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%) — pass; cash plus interest-bearing securities is 0.6% (limit < 30%) — pass. The impermissible-income ratio (< 5% limit) also passes. Ratios are recomputed as new filings and prices move.

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, so we report it as a signal rather than a ruling.

Is McDonald's Stock Halal? McDonald's Corporation (MCD) passes our computed AAOIFI financial-ratio screen (data as of 2026-03-31) — interest-bearing debt 19.7% and cash plus interest-bearing securities 0.6% of market cap, both under the 30% limits — but both major U.S. Shariah-screened ETFs (SPUS and HLAL) exclude it from their holdings as of June 2026, which typically signals a business-activity concern that automated ratio screens cannot see. We report it as conditional until the segment revenue in the latest annual filing is verified. Reviewed 2026-06-14. Published by HalalWallet.

Is McDonald's Stock Halal?

Q: Is McDonald's Stock Halal?

Conditional: McDonald's Corporation (MCD) passes our computed AAOIFI financial-ratio screen (data as of 2026-03-31) — interest-bearing debt 19.7% and cash plus interest-bearing securities 0.6% of market cap, both under the 30% limits — but both major U.S. Shariah-screened ETFs (SPUS and HLAL) exclude it from their holdings as of June 2026, which typically signals a business-activity concern that automated ratio screens cannot see. We report it as conditional until the segment revenue in the latest annual filing is verified. (Financial data as of 2026-03-31; basis: AAOIFI Shariah standards.)

Q: Is McDonald's Corporation (MCD) stock halal?

McDonald's Corporation (MCD) passes our computed AAOIFI financial-ratio screen (data as of 2026-03-31) — interest-bearing debt 19.7% and cash plus interest-bearing securities 0.6% of market cap, both under the 30% limits — but both major U.S. Shariah-screened ETFs (SPUS and HLAL) exclude it from their holdings as of June 2026, which typically signals a business-activity concern that automated ratio screens cannot see. We report it as conditional until the segment revenue in the latest annual filing is verified.

Q: 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, so we report it as a signal rather than a ruling.

Q: What should I verify before buying McDonald's Corporation?

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.

McDonald's Corporation · MCD · NYSE

ConditionalPermissible with conditions

McDonald's Corporation (MCD) passes our computed AAOIFI financial-ratio screen (data as of 2026-03-31) — interest-bearing debt 19.7% and cash plus interest-bearing securities 0.6% of market cap, both under the 30% limits — but both major U.S. Shariah-screened ETFs (SPUS and HLAL) exclude it from their holdings as of June 2026, which typically signals a business-activity concern that automated ratio screens cannot see. We report it as conditional until the segment revenue in the latest annual filing is verified.

Financial data as of 2026-03-31 · Screening basis: AAOIFI · Last reviewed 2026-06-14

Our Analysis

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

Pass· impermissible revenue ≈ 0.2% (AAOIFI limit < 5%)

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

Screen	Value	AAOIFI limit	Result
Interest-bearing debt / market cap	19.7%	< 30%	Pass
Cash + interest-bearing securities / market cap	0.6%	< 30%	Pass
Impermissible income / total revenueInterest income only — verify other impermissible revenue lines in the 10-K	0.2%	< 5%	Pass

Spot market cap at research date (consider trailing average for borderline names). Data as of 2026-03-31 · thresholds per AAOIFI Shariah standards.

This verdict uses the AAOIFI standard — the most widely used and, at a 30% debt limit, the most conservative mainstream Shariah standard. Interest-bearing debt and interest-bearing securities each stay under 30% of market cap, and impermissible income under 5% of revenue. Other standards (Dow Jones Islamic, S&P Shariah, MSCI Islamic, FTSE Yasaar) use ~33% limits or screen against total assets, so a borderline company can be rated differently by each. How we screen & why screeners disagree →

How McDonald's screens across Shariah standards

The standards disagree on this company. It passes some Shariah screens and fails others — which is exactly why you may see a different answer in different apps. Our headline verdict uses AAOIFI, the strictest and most widely cited 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 thresholdDow Jones and S&P apply this limit against a trailing 24–36-month average market cap; shown here on the same point-in-time market cap for comparison.	19.7%	0.6%	< 33% of market cap	Pass
MSCI Islamic / FTSE Yasaar basisTotal-assets denominator. MSCI/FTSE also apply entry/exit buffers and a receivables screen we do not reproduce.	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 impermissible-income screen (< 5% of revenue) is common to all of these standards and is shown in the ratio table above. Dow Jones and S&P apply their limit against a trailing 24–36-month average market cap; MSCI and FTSE add entry/exit buffers and a receivables screen. Full methodology →

These companies pass under some mainstream standards and fail under others — the same pattern as this verdict. That is why two apps can show different answers.

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