Canadian Halal Investor.

NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Pfizer Inc. (PFE) Halal?

FAIL

Pfizer Inc. · NYSE: PFE · Healthcare

The short answer

No — Pfizer (PFE) fails this Shariah stock screen at the debt gate. Its business passes (a pure biopharmaceutical company since the Haleon demerger and Upjohn/Viatris spin-off — vaccines, oncology, primary and specialty care, with no alcohol, gambling, tobacco, weapons, or finance segments), and its interest/investment income of $670M is about 1.07% of FY2025 revenue ($62,579M), below the 5% ceiling. But interest-bearing debt of $63,194M is about 39.43% of its ~$160.3B market cap ($28.12, October 1, 2026), above the ~33% ceiling — leverage taken on largely for the December 2023 Seagen acquisition (~$43B). Musaffa rates PFE NOT HALAL (September 2026); Zoya's public page text is contradictory so its rating is inconclusive; ShariaPortfolio has no entry. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling — consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

Gate 1 — Business activity: PASS

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company (FY2025 Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2026) engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture, marketing, sale and distribution of biopharmaceutical products worldwide. Its Biopharma division is the only reportable segment (PC1 contract manufacturing and Pfizer Ignite R&D services are not reportable; Ignite was being wound down in 2025). Product portfolios: Primary Care (Eliquis alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Prevnar family vaccines, Comirnaty, Paxlovid, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Abrysvo), Specialty Care (Xeljanz, Enbrel outside the U.S. and Canada, Vyndaqel family, Genotropin), Oncology (Ibrance, Xtandi, Padcev, Adcetris — including the acquired Seagen ADCs), and Hospital & Biosimilars (off-patent branded and generic sterile injectables, biosimilars; effective January 1, 2026). Consumer health (Haleon) was demerged in 2022 and Upjohn merged into Viatris in 2020. Business-screen implication (factual): no alcohol, gambling, tobacco, weapons, or conventional-finance segments — Gate 1 passes. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: FAIL

Per Pfizer's Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended June 28, 2026; SEC CIK 78003), total interest-bearing debt was $63,194M — short-term borrowings including current portion of long-term debt $2,699M + long-term debt $60,495M. Against a market cap of about $160.3B (5,699,673,589 shares outstanding at July 29, 2026 × $28.12, Finnhub live quote, October 1, 2026), debt ÷ market cap is about 39.43% — above the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $976M plus short-term investments of $10,723M total about $11.7B, roughly 7.3% of market cap. The debt load stems largely from the December 2023 Seagen acquisition (~$43B), which roughly doubled long-term debt from ~$31.7B to ~$61.4B. Gate 2 fails; the business and income gates pass. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: PASS

Pfizer's FY2025 10-K (filed February 26, 2026) reports interest income of $603M and net (gains)/losses recognized on equity securities of $67M, against FY2025 total revenues of $62,579M — about 0.96% (interest only) or 1.07% (interest plus equity-securities gains/losses) of revenue, both below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Interest expense ($2,671M in 2025) is a cost, not income, and does not count toward this ratio. The income gate passes; the screen fails at Gate 2 on debt. Facts only.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does Pfizer do?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), headquartered in New York City, is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture, marketing, sale and distribution of biopharmaceutical products worldwide (FY2025 Form 10-K, filed February 26, 2026). Its Biopharma division is the only reportable segment; PC1 (contract development and manufacturing organization / specialty active pharmaceutical ingredients supplier) is an operating segment but not reportable, and Pfizer Ignite (R&D services for biotechs) was being wound down in 2025. Product portfolios: Primary Care (Eliquis alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Prevnar family vaccines, Comirnaty, Paxlovid, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Abrysvo), Specialty Care (Xeljanz, Enbrel outside the U.S. and Canada, Vyndaqel family, Genotropin), Oncology (Ibrance, Xtandi, Padcev, Adcetris from the Seagen acquisition), and Hospital & Biosimilars (off-patent branded and generic sterile injectables, biosimilars — new organization effective January 1, 2026). Consumer health (Haleon) was demerged in 2022 and Upjohn merged into Viatris in 2020, so the business is now purely biopharma. FY2025 total revenue was $62,579M.

Why does Pfizer fail this Shariah stock screen?

Pfizer fails this screen at the financial-leverage gate (Gate 2), not on its business. The business gate passes: biopharmaceuticals with no alcohol, gambling, tobacco, weapons, or conventional-finance segments. The income gate passes: interest and investment income is about 1.07% of FY2025 revenue, below the 5% ceiling. But interest-bearing debt of $63,194M (Q2 2026 10-Q: short-term borrowings including current portion of long-term debt $2,699M + long-term debt $60,495M) against a market cap of about $160.3B (5,699,673,589 shares × $28.12, October 1, 2026) is about 39.43% — above the ~33% debt ceiling. The debt load stems largely from the December 2023 Seagen acquisition (~$43B), which roughly doubled long-term debt from ~$31.7B to ~$61.4B. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling — consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is Pfizer's interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per Pfizer's Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended June 28, 2026; SEC CIK 78003), total interest-bearing debt was $63,194M — short-term borrowings including current portion of long-term debt $2,699M + long-term debt $60,495M. Against a market cap of about $160.3B (5,699,673,589 shares outstanding at July 29, 2026 × $28.12, Finnhub live quote, October 1, 2026), debt ÷ market cap is about 39.43% — above the ~33% ceiling. Cash and cash equivalents of $976M plus short-term investments of $10,723M total about $11.7B, roughly 7.3% of market cap. The debt gate fails; the business and income gates pass. Facts only.

What is Pfizer's non-compliant income ratio?

Pfizer's FY2025 10-K (filed February 26, 2026) reports interest income of $603M and net (gains)/losses recognized on equity securities of $67M, against FY2025 total revenues of $62,579M — about 0.96% (interest only) or 1.07% (interest plus equity-securities gains/losses) of revenue, both below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Interest expense ($2,671M in 2025) is a cost, not income, and does not count toward this ratio. The income gate passes; the screen fails at Gate 2 on debt. Facts only.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover Pfizer?

Zoya covers PFE (zoya.finance/stocks/pfe, last updated September 2026), but its public page renders contradictory auto-generated template text (simultaneously calling PFE "not Shariah-compliant … considered halal" and "not considered halal"), so no clean Zoya rating is retrievable without the app — honestly reported as inconclusive; a secondary 2026 summary of Zoya's AAOIFI-based screening reports PFE as not Shariah-compliant, citing the debt-to-total-assets ratio exceeding 33%. Musaffa covers PFE (musaffa.com/stock/PFE/) and classifies it as NOT HALAL as of September 2026 under its AAOIFI methodology. ShariaPortfolio: no PFE entry found. All honestly reported as found, not invented. This page applies the screen directly from Pfizer's own filings.

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).