In 2016, Amazon surpassed auto manufacturer Volkswagen AG to become the world leader in research and development spending and took the top spot again last year, according to an analysis on the world's top 25 R&D spenders by Bloomberg reporter Justin Fox.
Mr. Fox noted various research on R&D spending indicates such spending has a pronounced effect on a country's economic growth — a topic of immense interest in light of President Donald Trump's recent decision to implement tariffs on various goods in a move some analysts theorize may lead to a trade war between the U.S. and several of its trading partners.
To examine R&D spending in the U.S., Mr. Fox compiled a list of 25 companies and analyzed their expenditure using data from each of the companies' 2017 financial documents. He noted Amazon, which topped the list, does not report R&D spending on its earning statements. Instead, the statements list "technology and content" spending, which he — along with Amazon's investors — accept as a proxy for R&D, with slight differences, according to the report.
Here are the world's leading companies in terms of R&D expenditure for 2017, according to Mr. Fox.
- Amazon — $22.6 billion
- Alphabet — $16.6 billion
- Samsung Electronics — $14.9 billion
- Volkswagen — $14.8 billion
- Microsoft — $13.9 billion
- Huawei — $13.3 billion
- Intel — $13.1 billion
- Apple — $12.1 billion
- Roche — $11.5 billion
- Johnson & Johnson — $10.6 billion
- Merck — $10.2 billion
- Daimler — $9.8 billion
- Novartis — $9.0 billion
- Toyota — $9.0 billion
- Robert Bosch — $8.5 billion
- Ford — $8.0 billion
- Facebook — $7.8 billion
- Pfizer — $7.7 billion
- General Motors — $7.3 billion
- BMW — $6.9 billion
- Honda — $6.5 billion
- Sanofi — $6.2 billion
- Oracle — $6.2 billion
- Cisco Systems — $6.1 billion
- Celgene — $5.9 billion
To access Mr. Fox's analysis, click here.