The Short Answer
Dayforce stock (DAY) is currently classified as HALAL in the qualitative catalog, but its last public filing-based quantitative result does not pass, and the shares were acquired and delisted in February 2026. Payroll and HCM software is generally permissible; customer-fund investment income and liquidity require caution.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2025-09-30; calculated 2026-07-15.
1,226.9 / 8,676.2
3,244.3 / 8,676.2
952.7 / 8,676.2
42.2 / 481.6
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Identifiable liquidity/assets is 37.39%, above the examined 33.333% limit, and the conservative customer-fund investment-income proxy is 8.76% of revenue; debt/assets is 14.14% and receivables-plus-cash/assets is 10.98%.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Identifiable liquidity/assets is 37.39%, above the examined MSCI limit; debt/assets is 14.14% and receivables-plus-cash/assets is 10.98%.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Identifiable liquidity/assets is 37.39% and the conservative investment-income proxy is 8.76%, above the examined Malaysia benchmarks. This is not an official classification.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Fails
Dayforce was acquired and delisted in February 2026; no current public market-cap series exists and the last-public-filing asset screen already fails.
Business-activity disclosure
Dayforce provides cloud payroll, workforce-management, benefits and human-capital-management software. The software activity is generally permissible, but the last public filing reflects a company acquired and delisted in February 2026.
Limitation: The filing does not allocate revenue into a universal prohibited-activity numerator, and no current public market-cap denominator exists after the acquisition.
Purification
Dayforce reports $42.2 million of customer-fund investment income in recurring revenue, but the amount includes interest, realized gains/losses and credit losses; no scholar-specific purification percentage is asserted.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are USD millions from Dayforce's September 30, 2025 Form 10-Q, the last public quarterly filing before the February 4, 2026 acquisition completion and delisting.
- Debt includes $1,213.4 million of current and long-term debt and $13.5 million of current and long-term lease liabilities; customer-fund obligations are fiduciary balances and are excluded from interest-bearing debt.
- Corporate cash and equivalents are $627.6 million. Identifiable customer-fund available-for-sale debt securities are $2,616.7 million; they are included in liquidity with a clear restricted-customer-funds caveat, while the full $4,433.8 million customer-funds balance is not treated as securities.
- Trade and other receivables, net are $325.1 million and third-quarter revenue is $481.6 million.
- Investment income from customer funds included in recurring revenue is $42.2 million. Because the filing says investment income includes interest income, realized gains/losses and unrecoverable credit losses, this is a conservative upper-bound proxy rather than a pure interest numerator.
- Dayforce's payroll and HCM software is generally permissible, but the security is no longer publicly traded and no universal prohibited-revenue numerator is disclosed.
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.
The September 30, 2025 filing reports debt/assets of 14.14%, identifiable customer-fund liquidity/assets of 37.39%, receivables plus corporate cash/assets of 10.98%, and a conservative mixed investment-income proxy of 8.76% of quarterly revenue. Liquidity and the income proxy fail; no current market-cap screen is available after delisting.
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)
Dayforce's Business Activity
Dayforce, Inc. (formerly Ceridian) provides a cloud-based human-capital-management platform. Its activity is:
- Payroll: Processing employee pay for employers
- Workforce management: Scheduling, time, and attendance
- HR & benefits: Human-resources and benefits administration software
Selling enterprise SaaS is a permissible activity with no inherent haram revenue line.
Why DAY Is Halal (With a Caveat)
1. Permissible Core Business
Providing payroll and HR software is a halal activity. The recurring subscription revenue is the heart of the business, with no gambling, alcohol, or conventional-banking line.
2. Payroll-Float Interest Income
Dayforce invested customer funds in bank deposits, money-market instruments and debt securities. The filing reports $42.2 million of customer-fund investment income in recurring revenue, but that line includes interest, realized gains and losses, and unrecoverable credit losses; it is therefore a conservative upper-bound proxy rather than a pure interest numerator or purification instruction.
3. Debt to Confirm
The last public filing reports $1,226.9 million of debt and lease liabilities against $8,676.2 million of assets, or 14.14%. Customer-fund obligations are fiduciary balances rather than interest-bearing debt. The stock was acquired by Thoma Bravo and delisted, so current market-cap methods are not available.
Filing-Based Ratios (September 30, 2025)
Based on Dayforce's last public Form 10-Q before the February 2026 acquisition:
- Debt / Total Assets: 14.14% ✅
- Identifiable Customer-Fund Liquidity / Total Assets: 37.39% — above examined limits ⚠️
- Receivables + Corporate Cash / Total Assets: 10.98% ✅
- Customer-Fund Investment Income / Revenue: 8.76% conservative upper bound ⚠️
- Prohibited-Product Revenue: No universal numerator disclosed — qualitative review required ⚠️
Methodology Interpretation
The last public filing-based screen fails on identifiable customer-fund liquidity and the conservative mixed investment-income proxy under the examined FTSE, MSCI and Malaysia-style limits. Payroll software remains generally permissible, but the company is no longer a publicly traded security and current market-cap methods cannot be calculated.
- Core activity: Payroll, workforce management, benefits and HCM software
- Quantitative status: Debt and receivables pass; liquidity and income fail
- Scholar review: Confirm customer-fund investment treatment and delisting context
Bottom Line
Dayforce (DAY) has a generally permissible core activity and remains classified as HALAL in the qualitative catalog, but its last public filing-based result is not passing because identifiable liquidity/assets is 37.39% and the conservative investment-income proxy is 8.76%. Dayforce was acquired and delisted in February 2026, so this is a historical screen rather than a current investability verdict.
For Muslim investors seeking HR and software exposure, compare DAY with peers like Paychex (PAYX) and Paycom (PAYC).
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