Is System1 (SST) stock Halal?

System1 is a leading company in the digital marketing and data technology sectors. It specializes in providing advertisers with advanced solutions for targeting audiences and optimizing their advertising strategies. System1's platform harnesses the power of data analytics and artificial intelligence to efficiently connect advertisers with potential customers across various digital channels. The company's innovative approach allows it to offer performance-based advertising campaigns that maximize return on investment for clients. For Muslim investors, though, the most pressing question is simpler: is System1 a Halal investment?

Is System1 Shariah compliant?

No. In the October 2026 screening System1 (SST) does not pass AAOIFI screening: it fails the non-permissible income, interest-bearing investments and interest-bearing debt screens. For industrial companies like System1, the product is rarely the problem; aircraft, vehicles and machinery are permissible. The exposure is leverage: fleets and factories are financed, and the 30% cap that AAOIFI Shariah Standard No. 21 places on interest bearing debt is the screen that decides most verdicts in this sector.

Does System1 pass the business activity test?

The activity screen is only part of the picture this month: System1 currently fails the non-permissible income, 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 System1's income Halal?

No. System1's income from impermissible sources currently exceeds AAOIFI's 5% revenue ceiling, which makes the stock non-compliant on this screen regardless of the others. The screen is reassessed monthly, so the status can change when new financial statements arrive.

Does System1 meet AAOIFI's debt and investment ratio requirements?

No. Both ratios currently breach the 30% caps, measured against a market capitalisation of $22.8M (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 SST re-screened every month.

Why do other halal screeners show a different verdict for System1?

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?