--- title: "Is McDonald's Stock Halal?" canonical: https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/mcdonald-s-stock publisher: HalalWallet license: CC BY 4.0 verdict: conditional verdict_label: Conditional entity_type: stock ticker: MCD exchange: NYSE last_reviewed: 2026-06-14 data_as_of: 2026-03-31 standards_disagree: true --- # Is McDonald's Stock Halal? **Verdict: Conditional** (Permissible with conditions) McDonald's Corporation (MCD) passes the screens we can compute (data as of 2026-03-31) — interest-bearing debt / market cap 19.7%, cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap 0.6%, impermissible income / total revenue 0.2% — but one screen requires case-by-case judgment. It is not held by Shariah-screened ETFs SPUS or HLAL. > 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 McDonald's is, at its core, a franchising and food-service business: of its $26.9 billion in 2025 revenue, $16.5 billion came from franchised-restaurant rents and royalties and $9.7 billion from company-operated restaurant sales. Earning rents and royalties and selling food are permissible activities, so the business screen does not turn on the revenue model itself but on specific menu categories. Two factual points matter for a Muslim investor. First, McDonald's sells pork products such as bacon and sausage in many markets, and the McRib in some. Second, in several international markets, particularly in Europe, some McDonald's outlets serve beer. The company does not break out pork or alcohol revenue, so the exact share cannot be cited; both are a minority of overall menu sales. Investors who screen on business activity should be aware these categories exist even though they are not separately quantified, and dividend purification is the usual tool for the impermissible portion. McDonald's is in the S&P 500 yet does not appear in SPUS as of June 11, 2026, and it is absent from HLAL as well. SPUS applies both an industry screen and a debt-to-market-cap threshold; large restaurant operators frequently fail Shariah screens on leverage, and McDonald's notably carries negative book equity from years of debt-funded share buybacks, but the fund does not publish a per-stock reason, so the precise cause of exclusion cannot be stated. The practical takeaway is that McDonald's currently sits outside both major US Shariah funds, and an investor should verify a live screener and the specific concerns before relying on any verdict. ## Business activity screen Result: Pass McDonald's Corporation franchises and operates quick-service restaurants in more than 100 countries; about 95% of its 45,356 restaurants at year-end 2025 were franchised. Per its fiscal 2025 results (year ended December 31, 2025; 10-K filed February 2026), total revenues were $26,885 million, comprising revenues from franchised restaurants $16,548M, sales by company-owned and operated restaurants $9,690M, and other revenues $647M. McDonald's primary revenue is from selling food and from franchise rents and royalties, which are permissible in form. Two product/category issues arise: (1) pork products (bacon, sausage, the McRib in some markets) are sold in many markets, and (2) in a number of international markets (notably parts of Europe) some McDonald's restaurants serve beer. The company does not separately disclose pork or alcohol revenue, so their share is not quantifiable from filings; both are a minority of menu sales. McDonald's is an S&P 500 constituent but is absent from the SPUS holdings dated 2026-06-11; a commonly cited reason for screen failure among large restaurant chains is balance-sheet leverage (McDonald's reports negative shareholders' equity due to debt-funded buybacks), but SPUS does not publish a stock-level reason, so this cannot be confirmed. ## Financial ratio screen (AAOIFI) Data as of: 2026-03-31 | Screen | Value | Limit | Result | |---|---|---|---| | Interest-bearing debt / market cap | 19.7% | < 30% | Pass | | Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap | 0.6% | < 30% | Pass | | Impermissible income / total revenue | 0.2% | < 5% | Pass | 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 ## How it screens across Shariah standards These standards disagree on this company — it passes some and fails others, which is why different apps can show different answers. The headline label follows AAOIFI (the strictest mainstream standard). | Standard | Debt | Cash & interest securities | Limit / basis | Result | |---|---|---|---|---| | AAOIFI (our standard) | 19.7% | 0.6% | < 30% of market cap | Pass | | Dow Jones Islamic / S&P Shariah threshold | 19.7% | 0.6% | < 33% of market cap | Pass | | MSCI Islamic / FTSE Yasaar basis | 66.8% | 1.9% | < 33.33% of total assets | Fail | HalalWallet computation reproducing each standard's threshold and denominator from public filings (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) — not the providers' licensed index determinations, which can differ. Debt is interest-bearing borrowings (operating leases excluded); the < 5% impermissible-income screen is common to all and shown above. Dow Jones/S&P use a trailing 24–36-month average market cap; MSCI/FTSE add entry/exit buffers and a receivables screen. ## Conditions Our computed AAOIFI financial-ratio screen passes on the latest filing data, but both major U.S. Shariah-screened ETFs — SPUS (S&P Shariah methodology) and HLAL (FTSE Shariah methodology) — exclude McDonald's Corporation from their holdings as of our June 2026 check, even though it is in their parent indices. Professional screens apply filing-level business-activity analysis (alcohol, pork, tobacco, or media revenue share) and different ratio bases that an automated ratio screen cannot replicate. That divergence usually signals an impermissible-revenue question. Treat this as unresolved until the segment revenue in the latest annual filing is verified line by line. ## Scholars' and screeners' positions - **SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia ETF (SPUS)**: Not held in SPUS as of 2026-06-11. 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 2026-06-11. Absence can reflect screen failure or index scope — verify before citing as a screen outcome. ([source](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1683471/000089418926012509/wahedshariah.htm)) ## Sources - MCD latest quarterly filing (balance sheet 2026-03-31) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=McDonald's%20Corporation&type=10-Q) - AAOIFI Shariah Standards (https://aaoifi.com) - McDonald's Q4/Full-Year 2025 earnings release (SEC EDGAR, 8-K exhibit) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/63908/000006390826000032/exhibit991-12312025.htm) - McDonald's FY2025 10-K (SEC EDGAR) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/63908/000006390826000035/mcd-20251231.htm) - SPUS holdings (SP Funds) (https://www.sp-funds.com/spus/) - HLAL Schedule of Investments 2026-02-28 (SEC EDGAR) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1683471/000089418926012509/wahedshariah.htm) ## Frequently asked questions ### Is McDonald's Corporation (MCD) stock halal? McDonald's Corporation is conditional under our screen — one or more lines need filing-level verification before treating it as clearly halal or not halal. ### Does McDonald's Corporation pass the AAOIFI financial ratio screen? As of 2026-03-31: interest-bearing debt is 19.7% of market cap (limit < 30%); cash plus interest-bearing securities is 0.6% (limit < 30%). The impermissible-income line is verified against the annual filing where noted on this page. ### Is McDonald's Corporation held in halal ETFs like SPUS or HLAL? No — as of our last check, McDonald's Corporation is not held by SPUS or HLAL. Absence can reflect a failed screen or index scope — verify current holdings before citing. ## Related verdicts - [Is The Coca-Cola Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/the-coca-cola-stock.md) — Conditional - [Is Caterpillar Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/caterpillar-stock.md) — Conditional - [Is CSX Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/csx-stock.md) — Conditional - [Is Ecolab Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/ecolab-stock.md) — Conditional - [Is Illinois Tool Works Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/illinois-tool-works-stock.md) — Conditional - [Is Otis Worldwide Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/otis-worldwide-stock.md) — Conditional --- 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