alternatives exist in the same sector — see the halal stock screeners and ETF guides below. > HalalWallet is not a Shariah authority and does not issue religious rulings. We compile the most complete public record of what Shariah scholars, screening authorities, and mainstream standards say — reproduced from primary sources with dates and citations — and let you decide. ## How we read the evidence Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most common 'is it halal?' questions because it is such a famous, well-run company — but on standard Shariah screens it does not pass, and the reason is structural rather than incidental. Berkshire's single largest business is conventional insurance: GEICO on the auto side and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance on the wholesale side. Conventional insurance is treated as impermissible by mainstream AAOIFI-aligned scholars because of the gharar (excessive uncertainty) and riba embedded in how premiums and reserves are structured and invested. Because insurance is a core segment, not a rounding error, the business-activity screen fails outright. The financial ratios fail as well. Berkshire famously holds an enormous pile of cash and U.S. Treasury bills plus a large marketable-securities portfolio — on our screen, cash plus interest-bearing securities is about 38% of market capitalization, over the 30% AAOIFI threshold. Impermissible income (chiefly interest and insurance income) runs around 6% of revenue, over the 5% limit. Either ratio alone would flag the stock; combined with the business-activity failure, the verdict is unambiguous. This is why both Zoya and Musaffa classify Berkshire as not Shariah-compliant, and why it does not appear in Shariah-screened funds like SPUS or HLAL, which exclude the financials and insurance sector by design. There is a notable irony — Berkshire's own largest single holding has at times been Apple, a stock many screens consider compliant — but you cannot get clean exposure to Berkshire's permissible pieces by buying the consolidated holding company. Muslim investors who want a diversified, buy-and-hold core position should look instead at Shariah-screened ETFs (such as SPUS or HLAL), which deliver broad market exposure with the insurance and conventional-finance names already removed. ## Business activity screen Result: Fail Berkshire Hathaway is a diversified holding company whose largest operating segment is insurance — GEICO (auto), Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group — alongside the BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and a broad set of manufacturing, retail, and service businesses. It also holds a very large portfolio of marketable equity securities and cash/Treasury bills. Insurance underwriting and the investment of insurance float are central to the business model. Berkshire fails the Shariah business-activity screen because conventional insurance (GEICO and reinsurance) is a core, not incidental, line of business — conventional insurance involves gharar and riba and is treated as impermissible by mainstream AAOIFI-aligned screens. On the financial side it also breaches two AAOIFI ratio limits: cash plus interest-bearing securities is roughly 38% of market cap (versus the 30% limit), reflecting its very large Treasury-bill and investment holdings, and impermissible income (largely interest and insurance income) is around 6% of revenue (versus the 5% limit). The presence of permissible operating businesses such as BNSF and See's Candies does not cure the consolidated business-activity and ratio failures. ## Financial ratio screen (AAOIFI) Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Screen | Value | Limit | Result | |---|---|---|---| | Interest-bearing debt / market cap | 13.8% | < 30% | Pass | | Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap | 37.7% | < 30% | Fail | | Impermissible income / total revenue | 6.3% | < 5% | Fail | Screening basis: AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 — the most widely used and most conservative mainstream standard (interest-bearing debt and securities each < 30% of market cap; impermissible income < 5%). Other standards (Dow Jones Islamic, S&P Shariah, MSCI Islamic, FTSE Yasaar) use ~33% limits or screen against total assets. Full methodology: https://www.halalwallet.ca/halal-stock-screening-methodology ## Scholars' and screeners' positions - **SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia ETF (SPUS)**: Not held in SPUS as of 2026-06-13. Absence can reflect screen failure or index scope — verify before citing as a screen outcome. ([source](https://www.sp-funds.com/spus/)) - **Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL)**: Not held in HLAL as of 2026-06-13. Absence can reflect screen failure or index scope — verify before citing as a screen outcome. ([source](https://www.wahedinvest.com/hlal)) - **Zoya**: Classifies Berkshire Hathaway (both BRK.B and BRK.A) as NOT Shariah-compliant under its AAOIFI-based methodology; dividends from a non-compliant stock are treated as impermissible income to be purified. ([source](https://zoya.finance/stocks/brk-b)) - **Musaffa**: Classified NOT HALAL as of November 2025 (report source: 2025 Q3) based on AAOIFI business-activity and financial-ratio screens. ([source](https://musaffa.com/stock/BRK.B)) ## Sources - BRK-B latest quarterly filing (balance sheet 2026-03-31) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=Berkshire%20Hathaway%20Inc.&type=10-Q) - AAOIFI Shariah Standards (https://aaoifi.com) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=BRK-B&type=10-K) - Zoya — BRK.B Shariah compliance status (not compliant) (https://zoya.finance/stocks/brk-b) - Musaffa — BRK.B Shariah status (NOT HALAL, Nov 2025) (https://musaffa.com/stock/BRK.B) - SP Funds SPUS — S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions methodology (excludes financials/insurance) (https://www.sp-funds.com/spus/) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc. SEC EDGAR filings (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=Berkshire%20Hathaway%20Inc.&type=10-K) - Musaffa — BRK-B (https://musaffa.com/stock/BRK-B/) - SPUS Schedule of Investments reference (2026-02-28) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1742912/000200032426001717/spus-soi_022826.htm) - HLAL holdings reference (2026-06-05) (https://stockanalysis.com/etf/hlal/holdings/) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) stock halal? No. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. fails Shariah screening — see the screen table and analysis on this page for the specific business-activity or ratio reasons. ### Does Berkshire Hathaway Inc. pass the AAOIFI financial ratio screen? As of 2026-03-31: interest-bearing debt is 13.8% of market cap (limit < 30%); cash plus interest-bearing securities is 37.7% (limit < 30%). The impermissible-income line is verified against the annual filing where noted on this page. ### Is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. held in halal ETFs like SPUS or HLAL? No — as of our last check, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is not held by SPUS or HLAL. Absence can reflect a failed screen or index scope — verify current holdings before citing. ## Related verdicts - [Is Palantir Technologies Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/palantir-technologies-stock.md) — Not Halal - [Is Super Micro Computer Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/super-micro-computer-stock.md) — Not Halal - [Is Affirm Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/affirm-holdings-stock.md) — Not Halal - [Is Airbnb Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/airbnb-stock.md) — Not Halal - [Is Alibaba Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/alibaba-group-holding-limited-stock.md) — Not Halal - [Is Altria Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/altria-group-stock.md) — Not Halal --- Cite as: According to HalalWallet (https://www.halalwallet.ca, retrieved 2026-07-30). - Full canonical answer feed (JSON): https://www.halalwallet.ca/api/llm-feed.json - Site guide for AI systems: https://www.halalwallet.ca/llms.txt - Markdown mirror directory: https://www.halalwallet.ca/index.md