--- title: "Is Starbucks Stock Halal?" canonical: https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/starbucks-stock publisher: HalalWallet license: CC BY 4.0 verdict: conditional verdict_label: Conditional entity_type: stock ticker: SBUX exchange: NASDAQ last_reviewed: 2026-06-14 data_as_of: 2026-03-29 standards_disagree: true --- # Is Starbucks Stock Halal? **Verdict: Conditional** (Permissible with conditions) Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) passes the screens we can compute (data as of 2026-03-29) — interest-bearing debt / market cap 13.0%, cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap 1.5%, impermissible income / total revenue 0.3% — 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 Starbucks sells coffee, tea, food, and packaged beverages, which is a permissible business. Its fiscal 2025 revenue of $37.2 billion comes overwhelmingly from company-operated stores (about 83%) and licensed stores (about 12%), with the rest from its Channel Development packaged-products business. The business-activity screen is largely clean, with a couple of minor exceptions worth knowing. On alcohol, Starbucks once ran a 'Starbucks Evenings' program serving beer and wine, but it was discontinued company-wide around 2017; today only the small number of Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations serve alcohol, and that revenue is immaterial and not separately disclosed. Some breakfast food items contain pork. Neither category is broken out in the filings, and both are a small slice of overall sales, the situation in which AAOIFI-style screens typically allow the stock with dividend purification. The sticking point for Starbucks is more likely financial than product-based. The company is in the S&P 500 but does not appear in SPUS as of June 11, 2026, and is also absent from HLAL. Starbucks carries negative book equity after years of debt-funded buybacks, and leverage is a frequent reason large consumer names fail Shariah financial screens, but SPUS does not publish a per-stock explanation, so the precise cause cannot be confirmed. A Muslim investor should treat Starbucks as currently outside both major US Shariah funds and check a live screener, paying particular attention to the leverage ratios, before relying on any verdict. ## Business activity screen Result: Pass Starbucks Corporation is a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee, operating through company-operated and licensed stores across North America and International segments plus a Channel Development business. Per its fiscal 2025 10-K (year ended September 28, 2025), total net revenues were $37,184.4 million; company-operated stores accounted for about 83% of revenue and licensed stores about 12%, with the remainder in other (packaged/single-serve products and royalties). Selling coffee, tea, food, and related products is permissible. Shariah-relevant notes: (1) Starbucks historically ran a 'Starbucks Evenings' program serving beer and wine, which was discontinued company-wide around 2017; a limited amount of alcohol is still served at Starbucks Reserve Roastery locations, and this alcohol revenue is not separately disclosed and is immaterial. (2) Some food items contain pork (for example certain bacon/sausage breakfast sandwiches), not separately disclosed. (3) Starbucks earns interest income (interest income and other, net was $113.3M in fiscal 2025 per the 10-K) and carries interest expense ($542.6M), reported outside operating revenue. Starbucks is an S&P 500 constituent but is absent from SPUS as of 2026-06-11; the company reports negative shareholders' equity from debt-funded buybacks, a common cause of Shariah leverage-screen failure, but SPUS does not publish the reason. ## Financial ratio screen (AAOIFI) Data as of: 2026-03-29 | Screen | Value | Limit | Result | |---|---|---|---| | Interest-bearing debt / market cap | 13.0% | < 30% | Pass | | Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap | 1.5% | < 30% | Pass | | Impermissible income / total revenue | 0.3% | < 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) | 13.0% | 1.5% | < 30% of market cap | Pass | | Dow Jones Islamic / S&P Shariah threshold | 13.0% | 1.5% | < 33% of market cap | Pass | | MSCI Islamic / FTSE Yasaar basis | 49.4% | 5.6% | < 33.33% of total assets | Fail | HalalWallet computation reproducing each standard's threshold and denominator from public filings (balance sheet as of 2026-03-29) — 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 Starbucks 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 - SBUX latest quarterly filing (balance sheet 2026-03-29) (https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&company=Starbucks%20Corporation&type=10-Q) - AAOIFI Shariah Standards (https://aaoifi.com) - Starbucks FY2025 10-K (SEC EDGAR) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922425000114/sbux-20250928.htm) - Starbucks FY2025 Annual Report (company IR PDF) (https://s203.q4cdn.com/326826266/files/doc_financials/2025/ar/Starbucks-Corporation_2025-Annual-Report-Web-Ready.pdf) - 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 Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) stock halal? Starbucks Corporation is conditional under our screen — one or more lines need filing-level verification before treating it as clearly halal or not halal. ### Does Starbucks Corporation pass the AAOIFI financial ratio screen? As of 2026-03-29: interest-bearing debt is 13.0% of market cap (limit < 30%); cash plus interest-bearing securities is 1.5% (limit < 30%). The impermissible-income line is verified against the annual filing where noted on this page. ### Is Starbucks Corporation held in halal ETFs like SPUS or HLAL? No — as of our last check, Starbucks 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 McDonald's Stock Halal?](https://www.halalwallet.ca/is-it-halal/mcdonald-s-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