20 companies spending most on R&D in the world

Some companies spend a lot on research and development to stay ahead in business. Booz & Company, a consultancy, has ranked firms based on R&D spending in 2013.

Let's take a look at companies that spend most on R&D in the world.

Source: Booz & Company

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Volkswagen

Industry: Automotive

Headquarters: Wolfsburg, Germany

Spending on R&D in 2013: $11.4 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 22.4 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 4.6 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 1

Overall rank in 2012: 11

Volkswagen, the third-biggest automaker in the world, posted revenue of 103.94 billion euros in 2012.

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Samsung

Industry: Computing and Electronics

Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea

Spending on R&D in 2013: $10.4 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 15.6 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 5.8 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 2

Overall rank in 2012: 6

Samsung, the largest business conglomerate in South Korea, posted revenue of $268.8 billion in 2012.

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Roche Holding

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland

Spending on R&D in 2013: $10.2 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 14.7 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 21.0 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 3

Overall rank in 2012: 3

Roche Holding, a health-care company that has operations around the world, posted revenue of 42.53 billion Swiss franc in 2011.

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Intel

Industry: Computing and Electronics

Headquarters: California, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $10.1 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 21.5 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 19.0 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 4

Overall rank in 2012: 8

Intel, the largest semiconductor chip manufacturer in the world, posted revenue of $53.34 billion in 2012.

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Microsoft

Industry: Software and Internet

Headquarters: Washington, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $9.8 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 8.5 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 13.3 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 5

Overall rank in 2012: 5

Microsoft, which was founded in 1975, posted revenue of $77.85 billion in 2013.

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Toyota

Industry: Automotive

Headquarters: Aichi, Japan

Spending on R&D in 2013: $9.8 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 3.5 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 3.7 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 6

Overall rank in 2012: 1

Toyota, which was founded in 1937, posted revenue of 22.06 trillion Japanese yen in 2013.

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Novartis

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland

Spending on R&D in 2013: $9.3 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 2.6 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 16.5 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 7

Overall rank in 2012: 2

Novartis, which was founded in 1996, posted revenue of $58.56 billion in 2011.

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Merck

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: New Jersey, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $8.2 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 3.5 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 17.3 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 8

Overall rank in 2012: 7

Merck, which was founded in 1917, posted revenue of $48.04 billion in 2011.

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Pfizer

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: New York City, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $7.9 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 13.3 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 13.3 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 9

Overall rank in 2012: 4

Pfizer, which was founded in 1849, posted revenue of $58.98 billion in 2012.

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Johnson & Johnson

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: New York City, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $7.7 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 1.6 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 11.4 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 10

Overall rank in 2012: 12

Johnson & Johnson, which was founded in 1886, posted revenue of $65.03 billion in 2012.

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General Motors

Industry: Automaker

Headquarters: Michigan, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $7.4 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 9.3 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 4.8 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 11

Overall rank in 2012: 9

General Motors, which was founded in 1908, posted revenue of $150.27 billion in 2011.

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Google

Industry: Software and Internet

Headquarters: California, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.8 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 31.6 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 13.5 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 12

Overall rank in 2012: 26

Google, which was founded in 1998, posted revenue of $10.74 billion in 2012.

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Honda

Industry: Automaker

Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.8 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 7.8 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 5.7 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 13

Overall rank in 2012: 15

Honda, which was founded in 1948, posted revenue of 9.87 trillion Japanese yen in 2013.

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Daimler

Industry: Automaker

Headquarters: Stuttgart, Germany

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.6 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 3.2 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 4.5 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 14

Overall rank in 2012: 19

Daimler, which was founded in 1998, posted revenue of 114.297 billion euros in 2012.

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Sanofi

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: Paris, France

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.3 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 2.3 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 14.1 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 15

Overall rank in 2012: 13

Sanofi, a multinational pharmaceutical company, posted revenue of 33.38 billion euros in 2011.

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IBM

Industry: Computing and Electronics

Headquarters: New York, United States

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.3 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 0.7 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 6.0 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 16

Overall rank in 2012: 17

IBM, which was founded in 1911, posted revenue of $104.5 billion in 2012.

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GlaxoSmithKline

Industry: Healthcare

Headquarters: Brentford, United Kingdom

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.3 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 1.0 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 15.0 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 17

Overall rank in 2012: 16

GlaxoSmithKline, which was founded in 2000, posted revenue of 26.431 billion British pounds in 2012.

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Nokia

Industry: Computing and Electronics

Headquarters: Espoo, Finland

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.1 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 14.4 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 15.8 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 18

Overall rank in 2012: 10

Nokia, which employs 101,982 people across 120 countries, posted revenue of 30.17 billion euros in 2012.

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Panasonic

Industry: Computing and Electronics

Headquarters: Osaka, Japan

Spending on R&D in 2013: $6.1 billion

Change in spending from 2012: Minus 3.5 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 6.9 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 19

Overall rank in 2012: 14

Panasonic, which was founded in 1918, posted revenue of 7.30 trillion Japanese yen in 2013.

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Sony

Industry: Computing and Electronics

Headquarters: Osaka, Japan

Spending on R&D in 2013: $5.7 billion

Change in spending from 2012: 9.3 per cent

As a percentage of revenue: 7.0 per cent

Overall rank in 2013: 20

Overall rank in 2012: 21

Sony, which was founded in 1958, posted revenue of $72.349 billion in 2013.