The Short Answer
Yelp stock (YELP) is doubtful under Sharia screening. Operating a local-business reviews and advertising platform is permissible in principle, and Yelp carries a clean, debt-light balance sheet that passes the debt screen.
Current quantitative Sharia screen
Based on 10-Q figures for the period ended 2026-03-31; calculated 2026-07-15.
0 / 1,013.298
110.412 / 1,013.298
262.623 / 1,013.298
0.639 / 361.457
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Known debt/assets is 0.00%, liquidity/assets is 10.90%, receivables-plus-cash/assets is 25.92% and disclosed net interest income is 0.18%; business activity remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Known asset ratios pass examined MSCI total-assets limits; advertising-category allocation remains incomplete.
- Financial
- Pass
- Overall
- Incomplete
Known debt and liquidity ratios pass examined limits; this is a calculation against SAC ratios, not an official classification.
- Financial
- Not calculated
- Overall
- Incomplete
A licensed historical market-cap series is not stored and the qualitative advertising mix remains unresolved.
Business-activity disclosure
Yelp operates a local-business reviews and advertising platform, generally permissible in principle. Its advertising and featured-listing mix includes restaurants, nightlife and other categories whose prohibited share is not disclosed.
Limitation: The filing does not allocate advertising or listing revenue into a universal prohibited-activity numerator.
Purification
Yelp discloses $0.639 million of net interest income, but ZakatInvest does not prescribe a scholar-approved purification percentage or infer a gross numerator.
Inputs, assumptions and primary sources
- Amounts are USD millions from Yelp's March 31, 2026 Form 10-Q.
- No conventional interest-bearing debt or current marketable-securities balance is reported; operating leases are excluded.
- Cash and cash equivalents are $110.412 million and net accounts receivable are $152.211 million.
- First-quarter revenue is $361.457 million and the filing discloses $0.639 million of net interest income, or 0.18% of revenue; a gross interest-income numerator is not separately disclosed.
- The filing does not quantify revenue attributable to bars, alcohol-serving venues or other prohibited categories.
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 concern is the revenue mix: a meaningful share of Yelp's advertising and prominent listing categories comes from restaurants and nightlife that centrally feature bars, alcohol service, and other haram-linked activity. Because that share is hard to bound and may exceed the 5% tolerance, the stock is best treated as doubtful.
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)
Yelp's Business Activity
Yelp Inc. operates a local-business reviews and advertising platform. Its activity is:
- Advertising: Nearly all revenue comes from ads sold to local businesses
- Reviews: User reviews of restaurants, nightlife, and services
- Listings: Business profiles and promotion across categories
Running an advertising and reviews platform is permissible in principle — the issue is which businesses are promoted.
Why YELP Is Doubtful
1. Permissible Platform, Problematic Mix
The advertising model itself is permissible, but a meaningful share of Yelp's advertising and featured listings comes from bars, alcohol-serving venues, and other haram-linked local businesses, which the platform promotes and monetizes.
2. Hard-to-Bound Haram Revenue
Because the share of haram-linked advertising is difficult to bound and may exceed the 5% haram-revenue tolerance, many scholars keep the verdict in doubtful territory.
3. Clean Balance Sheet
Yelp's debt-light balance sheet passes the debt screen, so the screening question is about revenue mix rather than leverage. Verify interest income on cash against the 5% threshold and purify the corresponding portion of returns.
Filing-Based Ratios (March 31, 2026)
Based on Yelp's latest Form 10-Q:
- Haram Revenue: Meaningful via bars/alcohol-linked advertising — may exceed 5% ⚠️
- Debt / Total Assets: 0.00% — no conventional debt reported ✅
- Liquidity / Total Assets: 10.90% ✅
- Receivables + Cash / Total Assets: 25.92% ✅
- Disclosed Net Interest Income / Revenue: 0.18%; gross interest income is not separately disclosed ⚠️
Methodology Interpretation
The known filing-based asset ratios pass the examined FTSE, MSCI and Malaysia-style limits. The overall result remains incomplete because the advertising mix and a gross interest-income numerator are not fully disclosed.
- Core activity: Local-business reviews and advertising
- Quantitative status: Known asset ratios pass; data remains incomplete
- Qualitative issue: Bars, alcohol-serving venues and nightlife categories are not quantified
Bottom Line
Yelp (YELP) is doubtful for Muslim investors. The advertising platform is permissible in principle, but the decisive issue is exposure to bars, alcohol, and other haram-linked businesses that is hard to bound and may exceed the 5% tolerance. The verdict is judgment-dependent — stricter investors may treat it as non-compliant, while others may accept it with purification. Muslim investors seeking advertising or internet exposure should consider platforms with a cleaner revenue mix.
For permissible alternatives, review our guide to haram investments to avoid and compare cleaner internet businesses.
YELP's platform is permissible, but haram-linked advertising makes it doubtful. Use our screener to find clearer halal alternatives.
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