Biggest R&D spenders in the US
Research and development expense in the latest fiscal year, as reported in the income statement. Alphabet Inc. (Class A) leads with $61.1bn in fiscal 2025. The top 100 of 1,913 companies with a figure on file.
Would buying this list have paid?
Buying the top 100 companies by research and development, as the list stood each quarter since September 30, 2010, would have returned +20.1% a year against +14.6% for the S&P 500. It beat the index, but mostly by moving more than the market (beta 1.21); after allowing for that, the extra return could be chance.
| Return a year | Typical yearly swing | Sharpe ratio | Biggest drop | Moves with market (beta) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 by research and development | +20.1% | 19.4% | 0.98 | -30.2% | 1.21 |
| S&P 500, buy and hold | +14.6% | 14.7% | 0.92 | -23.9% | 1.00 |
- Ahead of the S&P 500 in 51.6% of 64 quarters.
- Extra return after allowing for market risk (alpha): +2.8% a year No reliable evidence t = 1.30
- Against the S&P 500: +5.7% a year in 2010–2017, +5.2% in 2018–2026.
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