Canadian Halal Investor.

NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026

Is Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Halal?

PASS

Yum! Brands, Inc. · NYSE: YUM · Consumer Discretionary

The short answer

Yes - Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) passes this Shariah stock screen on all three gates. The Louisville-based quick-service restaurant franchisor (KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger & Grill; Pizza Hut sold around September 1, 2026) operates about 64,000 restaurants in 150+ countries, roughly 97% franchised, with no alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons, adult entertainment, or conventional finance business lines disclosed. Total interest-bearing debt of $12,275M is about 32.05% of its ~$38.3B market cap ($136.69/share, October 2026) - below the ~33% ceiling, though the margin is tight. Interest-related income ('Investment (income) expense, net' of $6M for H1 2026) is about 0.14% of H1 2026 revenue ($4,228M) - far below the 5% ceiling. Note: Zoya and Musaffa independently rate YUM not Shariah-compliant / not halal (October 2026), which differs from this screen's computed result. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

Gate 1 — Business activity: PASS

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a global quick-service restaurant franchisor - originally incorporated as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. in 1997 after its spin-off from PepsiCo and renamed Yum! Brands, Inc. in 2002 (CEO Chris Turner). It reports through four divisions: KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill. At June 30, 2026 the system had about 64,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories (KFC 34,747; Pizza Hut 19,985; Taco Bell 9,046; Habit Burger 388), operated overwhelmingly by independent franchisees and licensees - roughly 97% of units are franchised. On June 16, 2026 Yum! entered definitive agreements to sell the Pizza Hut business (LongRange Capital ex-China; Yum China for Mainland China); the sale closed around September 1, 2026. Business-screen implication (factual): quick-service restaurant franchising - not a haram activity under standard Shariah screens; the filings disclose no alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons/defense, adult entertainment, or conventional finance business lines. Zoya likewise notes Yum!'s operations 'do not definitively violate Islamic guidelines.' Gate 1 passes. Facts only.

Gate 2 — Debt and cash: PASS

Per Yum!'s Q2 2026 Form 10-Q condensed consolidated balance sheet (filed July 30, 2026; June 30, 2026 figures; $ millions), interest-bearing debt was: short-term borrowings $2,813M + long-term debt $9,462M = $12,275M (operating leases excluded - they sit in 'Other liabilities and deferred credits'). Against a live market cap of about $38.3B ($136.69 per share, Finnhub, October 2, 2026), debt / market cap is about 32.05% - below the ~33% ceiling, but the margin is tight (about one percentage point). Cash and cash equivalents of $674M is about 1.76% of market cap. Pizza Hut assets/liabilities were classified as held for sale ($746M / $262M) at June 30, 2026; the sale closed around September 1, 2026. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: PASS

Yum!'s consolidated income statement discloses no standalone 'interest income' line. The disclosed interest-related income line is 'Investment (income) expense, net' - $(6)M for the six months ended June 30, 2026 (i.e., $6M of net investment income), versus $(1)M in H1 2025; interest appears as an expense ('Interest expense, net' $257M for H1 2026). Treating the $6M net investment income as the interest-income proxy: $6M / $4,228M H1 2026 total revenue = about 0.14% - far below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Zoya independently records Yum!'s FY2025 interest income as $0 on revenue of $8,214,000,000 (about 0%). Gate 3 passes. Facts only - no interest-income figure is asserted beyond what the filings and Zoya's annual-report-based data disclose.

Key figures used

Frequently asked questions

What does Yum! Brands do?

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a global quick-service restaurant franchisor. Originally incorporated as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. in 1997 after its spin-off from PepsiCo, it changed its name to Yum! Brands, Inc. in 2002 (CEO Chris Turner). It reports through four divisions: KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill. At June 30, 2026 the system had about 64,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories (KFC 34,747; Pizza Hut 19,985; Taco Bell 9,046; Habit Burger 388), operated overwhelmingly by independent franchisees and licensees under franchise or license agreements - roughly 97% of units are franchised. Revenue comes from company restaurant sales, franchise and property revenues (royalties and fees), and franchise contributions for advertising and other services. On June 16, 2026 Yum! entered definitive agreements to sell the Pizza Hut business (LongRange Capital acquiring Pizza Hut excluding Mainland China; Yum China acquiring Pizza Hut in Mainland China); the sale closed around September 1, 2026, leaving KFC, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill. Its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker YUM).

Why does Yum! Brands pass this Shariah stock screen?

Yum! Brands passes this Shariah stock screen on all three gates. Gate 1 (business activity): quick-service restaurant franchising (KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger & Grill, and Pizza Hut through its September 2026 sale) - restaurants are not a haram activity under standard Shariah screens; the filings disclose no alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons/defense, adult entertainment, or conventional finance business lines - a clean business. Gate 2 (debt): total interest-bearing debt of $12,275M is about 32.05% of its ~$38.3B market cap (October 2026), below the ~33% ceiling - passes, though the margin is tight. Gate 3 (non-compliant income): the closest disclosed interest-related income line, 'Investment (income) expense, net' of $6M for H1 2026, is about 0.14% of H1 2026 revenue ($4,228M), below the 5% ceiling - passes. Note: Zoya and Musaffa independently rate YUM not Shariah-compliant / not halal on their own assessments, which differs from this screen's computed result. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.

What is Yum! Brands' interest-bearing debt ratio?

Per Yum!'s Q2 2026 Form 10-Q condensed consolidated balance sheet (filed July 30, 2026; June 30, 2026 figures; $ millions), interest-bearing debt was: short-term borrowings $2,813M + long-term debt $9,462M = $12,275M. Operating leases are excluded per the screen's definition (they sit in 'Other liabilities and deferred credits'). Against a live market cap of about $38.3B ($136.69 per share, Finnhub, October 2, 2026), debt / market cap is about 32.05% - below the ~33% ceiling, but the margin is tight (about one percentage point). Cash and cash equivalents of $674M is about 1.76% of market cap. Pizza Hut assets and liabilities were classified as held for sale at June 30, 2026 ($746M assets, $262M liabilities); the Pizza Hut sale closed around September 1, 2026. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.

How much interest income does Yum! Brands earn?

Yum!'s consolidated income statement discloses no standalone 'interest income' line. The disclosed interest-related income line is 'Investment (income) expense, net' - $(6)M for the six months ended June 30, 2026 (i.e., $6M of net investment income), versus $(1)M in H1 2025. Interest appears as an expense ('Interest expense, net' $257M for H1 2026). Treating the $6M net investment income as the interest-income proxy: $6M / $4,228M H1 2026 total revenue = about 0.14% of revenue - far below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Zoya independently records Yum!'s FY2025 interest income as $0 on revenue of $8,214,000,000 - about 0%. Gate 3 passes. Facts only - no interest-income figure is asserted beyond what the filings and Zoya's annual-report-based data disclose.

Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover Yum! Brands?

Zoya covers YUM at zoya.finance/stocks/yum - it rates Yum! Brands 'not Shariah-compliant' (its auto-generated FAQ text is partly contradictory template fragments, but the consistent headline wording is 'not Shariah-compliant and therefore not considered halal to invest in'); Zoya independently records Yum!'s FY2025 interest income as $0 on revenue of $8,214,000,000 and notes the company's operations 'do not definitively violate Islamic guidelines,' suggesting its non-compliance call is ratio-based. Musaffa covers YUM at musaffa.com/stock/YUM/: 'As of October 2026, Yum! Brands Inc is classified as not halal' (AAOIFI methodology). No ShariaPortfolio page for YUM was found in search - ShariaPortfolio does not appear to cover this ticker. Note that both Zoya's and Musaffa's ratings differ from this screen's computed PASS result; the difference reflects methodology inputs, not invented numbers.

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).