The short answer
W.W. Grainger is HALAL in ZakatInvest's qualitative classification, but the current quantitative result depends on the methodology. The company distributes maintenance, repair and operating products rather than weapons or prohibited financial products. Its debt and liquidity pass the examined asset-based limits, while the MSCI total-assets receivables-plus-cash test is above its stated limit and gross interest income is not separately disclosed.
This is a reproducible research screen, not a fatwa or investment recommendation. Apply your school's principles and consult a qualified scholar for a binding ruling.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-03-31; calculated 2026-07-13.
2,411 / 9,473
695 / 9,473
3,322 / 9,473
- Financial
- Incomplete
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt is 25.45%, cash is 7.34% and receivables plus cash are 35.07%, below the examined FTSE asset limits; gross non-compliant income is not separately disclosed, so the FTSE income input remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt is 25.45% and liquidity is 7.34%, but receivables plus cash are 35.07%, above the examined MSCI total-assets limit of 33.33%. This is a calculation against the named method, not an index-membership claim.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Debt is 25.45% and liquidity is 7.34%, below the examined Malaysia SAC financial limits. This is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification of a U.S.-listed security; product-level business revenue remains unavailable.
- 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
W.W. Grainger is a broad-line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating products and services, primarily in North America and Japan. Tools, safety equipment, industrial supplies and facility products are generally permissible commerce, while a dynamic assortment and customer end use require continuing review.
Limitation: The filing says product-category sales are impractical to provide because inventory changes frequently and online assortment is dynamic. It reports customer industries, including 15% government and 30% manufacturing, but does not establish a universally accepted prohibited-revenue numerator.
Purification
Grainger reports net interest expense but does not separately disclose gross interest income or prescribe a scholar-approved purification percentage. Readers should follow the qualified scholar or methodology they use rather than applying an invented fixed rate.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Inputs use W.W. Grainger's March 31, 2026 Form 10-Q; amounts are USD millions as presented in the filing.
- Debt uses the reported $2,411 million total debt, including $2,409 million of long-term debt and $2 million of current maturities. Operating lease liabilities are not entered as conventional debt.
- Cash uses $695 million of cash and cash equivalents. The filing does not provide a separately identified fixed-income securities balance for this screen, so no securities amount is added.
- Receivables use the reported $2,627 million accounts receivable balance.
- Quarterly net sales are $4,742 million. The filing reports net interest expense but does not separately disclose gross non-compliant or interest income, so the FTSE income input is unavailable.
- Grainger states that its dynamic MRO assortment makes product-category sales impractical to disclose; no universal prohibited-revenue numerator is estimated.
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 use Grainger's official filing at the SEC (Q1 2026 Form 10-Q). Amounts are USD millions and use total assets as the denominator.
- Interest-bearing debt / assets: 25.45%, below the examined asset-based debt limits.
- Cash / assets: 7.34%, using reported cash and cash equivalents.
- Receivables plus cash / assets: 35.07%.
- Gross non-compliant income / revenue: not separately disclosed in the filing, so the FTSE income input remains incomplete.
The examined FTSE Yasaar result is financially incomplete because gross income is unavailable; Malaysia SAC financial ratios pass; and the MSCI total-assets calculation fails on receivables plus cash at 35.07% versus its 33.33% limit. Market-cap denominator methods are not calculated because ZakatInvest does not store a licensed, reproducible historical market-cap series.
What W.W. Grainger does
Grainger is a broad-line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and services, operating primarily in North America and Japan through High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The first quarter of 2026 generated $4,742 million of net sales.
The filing reports revenue by customer industry: manufacturing represented 30%, government 15%, commercial services 8%, contractors 7%, healthcare 6%, and other categories made up the balance. Government and defense-facility customers therefore create an indirect customer-use question, but the filing describes Grainger as a distributor of general MRO products, not a weapons or military-systems company.
Debt, receivables and income disclosure
At March 31, 2026, Grainger reported $9,473 million of total assets, $2,411 million of total debt, $695 million of cash and cash equivalents, and $2,627 million of accounts receivable. The filing reports net interest expense of $21 million, but does not separately disclose gross interest income; we do not reverse-engineer a purification amount from that net figure.
Grainger also says its product assortment changes frequently and that product-category sales are impractical to provide because online products may not be stocked. That is why the business screen remains qualitatively incomplete rather than claiming that every product sale is universally permissible.
Qualitative considerations
- Core business: tools, safety equipment, fasteners, motors, electrical supplies, plumbing and facility products are generally permissible forms of trade.
- Customer end use: supplies may be sold to government agencies, military bases, hospitals, manufacturers and other institutions; downstream use is not fully allocated in the filing.
- Dynamic assortment: products are regularly added and removed, so no universal prohibited-revenue numerator is estimated.
- Footprint change: Grainger exited the U.K. market in late 2025 through the Cromwell sale and closure of Zoro U.K.; future filings should be used to refresh the mix.
- Income treatment: gross interest income is unavailable, and no fixed purification percentage is prescribed.
The halal verdict
W.W. Grainger remains HALAL in ZakatInvest's qualitative classification, with methodology-dependent quantitative results. Debt and liquidity pass the examined Malaysia SAC limits, FTSE remains incomplete because gross income is unavailable, and the examined MSCI total-assets calculation fails on receivables plus cash. This is not an official index membership or fatwa. Revisit the record when Grainger files new statements or materially changes its products, customer mix or balance sheet.
Use the quantitative screen alongside your school's principles and consult a qualified scholar before investing.
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