Swiss companies among global leaders for research expenditure

In 2022, corporate spending on research and development (R&D) activities rose by +14 percent year on year to stand at 889 billion euros, as EY writes in a press release. In terms of total R&D spending, the volume of 33 billion euros on the part of Swiss companies is enough for the country to secure fifth place in the ranking. The USA is top of the pile in this regard, with 164 companies in the top 500 investing a total of 475 billion euros in R&D activities overall.

“In principle, this is a positive sign for Switzerland as a business location”, comments Stefan Rösch-Rütsche, Country Managing Partner of EY in Switzerland, in the press release. “At the same time, however, it must be noted that investments in Switzerland have increased by 5 percent, which is significantly less than the investments of the top 500, which have increased by 14 percent”, he adds.

With 14 companies represented in the top 500, Switzerland is ranked in 9th place in this regard. Ranked in 8th position overall, Roche is Switzerland’s sole representative in the top ten. However, another pharmaceutical firm, Novartis, is ranked in 14th place. Ranked between 103rd and 454th are STMicroelectronics, Nestlé, ABB, TE Connectivity, Alcon Inc, Givaudan, The Swatch Group, Swisscom, Sika, Holcim, Schindler Holding and Clariant.

Measured by the number of companies, Switzerland is more or less on a par with the UK. “This is an expression of the strength of Switzerland as a research location”, according to Rösch-Rütsche, who concludes that this can in particular be attributed to “the availability of human resources in research and development and the proximity to the world's leading technical universities”. ce/hs