List of companies by research and development spending

The following list sorts companies with the highest expenditures for research and development (R&D) for different years, mostly taken from the magazine Strategy+Business.

2022 top 20 The 20 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2022. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (billions of US$)1AmazonSoftware and Internet73.212Alphabet Inc.Software and Internet39.503Meta Platforms, Inc.Software and Internet35.344AppleComputing and Electronics27.655MicrosoftSoftware and Internet26.636HuaweiComputing and Electronics24.007Volkswagen GroupAutomotive19.888Samsung ElectronicsComputing and Electronics19.299IntelComputing and Electronics17.5310Roche HoldingHealth Care14.7211Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care14.612Merck & Co.Health Care13.5513PfizerHealth Care11.4314NovartisHealth Care1015General MotorsAutomotive9.816AstraZeneca/Health Care9.7617Bristol Myers SquibbHealth Care9.5118TencentSoftware and Internet9.1219QualcommComputing and Electronics8.5220Alibaba GroupSoftware and Internet7.98

2020 top 10 The 10 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2020. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (billions of US$)1AmazonSoftware and Internet42.742Alphabet Inc.Software and Internet27.573HuaweiComputing and Electronics22.044MicrosoftSoftware and Internet19.275AppleComputing and Electronics18.755Samsung ElectronicsComputing and Electronics18.756FacebookSoftware and Internet18.457Volkswagen GroupAutomotive8IntelComputing and Electronics9Roche HoldingHealth Care10Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care

2018 top 50 The 50 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2018. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (billions of US$)1AmazonSoftware and Internet22.622Alphabet Inc.Software and Internet16.233Volkswagen GroupAutomotive15.774Samsung ElectronicsComputing and Electronics15.315MicrosoftSoftware and Internet14.746HuaweiComputing and Electronics13.607IntelComputing and Electronics13.108Apple Inc.Computing and Electronics11.589Roche HoldingHealth Care10.8010Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care10.5511Daimler AGAutomotive10.4012Merck & Co.Health Care10.2113ToyotaAutomotive10.0214NovartisHealth Care8.5115FordAutomotive8.0016FacebookSoftware and Internet7.7517PfizerHealth Care7.6618BMWAutomotive7.3319General MotorsAutomotive7.3020Robert Bosch GmbHIndustrials7.1221HondaAutomotive7.0822SanofiHealth Care6.5723BayerHealth Care6.1924SiemensIndustrials6.1025Oracle CorporationSoftware and Internet6.0926CiscoComputing and Electronics6.0627GlaxoSmithKlineHealth Care6.0528Bristol-Myers SquibbHealth Care5.9629CelgeneHealth Care5.9230NokiaComputing and Electronics5.9031IBMComputing and Electronics5.7932QualcommComputing and Electronics5.4733AstraZeneca/Health Care5.4134Eli Lilly and CompanyHealth Care5.2835Fiat Chrysler Automobiles/Automotive5.1436AbbVieHealth Care4.9837General ElectricIndustrials4.8038DellComputing and Electronics4.7639EricssonComputing and Electronics4.6340NissanAutomotive4.6241SonyComputing and Electronics4.3242PanasonicComputing and Electronics4.2343DensoAutomotive4.2144SAP SESoftware and Internet4.0345Gilead SciencesHealth Care3.7346Continental AGAutomotive3.7347Boehringer IngelheimHealth Care3.6948Alibaba GroupSoftware and Internet3.6349AmgenHealth Care3.5650RenaultAutomotive3.55

2017 top 20 The 20 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2017 according to the Global Innovation 1000. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (billions of US$)1AmazonSoftware and Internet16.12Alphabet Inc.Software and Internet13.93IntelComputing and Electronics12.74SamsungComputing and Electronics12.75Volkswagen GroupAutomotive12.16MicrosoftSoftware and Internet12.07Roche HoldingHealth Care11.48Merck & Co.Health Care10.19Apple Inc.Computing and Electronics10.010NovartisHealth Care9.611ToyotaAutomotive9.312Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care9.113General MotorsAutomotive8.114PfizerHealth Care7.915FordAutomotive7.316Daimler AGAutomotive6.917Oracle CorporationSoftware and Internet6.818CiscoComputing and Electronics6.319HondaAutomotive6.220FacebookSoftware and Internet5.9

2014 top 20 The 20 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2014 according to the Global Innovation 1000. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (billions of US$)1Volkswagen GroupAutomotive13.52SamsungComputing and Electronics13.43IntelComputing and Electronics10.64MicrosoftSoftware and Internet10.45Roche HoldingHealth Care10.06NovartisHealth Care9.97ToyotaAutomotive9.18Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care8.29GoogleSoftware and Internet8.010Merck & Co.Health Care7.511General MotorsAutomotive7.212Daimler AGAutomotive7.013PfizerHealth Care6.714AmazonSoftware and Internet6.415FordAutomotive6.416SanofiHealth Care6.317HondaAutomotive6.318IBMComputing and Electronics6.219GlaxoSmithKlineHealth Care6.120CiscoComputing and Electronics5.9

2011 top 20 The 20 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2011 according to the Global Innovation 1000. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (millions of US$)1Roche HoldingHealth Care9,6462PfizerHealth Care9,4133NovartisHealth Care9,0704MicrosoftSoftware and Internet8,7145Merck & Co.Health Care8,5916ToyotaAutomotive8,5467SamsungComputing and Electronics7,8738NokiaComputing and Electronics7,7789General MotorsAutomotive6,96210Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care6,84411IntelComputing and Electronics6,57612PanasonicComputing and Electronics6,17613GlaxoSmithKlineHealth Care6,12714Volkswagen GroupAutomotive6,08615IBMComputing and Electronics6,02616SanofiHealth Care5,83617HondaAutomotive5,70418AstraZenecaHealth Care5,31819CiscoComputing and Electronics5,27320SiemensIndustrials5,217

2008 top 20 The 20 companies with the highest research and development expenses in 2008 according to the Global Innovation 1000. RankCompanyCountrySectorExpenditures on R&D (millions of US$)1ToyotaAutomotive8,3862General MotorsAutomotive8,1003PfizerHealth Care8,0894NokiaComputing and Electronics7,7275Johnson & JohnsonHealth Care7,6806FordAutomotive7,5007MicrosoftSoftware and Internet7,1218Roche HoldingHealth Care6,9859SamsungComputing and Electronics6,53610GlaxoSmithKlineHealth Care6,47611NovartisHealth Care6,43012SanofiHealth Care6,20813IBMComputing and Electronics6,15314IntelComputing and Electronics5,75515AstraZenecaHealth Care5,16216HondaAutomotive5,14217Merck & Co.Health Care4,88318PanasonicComputing and Electronics4,85019Volkswagen GroupAutomotive4,75720SonyComputing and Electronics4,553

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