The short answer
Albertsons (ACI) is DOUBTFUL on ZakatInvest's qualitative assessment, and the examined total-assets financial screens FAIL because interest-bearing debt is 33.43% of assets. Albertsons is primarily a grocery retailer, but its stores also sell alcohol and pork products and may sell tobacco or lottery products. The official filing does not quantify those categories as a universal prohibited-revenue percentage, so the business conclusion remains qualitative rather than an invented estimate.
This is a reproducible research screen, not a fatwa or investment recommendation. Scholars and screening providers can differ on debt definitions, lease treatment, cash equivalents, product-level activity and how unavailable income data should be handled.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-K figures for the period ended 2026-02-28; calculated 2026-07-13.
8,946.6 / 26,765.9
198.6 / 26,765.9
1,131.2 / 26,765.9
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt is 33.43%, above the examined 33.333% FTSE asset limit. Liquidity is 0.74% and receivables plus cash are 4.23%; gross interest income and prohibited-category revenue are unavailable.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt is 33.43%, above the examined MSCI total-assets limit; liquidity is 0.74% and receivables plus cash are 4.23%. This is a calculation against the named method, not an index-membership claim.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt is 33.43%, above the examined 33% Malaysia SAC financial limit; liquidity is 0.74%. This is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification of a U.S.-listed security.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Not calculated
A properly licensed and reproducible historical market-cap series is not stored, so these methods are not estimated from a current spot price.
Business-activity disclosure
Albertsons is primarily a grocery retailer, with pharmacies, fuel centers, delivery and private-label products. Grocery, pharmacy and household retail are generally permissible, while alcohol, pork, tobacco, lottery and other product-level activity require scholar-specific treatment.
Limitation: The official filing describes categories and operations but does not quantify every prohibited product category as a percentage of consolidated revenue; no unsupported alcohol or pork revenue estimate is used.
Purification
Albertsons does not separately disclose gross interest income or prohibited-category revenue and does not prescribe a scholar-approved purification percentage. No fixed estimate is made here; readers should follow the scholar or methodology they use.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Debt uses $8.9466 billion of total debt including notes, ABL borrowings, finance leases and other financing obligations at February 28, 2026. Operating lease liabilities are not entered as conventional debt.
- Cash uses $198.6 million of cash and cash equivalents. Restricted cash of $4.4 million is excluded; card-transaction deposits included in cash are not treated as separately disclosed securities.
- Receivables use $932.6 million of net receivables. Revenue uses $83.1725 billion of net sales and other revenue for fiscal 2025.
- Albertsons reports $504.2 million of net interest expense and $44.4 million of other income, but does not separately disclose gross interest income. The income screen is therefore unavailable rather than estimated from net expense.
- Albertsons sells a broad grocery assortment with pharmacy and fuel operations. The filing does not quantify alcohol, pork, tobacco or lottery revenue into a universal prohibited-revenue numerator, so the business screen remains qualitative and incomplete.
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.
Current quantitative screen
The calculations above use Albertsons' official filing (Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2026). Amounts are in USD millions and use total assets as the denominator so the inputs can be reproduced.
- Interest-bearing debt / assets: 33.43%, using $8,946.6 million of total debt including finance leases.
- Cash and interest-bearing securities / assets: 0.74%, using $198.6 million of cash and cash equivalents; restricted cash is excluded.
- Receivables plus cash / assets: 4.23%, using $932.6 million of receivables plus cash.
- Disclosed non-compliant income / sales: unavailable. The filing reports $504.2 million of net interest expense, not gross interest income.
FTSE Yasaar, MSCI total-assets and Malaysia SAC calculations fail their debt ratio on these inputs. Market-cap denominator methods are not calculated because ZakatInvest does not store a licensed, reproducible historical market-cap series. The business-activity screen is incomplete because prohibited-category revenue is not separately disclosed.
What Albertsons does
Albertsons Companies operates grocery banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme and Tom Thumb. Its fiscal 2025 filing reports grocery sales alongside pharmacy, fuel and other services. Food, household goods and ordinary pharmacy services are generally permissible commercial activity.
The same stores can carry beer, wine, spirits and pork products. Store-level assortment and sales mix vary, and the official filing does not provide a consolidated percentage for alcohol, pork, tobacco or lottery revenue. That limitation matters: this analysis identifies the concern without presenting an unsupported 5–10% figure.
Debt, cash and interest treatment
At February 28, 2026, Albertsons reported $8,946.6 million of total debt, including notes, ABL borrowings, finance leases and other financing obligations. On the examined total-assets denominator, that is 33.43%, just above the 33.333% FTSE limit and above the 33.33% MSCI and 33% Malaysia limits.
Cash and cash equivalents were $198.6 million and net receivables were $932.6 million. Albertsons reported $504.2 million of net interest expense, but gross interest income is not separately disclosed, so the income screen and purification amount are left unavailable rather than estimated from net expense.
Qualitative considerations
- Product mix: alcohol and pork are present in a broad grocery assortment; the filing does not quantify their consolidated revenue share.
- Other store activity: tobacco, lottery and fuel activity can vary by location and require separate scholar-specific treatment.
- Pharmacy: pharmacy services are generally permissible, while product sourcing and any insurance or financing arrangements deserve review.
- Financing: leverage, interest expense, finance leases, ABL terms and future refinancing can change the financial result.
- Ethical diligence: food safety, labor, supplier standards, privacy, environmental obligations and merger-related conduct remain relevant beyond ratio tests.
The halal verdict
ACI is DOUBTFUL in this combined presentation: the core grocery business is generally permissible, but the examined financial screens FAIL on debt/assets and the prohibited-product revenue screen is incomplete. That is not an official index membership or fatwa. Investors should apply the methodology and scholar they follow, and revisit the record when Albertsons files new financial statements or provides more detailed product-category disclosure.
Use the quantitative screen alongside the product-mix and financing analysis, and consult a qualified scholar for your chosen methodology.
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