Canadian Halal Investor.

NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Aflac Incorporated (AFL) Halal?

FAIL

Aflac Incorporated · NYSE: AFL · Financials

The short answer

No -- Aflac Incorporated (AFL) fails this Shariah stock screen at the business-activity gate and the non-compliant income gate. Per its own FY2025 10-K, Aflac's principal business is underwriting conventional supplemental health and life insurance through two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. -- conventional insurance is a non-compliant business activity under the AAOIFI-style business screen (the same basis as the Progressive and Chubb fails in October 2026). Its disclosed net investment income of $4,076M for FY2025 is about 23.75% of its $17,164M in total revenue, above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Its debt screen passes: $8,409M of notes payable and lease obligations is about 14.65% of its ~$57.41B market cap ($111.18, latest close retrieved October 2, 2026), below the ~33% ceiling. All three third-party screeners agree: Zoya flags AFL not Shariah-compliant, Musaffa rates it not halal (October 2026), and ShariaPortfolio calls it not Shariah Compliant -- honestly reported, not invented.

Gate 1 — Business activity: FAIL

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), based in Columbus, Georgia, describes its principal business in its FY2025 10-K as supplemental health and life insurance products sold in Japan and the United States, paying cash benefits to policyholders when they get sick or hurt. Its insurance business consists of two reporting segments: Aflac Japan (the principal contributor to consolidated earnings; the largest insurer in Japan in terms of cancer and medical policies in force) and Aflac U.S. (supplemental insurance sold through individual and group markets, including accident, disability, and critical illness coverage). Business screen (factual, from the filing): Aflac's core business is underwriting conventional insurance -- per the AAOIFI-style business screen applied on this site, conventional insurance is a non-compliant business activity, the same basis on which Progressive and Chubb failed Gate 1 in earlier October 2026 screens. Gate 1 fails. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: PASS

Per Aflac's FY2025 10-K (fiscal year ended December 31, 2025), interest-bearing debt was $8,409M -- notes payable and lease obligations, including about $79M of finance and operating lease obligations per Note 9. Policy liabilities (future policy benefits, unpaid policy claims, unearned premiums, and other policyholder funds -- $69,583M in total) are insurance operating liabilities and are not counted as debt. Against a market cap of about $57.41B ($111.18 latest close retrieved October 2, 2026; 516,369,452 shares outstanding per the 10-K cover), debt divided by market cap is about 14.65%, comfortably below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $6,245M are about 10.88% of market cap, or about 13.27% including $1,373M of short-term investments. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: FAIL

Aflac's FY2025 10-K income statement reports net investment income of $4,076M against total revenues of $17,164M -- about 23.75% of revenue, nearly five times the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. For an insurer, net investment income (interest and dividends on the investment portfolio backing its policies) is the separately disclosed interest-type income line. Gate 3 fails. Facts only.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does Aflac do?

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL), based in Columbus, Georgia, describes its principal business in its FY2025 10-K as supplemental health and life insurance products sold in Japan and the United States, paying cash benefits to policyholders who get sick or hurt. It reports two segments: Aflac Japan (the principal contributor to consolidated earnings, the largest insurer in Japan in terms of cancer and medical policies in force) and Aflac U.S. (supplemental insurance sold through individual and group markets, including accident, disability, and critical illness coverage). It is a conventional insurer authorized to conduct insurance business in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, several U.S. territories, and Japan.

Why does Aflac fail this Shariah stock screen?

Aflac fails this screen at the first gate -- the business-activity gate -- and again at the non-compliant income gate. Per its own FY2025 10-K, Aflac's principal business is underwriting conventional supplemental health and life insurance; under the AAOIFI-style business screen applied on this site, conventional insurance is a non-compliant business activity -- the same basis on which Progressive (NYSE: PGR) and Chubb (NYSE: CB) failed Gate 1 in earlier October 2026 screens. Its financial picture also trips Gate 3: net investment income of $4,076M against total revenues of $17,164M for FY2025 is about 23.75% of revenue, far above the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling -- consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is Aflac's interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per Aflac's FY2025 10-K (fiscal year ended December 31, 2025), interest-bearing debt was $8,409M -- notes payable and lease obligations, including about $79M of finance and operating lease obligations per Note 9. Policy liabilities (future policy benefits, unpaid policy claims, unearned premiums, and other policyholder funds -- $69,583M in total) are insurance operating liabilities and are not counted as debt. Against a market cap of about $57.41B ($111.18 latest close retrieved October 2, 2026; 516,369,452 shares outstanding per the 10-K cover), debt divided by market cap is about 14.65% -- comfortably below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $6,245M are about 10.88% of market cap, or about 13.27% including $1,373M of short-term investments.

What is Aflac's non-compliant income ratio?

Aflac's FY2025 10-K income statement reports net investment income of $4,076M against total revenues of $17,164M -- about 23.75% of revenue, nearly five times the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. For an insurer, net investment income (interest and dividends earned on the investment portfolio that backs its policies) is the disclosed interest-type income line, and it is separately stated in the filing. Gate 3 fails.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover Aflac?

Zoya covers AFL and flags it as not Shariah-compliant (zoya.finance/stocks/afl; the page's displayed assessment date was blank when accessed in October 2026) -- it does not rate Aflac halal. Musaffa covers AFL and classifies it as "not halal" as of October 2026 under its AAOIFI methodology (musaffa.com/stock/AFL/). ShariaPortfolio has an AFL screener page stating Aflac Inc "is not Shariah Compliant because of its involvement in Life & Health Insurance (NEC) and related activities." All three coverage statements are consistent with this page's own FAIL outcome. This page applies the screen directly from Aflac's own filings and reports these positions honestly.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.

Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).