Is Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Halal? Shariah Screen Explained
Is Coca-Cola (KO) halal? As of 2026-09-22 it is not concluded by ZadVest’s Shariah screen and is held for review. See the business, debt, cash and 5% income tests, with sources. Informational, not certified advice.
Coca-Cola (KO) is not concluded by ZadVest’s Shariah screen and is held for review as of 2026-09-22. This is an informational software result, not a fatwa, certification or investment advice.
The result as of 2026-09-22
Coca-Cola (KO) is not concluded by ZadVest’s Shariah screen and is held for review. The result combines three separate tests based on AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard No. 21: what the company does, how much interest-bearing debt and cash it carries, and how much of its income comes from impermissible sources. A company passes only when the business and ratio screens pass and no impermissible-income breach is identified; missing evidence never counts as a pass.
Screening results change as companies file new reports and as prices move. The current result for KO is shown live on its Shariah card in the ZadVest app.
Screen 1: business activity
The first screen asks what the company does. AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard No. 21 permits dealing in a company’s shares “if the activity of the corporation is permissible” (clause 3/2), and names interest-based finance, liquor and pork as prohibited objectives. ZadVest reads the company’s industry classification (for Coca-Cola: Consumer Defensive) and its business description against a published list of prohibited activities.
The business description mentions “alcohol”. A mention in a description is a flag, not a finding: descriptions routinely name customer industries, products sold on a shelf, or a minor side line (a retailer that stocks tobacco, software sold to insurers). ZadVest therefore does not treat the mention as proof and routes the company for human review instead of passing it. Where a prohibited line is genuine but small, it belongs in the 5% income test below rather than disqualifying the whole business.
What Coca-Cola’s annual report says
ZadVest reviewed the business section of Coca-Cola’s latest annual report filed with the SEC. The relevant passage reads: “In the United States, the Company has established a wholly owned, indirect, firewalled subsidiary, which uses third-party manufacturers and distributors to produce, distribute and sell alcohol products in the United States and also authorizes alcohol-licensed third parties to use certain of our trademarks and related intellectual property on alcohol beverages that contain Company beverage bases.”
The filing shows the flagged activity is genuinely part of the company’s operations, so the question of how much it matters has been referred to ZadVest’s Shariah review for a decision.
Screen 2: debt, cash and receivables
The second screen measures how much of the company’s value is tied to interest. Clause 3/4/2 of the AAOIFI standard allows interest-bearing debt up to 30% of market capitalization, and clause 3/4/3 applies the same 30% to interest-bearing cash and deposits. ZadVest also applies a receivables limit, which comes from index-provider practice rather than from an AAOIFI clause. The figures below are as of 2026-08-03.
Interest-bearing debt to market capitalization: 11.7% against a 30% limit — within the limit.
Cash and interest-bearing securities to market capitalization: 4.3% against a 30% limit — within the limit.
Accounts receivable to market capitalization: 0.8% against a 33% limit — within the limit.
Screen 3: impermissible income
The third screen asks what share of income comes from impermissible sources, such as interest earned on cash. Clause 3/4/4 sets the ceiling at 5% of total income. Company filings rarely separate every such amount, so ZadVest publishes a range: a floor of income identified in the filings, and a ceiling that also counts what could not be ruled out. Only a floor above the 5% limit fails a company; a ceiling that cannot be bounded keeps the result provisional.
The filings did not give enough evidence to compute this ratio for Coca-Cola, so this part of the screen is not concluded.
Result of the income screen: not concluded.
Sources and evidence
Financial statement figures come from the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (10-K and 10-Q reports, read through the SEC’s structured XBRL data), with market capitalization from market data. Industry classification and the business description come from a market-data provider.
Excerpts from the standard applied — AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard No. 21, clause 3/4/2: interest-bearing debt “does not exceed 30% of the market capitalization of the corporation, knowingly that raising loans on interest is prohibited whatsoever the amount is.” Clause 3/4/4: prohibited income “does not exceed 5% of the total income of the corporation.”
Not certified advice
This is an informational screening result produced by software. It is not a fatwa, not a certification by a Shariah board, and not investment, legal or tax advice. Scholars and screening providers can reach different conclusions on the same company. Consult a qualified scholar before making any investment decision.