YELP

Yelp Inc.

DOUBTFUL

Score: 56/100

stock

Is YELP Halal?

Local-business reviews and advertising platform — the model is permissible, but a meaningful share of advertising and listings comes from bars, alcohol, and other haram-linked businesses.

What You Should Know

Yelp Inc. operates a local-business reviews and advertising platform, earning nearly all of its revenue from advertising sold to local businesses. Operating an advertising and reviews platform is permissible in principle, and Yelp carries a clean, debt-light balance sheet that passes the debt screen. 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, and the platform promotes and monetizes those businesses. Because the share of haram-linked advertising is hard to bound and may exceed the 5% tolerance, the stock is best treated as doubtful pending case-by-case judgment.

⚠️ Concerns

•A meaningful share of advertising and featured listings comes from bars, alcohol-serving venues, and other haram-linked local businesses; the share is hard to bound and may exceed the 5% haram-revenue tolerance
•Advertising-funded review platforms carry ongoing exposure to impermissible business categories, keeping the verdict in doubtful territory for many scholars
•Verify interest income on cash against the 5% threshold and purify the corresponding portion of returns
•The verdict is judgment-dependent — stricter investors may treat it as non-compliant, while others may accept it with purification