Quick Verdict
ZakatInvest classifies Costco (COST) as doubtful. Operating membership warehouses, distribution and general retail can be permissible activities. Costco's May 2026 debt, liquidity and receivables ratios pass the examined total-assets screens. Its public filing does not separately report revenue from alcohol, tobacco, pork, non-halal meat, pharmacy, ancillary services or other screened categories, so a complete business screen cannot be reproduced.
This is not a claim that every item Costco sells is prohibited, that those undisclosed categories are immaterial, or that a broad food category can determine a Sharia revenue percentage.
Costco's Membership-Warehouse Business
Costco operates membership warehouses and e-commerce sites with a limited selection of branded and private-label products. For the twelve weeks ended May 10, 2026, it reported $69.154 billion of net sales and $1.373 billion of membership-fee revenue. The filing separates sales into Foods and Sundries, Non-Foods, Fresh Foods and Warehouse Ancillary and Other Businesses, but not into the categories needed for a reproducible Sharia allocation.
Membership fees are separately reported and can be neutral consideration for access to a retail service. Their margin or contribution to operating income does not replace a revenue-based assessment of the merchandise mix. The prior claim that fees were a particular share of profit, and the estimated alcohol percentages, are therefore removed rather than treated as verified inputs.
Alcohol, Food and Ancillary Services
Alcohol, tobacco, pork and non-halal meat are relevant concerns for many investors. Costco's broad public categories do not disclose a denominator for any of them. Pharmacy, optical, travel, fuel, e-commerce and other ancillary activities likewise require contract- and service-specific evidence. A transparent screen must distinguish a known activity from an unmeasured percentage; it cannot convert absence of a line item into zero prohibited revenue.
Food retail also raises supplier labor, food safety, halal sourcing, animal welfare, waste, packaging, energy and environmental questions. Policies and labels are useful evidence, but impact, traceability, remedy and independent assurance matter as well.
Current Financial Screening
The calculation below uses the official filing at the SEC. Balance-sheet inputs are dated May 10, 2026, and revenue uses the matching twelve-week period.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-05-10; calculated 2026-07-13.
5,684 / 86,430
19,996 / 86,430
22,696 / 86,430
- Financial
- Incomplete
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt is 6.58%, identifiable liquidity is 23.14%, and receivables plus cash is 26.26%, below the examined limits. Gross interest income is not separately disclosed, so the income screen and overall screen remain incomplete.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt, cash plus identifiable interest-bearing securities and receivables plus cash are below the examined total-assets limits. This is not an index-membership claim; business-activity revenue remains undisclosed.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Identifiable conventional cash and interest-bearing instruments and conservatively defined interest-bearing debt are below 33% of total assets. This is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official SAC classification of a U.S.-listed security; screened business revenue is unavailable.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Not calculated
A properly licensed and reproducible 24- or 36-month issuer market-cap history is not yet stored, so these methods are not estimated from a current spot price.
Business-activity disclosure
Costco operates membership warehouses and e-commerce sites selling a broad range of food, non-food and ancillary products. Much of general retail, distribution and membership activity can be permissible; permissibility cannot be inferred for the full consolidated merchandise mix.
Limitation: Public reporting does not provide a reproducible revenue numerator for alcohol, tobacco, pork, non-halal meat, pharmacy, financial services or other categories that may be material to a chosen screen. Food-category revenue or membership-fee profitability cannot replace that numerator.
Purification
Gross interest income and screened operating-revenue categories are not separately disclosed. No fixed purification percentage is prescribed from the reported other-income line or a merchandise estimate.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Interest-bearing debt uses the reported 5,684 total long-term debt before unamortized discounts and issuance costs. The company also reports 96 of short-term bank-credit-facility borrowings, but this is not included because it is presented separately and the methodology input consistently uses stated long-term debt.
- Cash uses 18,946. Identifiable interest-bearing securities use 1,050 of short-term investments: government and agency securities plus certificates of deposit.
- Receivables use the reported 3,750 net balance. Quarterly revenue uses 69,154 net sales plus 1,373 membership fees.
- Other income of 123 combines interest expense, interest income and other items, so gross interest income is not inferred.
- The filing disaggregates sales into Foods and Sundries, Non-Foods, Fresh Foods, and Warehouse Ancillary and Other Businesses, but does not separately disclose alcohol, tobacco, pork, non-halal meat, pharmacy, financial-service or other screened revenue.
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.
What the Numbers Show
Reported long-term debt is $5.684 billion, or 6.58% of $86.430 billion in assets. Cash plus short-term investments is $19.996 billion, or 23.14% of assets. The $1.050 billion investment balance consists of government and agency securities and certificates of deposit, so it is treated as identifiable interest-bearing securities. Cash plus net receivables is $22.696 billion, or 26.26% of assets.
The filing's $123 million other-income line combines interest expense, interest income and other items. Gross interest income is not separately disclosed, so it cannot support a fixed income-screen or purification figure. Market-cap methods also remain not calculated because a reproducible historical average-market-cap series is not stored.
Bottom Line
COST remains doubtful in ZakatInvest's canonical classification. Known balance-sheet ratios pass, but public disclosure cannot establish the relevant merchandise and service revenue numerator. Review current filings, product and service contracts, finance arrangements and supply-chain evidence under the methodology you follow.
This is a screening classification, not a fatwa or investment recommendation. For a binding personal ruling, apply your chosen methodology with a qualified Sharia adviser.
Use our free halal checker to review COST and thousands of other assets.
Open Halal Checker →