The Short Answer
Acuity Brands stock (AYI) is currently classified as HALAL in the qualitative catalog, while the current filing-based quantitative result remains incomplete. Acuity is an industrial-technology company and a provider of lighting, lighting-controls, building-management, and location-aware applications.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-05-31; calculated 2026-07-15.
804.3 / 4,635.4
411.9 / 4,635.4
1,022.8 / 4,635.4
1.7 / 1,198
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt/assets is 17.35%, liquidity/assets is 8.89%, receivables-plus-cash/assets is 22.06% and disclosed investment interest is 0.14%; activity allocation remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt/assets, liquidity/assets and receivables-plus-cash/assets are below the examined MSCI limits; activity allocation remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt/assets is 17.35% and liquidity/assets is 8.89%, below the examined Malaysia limits; activity allocation remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Incomplete
A properly licensed and reproducible historical market-cap series is not stored; filing-based asset ratios remain documented.
Business-activity disclosure
Acuity manufactures lighting, lighting controls and intelligent-building products. General-purpose building technology is generally permissible, while commercial, institutional and infrastructure end markets remain qualitative.
Limitation: The filing does not provide a universal prohibited-revenue numerator across the product and end-market mix.
Purification
A small disclosed investment-interest amount is reported, but no universal prohibited-revenue numerator or scholar-specific purification instruction is provided.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are USD millions from Acuity's May 31, 2026 Form 10-Q for the nine months ended that date.
- Conservative debt combines $697.3 million noncurrent debt with $107 million operating-lease liabilities.
- Cash is $411.9 million, net accounts receivable is $610.9 million and the reported period revenue is $1,198 million.
- Disclosed investment interest income is $1.7 million, or 0.14% of the reported revenue period.
- Lighting, controls and intelligent-spaces products are generally permissible, while end-market allocation remains qualitative.
This is a reproducible financial screen, not a fatwa. A failed total-assets screen can coexist with a pass under a market-cap methodology. ZakatInvest keeps the qualitative assessment separate so numerical thresholds do not erase material context.
Lighting manufacturing, lighting-controls manufacturing, and intelligent-building-management-systems manufacturing are generally permissible at the activity level under standard Sharia methodology. Known asset ratios pass, while the current filing-based result remains incomplete for income and prohibited-revenue allocation.
Sharia Screening Methodology
Islamic scholars use several criteria to screen stocks:
- Business activity screen: Is the company's primary business halal?
- Debt ratio: Total debt / market cap must be under 33%
- Interest income: Interest income / total revenue must be under 5%
- Haram revenue: Revenue from haram sources must be under 5%
- Receivables ratio: Total receivables / total assets must be under 49–70% (varies by board)
Acuity's Business Activity
Acuity operates through two reporting segments:
- Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL): Luminaires, lighting-controls, and components for commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential applications under brands including Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, and Juno
- Intelligent Spaces Group (AIS): Building-management-systems, controls, and spatial-data-and-location-aware technologies
Manufacturing physical lighting and building-management products is a permissible general-purpose building-products-and-technology activity.
Concerns to Be Aware Of
1. Minor Interest Income
Minor interest income on cash and short-term investment balances means purification of a small portion of dividends may be advisable.
2. Leverage Profile
The debt-to-market-cap ratio should be re-verified against the 33% Sharia threshold at the time of investment given Acuity's acquisition activity (including the QSC intelligent-spaces acquisition) and share-repurchase program. It generally sits below the threshold.
3. Cyclicality
Exposure to non-residential-construction and renovation cycles, along with raw-material (steel, aluminum, electronic-components) and freight input-cost volatility, can drive earnings volatility. These are business-cycle considerations rather than Sharia screen concerns.
Filing-Based Ratios (May 31, 2026)
Based on Acuity's latest Form 10-Q:
- Debt / Total Assets: 17.35% — below examined limits ✅
- Liquidity / Total Assets: 8.89% ✅
- Receivables + Cash / Total Assets: 22.06% ✅
- Disclosed Investment Interest / Revenue: 0.14% ⚠️
- Prohibited-Product Revenue: No universal numerator disclosed — qualitative review required ⚠️
Methodology Interpretation
The current filing-based asset ratios pass the examined FTSE, MSCI and Malaysia-style limits. The building-technology activity remains generally permissible, but investment-income and end-market treatment require review.
- Core activity: Lighting, controls and intelligent-building products
- Quantitative status: Known asset ratios pass; data remains incomplete
- Scholar review: Confirm income and end-market treatment
Bottom Line
Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI) has a generally permissible core activity and passing known asset ratios, but the current filing-based result is incomplete because the filing does not provide a universal prohibited-revenue numerator.
For Muslim investors seeking building-products-and-technology exposure, AYI sits alongside other halal-screened names like Hubbell (HUBB) and nVent Electric (NVT).
Want to check if another stock is halal? Use our free screener.
Open Halal Checker →