Is NFI Group / NFI Halal?

NFI Group Inc. (TSX: NFI), headquartered in Winnipeg, manufactures transit buses and motorcoaches (New Flyer, MCI, Alexander Dennis, ARBOC) and sells aftermarket parts. The business passes — but total debt of about US$1.22 billion (~C$1.7 billion) is roughly 60% of the ~C$2.9 billion market cap — well above the ~33% ceiling. FAIL. (Musaffa independently rates NFI not halal as of September 2026.)

The two-gate Shariah screen

Every screener on this site runs the same two gates: first, the business must be halal (no conventional insurance, banking, alcohol, gambling, weapons manufacturing, and the like); second, the financial ratios must clear (debt under roughly 33% of market cap, non-compliant income under roughly 5%).

Gate one: the business — passes

NFI designs, manufactures, services and supports transit buses, motorcoaches, medium-duty and cutaway buses, plus EV charging infrastructure installation and aftermarket parts — with a ~US$12.5 billion backlog from transit agencies. No verified involvement in weapons/defence manufacturing, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, pork or adult entertainment was found. (A 2019 New Flyer partnership with Robotic Research was for public-transit autonomous driving technology, not NFI manufacturing weapons.) Gate one: passes.

Gate two: the ratios — debt fails

The debt gate fails. As at June 28, 2026 (in US dollars): long-term debt US$202.6 million + second-lien debt US$608.0 million + lease obligations US$141.4 million + convertible debentures US$234.1 million + senior unsecured debt US$35.2 million = total debt about US$1.22 billion. (The convertible debentures, C$338 million principal, mature January 2027 and were partially refinanced after quarter-end with C$350 million of senior unsecured notes in July 2026.) Market cap is about C$2.86 billion (C$24.00 TSX close on September 25, 2026 × about 119.1 million shares) — putting debt at ~60% of market cap, well above the ~33% ceiling (robust at any recent USD/CAD rate). Interest income is not disclosed as a standalone line — the income statement reports "Interest and finance costs" (US$34.5 million in Q2) as an expense line only — so no interest-income figure is published here; the FAIL rests independently on debt. Gate two: fails on debt.

What other screeners say

Musaffa covers NFI (as NFYEF, the US OTC listing) and rates it not halal as of September 2026 under its AAOIFI methodology — agreeing with this screener's result. No Zoya or ShariaPortfolio rating for NFI could be verified.

The bottom line

This screener gives NFI Group Inc. (TSX: NFI) a FAIL. The transit-bus business is permissible, but total debt of ~US$1.22 billion (≈C$1.7 billion) is roughly 60% of the ~C$2.9 billion market cap — well above the ~33% ceiling — and Musaffa independently agrees with a not-halal rating. Snapshot dated September 29, 2026; re-checked quarterly after earnings.

The purification angle: if you hold NFI anyway, run the purification calculator to estimate any non-compliant share of dividends or gains.

Frequently asked questions

Is NFI Group stock halal?

This screener gives NFI Group Inc. (TSX: NFI) a FAIL. The transit-bus and motorcoach business itself is permissible — New Flyer, MCI, Alexander Dennis and ARBOC buses for transit agencies, plus aftermarket parts — with no verified weapons, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, pork or adult-entertainment exposure. But total debt of about US$1.22 billion (≈C$1.7 billion) is roughly 60% of the ~C$2.9 billion market cap — well above the ~33% debt ceiling. Musaffa independently rates NFI (NFYEF) not halal as of September 2026.

What are NFI Group's debt and market-cap figures?

As at June 28, 2026 (Q2 2026, in US dollars): long-term debt US$202.6 million + second-lien debt US$608.0 million + lease obligations US$141.4 million + convertible debentures US$234.1 million + senior unsecured debt US$35.2 million = total debt about US$1.22 billion. Market cap is about C$2.86 billion (C$24.00 TSX close on September 25, 2026 × about 119.1 million shares). At roughly US$1.22B ≈ C$1.7B, the ratio is about 60% — well above the ~33% ceiling (the direction is robust at any recent USD/CAD rate).

Does NFI Group earn interest income?

Interest income is not disclosed as a standalone line. The Q2 2026 income statement reports 'Interest and finance costs' — US$34.5 million in Q2 — as an expense line only; no finance-income or interest-income revenue line exists in the primary filings, so no figure is published here. The FAIL rests independently on the debt gate.

Do any third-party screeners cover NFI Group?

Yes — Musaffa covers NFI (as NFYEF, the US OTC listing) and rates it not halal as of September 2026 under its AAOIFI methodology, agreeing with this screener's result. No Zoya or ShariaPortfolio rating for NFI could be verified.

What could change NFI Group's halal screener?

Sustained deleveraging — or a substantially higher share price — that brings debt below roughly a third of market cap would change the debt gate. Note the convertible debentures (C$338M principal, maturing January 2027) were partially refinanced after quarter-end with C$350M of senior unsecured notes in July 2026. This screener is a snapshot dated September 29, 2026 and is re-checked quarterly after earnings.