The Short Answer
Rambus stock (RMBS) has a qualitative business verdict that is HALAL, but its current filing-based financial screen FAILS on liquidity. Rambus designs and licenses memory-interface chips and silicon IP.
Semiconductor design and technology licensing are generally permissible at the activity level. The March 31, 2026 filing reports debt/assets of 0.00%, liquidity/assets of 51.28% and receivables-plus-cash/assets of 15.89%; liquidity exceeds the examined limits. Interest income and other income is used as a conservative upper bound of 3.97% of revenue.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-03-31; calculated 2026-07-15.
0 / 1,533.146
786.139 / 1,533.146
243.621 / 1,533.146
7.151 / 180.189
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Debt/assets is 0.00%, liquidity/assets is 51.28%, above the examined 33.333% limit; receivables-plus-cash/assets is 15.89% and the income upper bound is 3.97%.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Liquidity/assets is 51.28%, above the examined 33.33% limit; this is not an index-membership claim.
- Financial
- Fails
- Overall
- Fails
Identifiable liquidity/assets is 51.28%, above the examined 33% limit; this is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Fails
A licensed historical market-cap series is not stored; asset-based financial screens already fail on liquidity.
Business-activity disclosure
Rambus develops and licenses semiconductor-interface technologies and sells related products. Semiconductor IP and engineering activity is generally permissible, but the filing does not provide a universal prohibited-revenue numerator for customer end uses.
Limitation: No universal prohibited-activity revenue numerator or scholar-specific purification percentage is disclosed; licensing and customer end-use allocation remains qualitative.
Purification
Interest income and other income (expense), net is used as a conservative upper bound; ZakatInvest does not prescribe a fixed scholar-approved purification percentage.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are USD millions from Rambus' March 31, 2026 Form 10-Q.
- No interest-bearing debt is reported; operating lease liabilities are excluded.
- Cash is $134.324 million and marketable securities are $651.815 million; unbilled receivables are not added to avoid double counting contract balances.
- First-quarter revenue is $180.189 million. Interest income and other income (expense), net is $7.151 million and is used as a conservative upper bound because the filing says it consists primarily of investment-portfolio interest income.
- Semiconductor IP licensing and products are generally permissible, but 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.
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)
Rambus's Business Activity
Rambus generates revenue from:
- Memory-interface chips: DDR memory-interface buffer chips for servers and data centers
- Silicon IP: Memory and interface IP licensed to chip designers
- Security IP: Hardware security cores and licensing
This is a general-purpose technology business. This is permissible at the activity level.
Concerns to Be Aware Of
1. Interest Income on Cash — The Primary Screen
Rambus holds $786.139 million of cash and marketable securities. The filing reports $7.151 million of interest income and other income (expense), net, used as a conservative upper bound; ZakatInvest does not prescribe a fixed purification percentage.
2. Debt Ratio
Rambus reports no interest-bearing debt at March 31, 2026. The liquidity screen nevertheless fails because cash plus marketable securities are 51.28% of total assets.
3. Lumpy Licensing Revenue
Royalty and licensing revenue can be lumpy and is sensitive to patent-renewal timing and the memory-semiconductor cycle. This is a business consideration rather than a Sharia screen concern.
Filing-Based Ratios (March 31, 2026)
Using Rambus's latest Form 10-Q (USD millions):
- Debt / total assets: 0.00%
- Cash + securities / total assets: 51.28% — above the examined limits
- Receivables + cash / total assets: 15.89%
- Interest-income upper bound / revenue: 3.97%
Methodology Interpretation
These are ZakatInvest calculations from the cited filing, not claims of current index membership or an official scholar ruling:
- FTSE-style: Liquidity screen fails at 51.28%.
- MSCI-style: Liquidity screen fails at 51.28%; this is not an index-membership claim.
- Malaysia-style: Liquidity screen fails at 51.28%; this is not an official classification.
Bottom Line
Rambus (RMBS) has a generally permissible semiconductor-IP business, but its current filing-based liquidity screen fails. The qualitative business verdict remains HALAL while the quantitative result is not compliant under the examined financial limits; consult the methodology you follow.
For Muslim investors seeking semiconductor exposure, RMBS sits alongside other halal-screened names like Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) and Power Integrations (POWI).
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