Is SOXX Halal?The Semiconductor ETF That Might Surprise You

iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is one of the most popular ETFs in the world with $14B in assets. We screened every single holding — all 30 stocks — against Shariah standards using the Halal Terminal API to give you a definitive, data-backed answer.

Screening Results at a Glance

Why SOXX Fails Shariah Screening

SOXX is one of the most Shariah-friendly conventional ETFs we've ever screened. With 28 out of 30 holdings passing and a weighted compliance of 95.1%, it's remarkably close to being fully compliant.

Why semiconductors are naturally halal-friendly:

• Pure manufacturing: Chip companies design and build physical products — no prohibited business activities
• Low debt: Semiconductor firms typically maintain conservative balance sheets due to cyclical revenue
• High margins: Strong profitability means less need for interest-bearing debt
• Minimal interest income: Cash is reinvested in R&D and capex, not financial instruments

The only two failures (Skyworks and ON Semiconductor) are borderline cases that pass under DJIM and S&P but fail under AAOIFI's stricter 30% debt/assets threshold. These are not business activity failures — just slightly elevated debt ratios.

Should you buy SOXX? While 93% compliant, SOXX is not Shariah-certified. If you follow strict compliance, stick with purpose-built halal ETFs. But if your methodology allows conventional ETFs with high compliance rates and you purify dividends, SOXX is among the best options available.

Top Compliant Holdings

These SOXX holdings pass Shariah screening:

1. NVDA (10%)
2. AVGO (9%)
3. AMD (6%)
4. QCOM (5%)
5. TXN (5%)
6. INTC (4%)
7. LRCX (4%)
8. KLAC (4%)
9. MRVL (4%)
10. AMAT (4%)

Non-Compliant Holdings

These holdings fail and are the primary reason SOXX is not compliant:

1. SWKS (Skyworks — borderline debt under AAOIFI)
2. ON (ON Semiconductor — borderline debt ratio)

Halal Alternatives

For similar market exposure with full Shariah compliance:

• SPUS (includes many semiconductor stocks within S&P 500 Shariah)
• Custom portfolio: buy SOXX's top holdings individually (all top 10 are compliant)
• SPTE (halal tech ETF — includes semiconductors)

For a full comparison, see our Best Halal ETFs for 2026 guide.

Screen SOXX Yourself

curl https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/SOXX/screening \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY"

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/SOXX/screening",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_KEY"}
)
data = resp.json()

print(f"Compliance Rate: {data['compliance_rate']}%")
print(f"Compliant: {data['compliant_holdings']}/{data['total_holdings']}")
print(f"Purification: {data['purification_rate']:.1%}")

for h in data["holdings"]:
    if h["compliance_status"] != "compliant":
        print(f"  FAIL: {h['symbol']} ({h['weight']:.1%} weight)")

Key Takeaways

• SOXX is NOT Shariah-compliant — 93.3% of holdings pass screening
• Weighted compliance: 95.1%
• Purification rate: 0.8%
• Halal alternatives: SPUS, HLAL, and UMMA offer similar exposure with full compliance