I often see the first question most people seem to be asking is
“Is it Halal to invest in this company”. If not, why not?
Those are good questions to ask, No doubt about it.
However, very rarely do i hear the following questions being asked
(1) is it a GOOD BUSINESS?
(2) What makes it a good business?
(3) Does the company have a proven track record of profitability?
(4) How long has the company been operating and how long has it been profitable?
(5) Is the company growing ? How fast?
(6) Hows the industry the company operates in? Very competitive?
(7) What are the company’s competitive advantages?
(8) Does the company generate cash?
(9) Does the company exceed its cost of capital (Return on Capital > Cost of capital)
(10) Hows the company balance sheet?
(11) How does the management allocate capital and their track record?
(12) is EPS accelerating or slowing down?
(13) last but not least , how’s the company valued relative to its operating history , peers and industry ?
(14) what needs to go right to make this an attractive investment ?
I am sure there can be many more questions one can add and do more research. The point i am making is that being a Halal business is a necessary condition for Muslims to consider investment, but its not a sufficient condition.