Corporate investment in research, Switzerland is third in the world
Keystone-SDA
In spite of global challenges, large Swiss companies continue to make a strong bet on innovation.
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According to a study published on Tuesday by the auditing and consulting firm EY, Swiss groups had one of the highest rates of investment in research and development (R&D) in the world in 2025.
Analysing the world’s top 500 groups by R&D expenditure, Switzerland ranks third in terms of research intensity (the ratio of R&D expenditure to turnover), surpassed only by the Netherlands and the US. The 14 Swiss groups surveyed achieved an average intensity of 8.4%, which is significantly higher than the European average (6.7%) but still far behind the US (9.2%).
In absolute terms, Swiss companies invested a total of €34 billion (CHF31.2 billion) in innovation in the past year, a result that gives Switzerland sixth place in the world ranking for total expenditure.
As usual, it is the Basel-based pharmaceutical giants that are leading the way: Roche confirms its position at the top of the world rankings with an expenditure of €14.3 billion, while Novartis invested €9.9 billion, placing 18th. Medicines remain the most research-intensive sector worldwide.
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However, the study highlights a worrying trend for the old continent: while American companies increased their R&D spending by 12%, in a context of revenue growth of 5%, European companies were limited to an increase of just 5%, with turnover remaining essentially stagnant. “The gap between the US and Europe is widening,” EY analysts commented.
At a global level, the top three places in the absolute spending rankings are occupied by American technology giants: Amazon (€96.2 billion) leads the pack, followed by Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook). According to EY, this development is also fuelled by huge investments in artificial intelligence.
Overall, the 500 global companies with the largest R&D expenditures have increased their relative budgets by 9.4% in 2025, against a 4.7% growth in turnover: a sign that innovation is being given an increasingly high priority, EY experts conclude.
Adapted from Italian by AI/ts
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