Canadian Halal Investor.

NASDAQ Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) Halal?

PASS

Booking Holdings Inc. · NASDAQ: BKNG · Consumer Discretionary

The short answer

Yes — Booking Holdings (BKNG) passes this Shariah stock screen. The Norwalk, Connecticut company runs online travel and restaurant reservation platforms — Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable — earning reservation commissions and fees: FY2025 revenue of $26,917M (merchant $17,755M, agency $7,968M, advertising and other $1,194M), with no haram business segments disclosed in its FY2025 10-K. The financial ratios pass comfortably: the Q2 2026 balance sheet carries $20,180M of interest-bearing debt — 16.52% of its ~$122.1B market cap (Finnhub, October 2026), below the ~33% ceiling — and FY2025 interest and dividend income of $921M is 3.42% of revenue, below the 5% ceiling. One honest caveat: Musaffa classifies BKNG as not halal (October 2026, AAOIFI methodology) without publishing which gate fails, while Zoya's public BKNG rating text is contradictory (inconclusive). This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling — consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

Gate 1 — Business activity: PASS

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), founded in 1997 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (formerly The Priceline Group Inc., renamed Booking Holdings Inc. in 2018), operates online travel and restaurant reservation platforms through five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable — spanning accommodations, ground transportation, flights, activities, restaurants and meta-search. Its stated mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. FY2025 total revenue of $26,917M = merchant revenues $17,755M (the majority from Booking.com accommodation reservations) + agency revenues $7,968M (substantially all from Booking.com accommodation reservations) + advertising and other revenues $1,194M. Booking itself does not operate hotels, restaurants or airlines — it earns reservation commissions and fees. Business-screen implication (factual): all activity is travel and hospitality reservation services; the FY2025 10-K discloses no alcohol, gambling, conventional finance, pork, weapons or tobacco revenue segments — no haram segments. Gate 1 passes. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: PASS

Per Booking's Q2 2026 results (unaudited consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2026; SEC CIK 0001075531), interest-bearing debt totals $20,180M — short-term debt $2,000M plus long-term debt $18,180M. Against a market cap of about $122.1B (Finnhub, October 2026), debt ÷ market cap is 16.52% — below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $17,214M at June 30, 2026 are about 14.09% of market cap, also below 33%. The debt gate passes. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: PASS

Booking's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 18, 2026; SEC CIK 0001075531) reports 'Interest and dividend income' of $921M against FY2025 total revenues of $26,917M — about 3.42% of revenue, below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Interest expense was $1,617M for the year. This is the broadest verifiable interest income line from primary filings, and Zoya's own BKNG page cites this same $921M figure (computing 3.42%). The income gate passes. Facts only.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does Booking Holdings do?

Booking Holdings Inc., founded in 1997 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (formerly The Priceline Group Inc., renamed in 2018), runs online travel and restaurant reservation platforms through five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK and OpenTable — covering accommodations, ground transportation, flights, activities, restaurants and meta-search. Its stated mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. FY2025 total revenue was $26,917M — merchant revenues $17,755M (the majority from Booking.com accommodation reservations), agency revenues $7,968M (substantially all from Booking.com accommodation reservations) and advertising and other revenues $1,194M. All activity is travel and hospitality reservation services; the filings disclose no alcohol, gambling, conventional finance, pork, weapons or tobacco revenue segments.

Why does BKNG pass this Shariah stock screen?

BKNG passes this Shariah stock screen at all three gates. Gate 1 (business activities): online travel and restaurant reservations (Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, OpenTable) are travel and hospitality activity — the FY2025 10-K discloses no alcohol, gambling, conventional finance, pork, weapons or tobacco revenue segments. Gate 2 (debt): the Q2 2026 unaudited consolidated balance sheet at June 30, 2026 carries $20,180M of interest-bearing debt (short-term $2,000M + long-term $18,180M), which is 16.52% of its ~$122.1B market cap (Finnhub, October 2026) — below the ~33% ceiling. Gate 3 (interest income): FY2025 interest and dividend income of $921M is 3.42% of $26,917M revenue, under the 5% ceiling. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling — consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is BKNG's interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per Booking's Q2 2026 results (unaudited consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2026; SEC CIK 0001075531), short-term debt is $2,000M and long-term debt is $18,180M — total interest-bearing debt of $20,180M. Against a market cap of about $122.1B (Finnhub, October 2026), debt ÷ market cap is 16.52% — below the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $17,214M at June 30, 2026 are about 14.09% of market cap, also below 33%. The debt gate passes.

What is BKNG's non-compliant income ratio?

Booking's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 18, 2026; SEC CIK 0001075531) reports 'Interest and dividend income' of $921M against FY2025 total revenues of $26,917M — about 3.42% of revenue, below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Interest expense was $1,617M for the year. This is the broadest verifiable interest income line from primary filings, and Zoya's own BKNG page cites this same $921M figure (computing 3.42%). The income gate passes.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover BKNG?

Yes — with mixed public signals, honestly reported as found. Zoya covers BKNG (zoya.finance/stocks/bkng; AAOIFI guidelines) and cites the same FY2025 figures used here ($921M interest income, 3.42% of $26,917M revenue), but its public page renders contradictory auto-generated template text (simultaneously calling BKNG Shariah-compliant/halal and not), so no clean Zoya rating is retrievable — reported as inconclusive. Musaffa covers BKNG (musaffa.com/stock/BKNG/; AAOIFI methodology) and classifies it as not halal as of October 2026; its public page does not break down which gate fails. ShariaPortfolio: no BKNG entry was found via public search — no coverage found. All honestly reported as found, not invented. This page applies the screen directly from Booking's own filings; screener methodologies and scholarly interpretations differ.

Sources

Screened 2026-10-01 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).