Is Kohl's (KSS) stock Halal?

Kohl's is a prominent player in the retail industry, best known for its wide range of department store offerings. Headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Kohl's operates over a thousand stores across the United States. Its primary function revolves around providing consumers with a vast selection of apparel, footwear, accessories, and home products. The company emphasizes value pricing and convenient shopping experiences, appealing to a broad demographic spectrum. Before any of that matters to a Muslim investor, one question comes first: is Kohl's stock Halal?

Is Kohl's Shariah compliant?

No. In the October 2026 screening Kohl's (KSS) does not pass AAOIFI screening: it fails the interest-bearing investments and interest-bearing debt screens. Industrial businesses like Kohl's usually pass the activity screen without drama. The harder test is financial: heavy assets mean heavy financing, and AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 tolerates interest bearing debt and investments only below 30% of market capitalisation, ratios that shift with every move in the share price.

Does Kohl's pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: Kohl's currently fails the interest-bearing investments and interest-bearing debt screens, so the overall verdict is not compliant regardless of the business itself. The activity itself raises no Shariah objection; the scrutiny belongs to the financing.

Is Kohl's' income Halal?

Yes, within AAOIFI's tolerance. Kohl's' income from non-permissible sources stays below 5% of revenue in the October 2026 screening.

Does Kohl's meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

No. Both ratios currently breach the 30% caps, measured against a market capitalisation of $2.09B (market data as of 1 October 2026): interest bearing investments and interest bearing debt each exceed the limit AAOIFI permits for a Halal investment. The ratios move with the share price as well as the balance sheet, and our Shariah Supervisory Board has KSS re-screened every month.

Why do other halal screeners show a different verdict for Kohl's?

Screeners can disagree without either being wrong. AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21, which Tabadulat applies, measures interest bearing debt and investments against market capitalisation with a 30% ceiling. MSCI and FTSE measure them against total assets with a 33% ceiling, and S&P and Dow Jones Islamic use a multi year average of market capitalisation. Data dates differ too, because each provider reads filings and prices on its own schedule. The same company can therefore pass one standard and fail another in the same month. Tabadulat publishes one answer, the AAOIFI result as of October 2026, and re-screens it every month.

Tabadulat is an ADGM regulated brokerage whose license covers Shari'a Compliant Regulated Activities, as the FSRA permission names them. New to the terminology? Gharar and Maysir, Sukuk, Zakat and purification are all explained in plain English.

New to the screening method? Read AAOIFI Standards Explained: What Makes a Stock Halal?