10 Companies with Most Discoveries
These companies below have held the largest market share in highly profitable businesses. Korean giant Toshiba has been extremely successful in consumer electronics, Microsoft dominates the operating system market and IBM is the market leader in enterprise computing. These companies have been able to rely on their constant revenue streams to support heavy investment in research and development. According to 24/7 Wall St. listed below are companies that invested the most in recent times.
10. Hitachi2011 Patent Grants: 1,465
Profits: $-1.1 Billion
Sales: $96 Billion
Value: 473rd Largest
The 38th-largest company in Japan, Hitachi is a substantial and exceptionally diversified corporation, with major stakes in 11 separate industries, including electronics, construction, automotive systems and telecommunications. With such an array of businesses, the company is involved in a great many research and patent applications. It was awarded 1,465 U.S. patents in 2011. But the company’s shares are down 47.7 percent in the past five years, an under-performance of roughly 40 percentage points compared to the S&P 500 over the same period.
9. Hon Hai Precision Industry2011 Patent Grants: 1,514
Profits: $2.4 billion
Sales: $61.2 billion
Value: 189th largest in world
Taiwan’s largest company, Hon Hai Precision Industry earned more than $60 billion in sales last year. Although this company’s name might not be very popular among all, most will recognize Foxconn, the company it purchased in 2010. Foxconn is the largest contract electronic manufacturer in the world. Shares of Hon Hai are down 63 percent in the past five years. Since 2009, the company’s annual patent rate has doubled.
8. Seiko Epson Corporation2011 Patent Grants: 1,533
Profits: -$211.8
Sales: $10.5 Billion
Value: 1,596th Largest In World
The manufacturer of printers and other consumer electronics devices, including LCD televisions and personal computers Seiko is known as Epson by most Americans. Last year, the U.S. Patent Office granted thecompany more than 1,500 patents. One of Epson’s primary businesses was inkjet printers, which have been turned nearly obsolete by laser printers and a lower demand for printing in general due to cloud computing. Over the past five years, the company has ramped up its R&D department, generating approximately 100 more patents each consecutive year than the previous one. At the same time, the company shares have plummeted nearly 70 percent. In recent times the company lost $211 million.
7. Sony2011 Patent Grants: 2,286
Profits: -$436.6 Million
Sales: $77.2 Billion
Value: 456th Largest In the World
Sony is one of the largest and most recognizable consumer electronics companies in the world. It is also one of the most struggling major companies in the world. Sony has steadily increased its patent portfolio, producing 805 more patents in 2011 than in 2007. Last year, the company lost $436 million. Over the past five years, company shares have lost more than three-quarters of their value. The company continues to struggle in its competition with rivals Apple and Samsung, both of which turned major profits last year.
6. Microsoft2011 Patent Grants: 2,311
Profits: $20.6 Billion
Sales: $66.7 Billion
Value: 50th Largest In the World
Microsoft’s awarded patents dropped substantially in the past year. In 2010, the company was awarded 3,094 patents in the U.S. Last year, the number was just 2,311, resulting in the U.S. Company being passed by Japanese companies Canon, Panasonic and Toshiba. The software and computer company’s stock has remained stable, with share prices down 11 percent in the past year. This is roughly in line with the rest of the market. The company’s consistent revenue stream from its Windows operating system, server products and Xbox game console, among others, allows it to invest heavily in research and development. Last year, the company earned $20.6 billion, the sixth-biggest profit of any company in the world.
5. Toshiba2011 Patent Grants: 2,483
Profits: -$211.2 Million
Sales: $68.3 Billion
Value: 509th Largest Company In World
The Japanese company, Toshiba produces a wide variety of consumer electronics, communications and network systems, as well as systems related to transportation, water and sewer infrastructure. The company had been among the top 10 of patent recipients since five years. Moreover, in the past couple of years, the company made a noteworthy jump awarded nearly 800 patents more in 2011 than in 2009. The company’s jump in technology development has not corresponded with financial success. Toshiba shares are down more than 60 percent in the past five years, and last year, the company lost $211 million.
4. Panasonic2011 Patent Grants: 2,559
Profits: -$1.1 Billion
Sales: $79.4 Billion $79.4
Value: 482nd Largest In World
Well known for its televisions, video recording and viewing equipment, and batteries, Panasonic is a century old Japan based company. In order to remain competitive in the ever-evolving world of technology, the company must stay innovative. Since 2006, Panasonic has averaged approximately 2,100 U.S. patents per year, including 2,559 last year. However, things have not been going well for the company. Shares are down nearly 75 percent over the past five years, and the company lost $1.1 billion last year. Among the 2,000 largest companies in the world, this loss was the 26th worst.
3. Canon2011 Patent Grants: 2,821
Profits: $3 Billion
Sales: $45.7 Billion
Value: 141st Largest In World
Canon is the 141th most valuable company in the world, and the fifth most valuable in Japan, according to the Forbes 2000. Thecompany manufactures a variety of consumer electronics and other products, but it is most well-known for its optical and imaging products, which include printers, cameras and video recording devices. Over the past five years, the company has been granted 2,300 patents on average per year. Canon’s shares are down more than 50 percent over a five-year period, but the company did make $3 billion last year.
2. Samsung Electronics2011 Patent Grants: 4,894
Profits: $13.7 Billion
Sales: $133.8 Billion
Value: 33rd Largest In World
Though there are eight Asian companiesamong the top 10 patent recipients, the only one that is presently doing well is from South Korea not Japan. Samsung Electronics is the largest company in Korea by a wide margin and is the 33rd largest in the world. The company has a stake in nearly every technology-based industry on earth, including construction, chemicals, finance, semiconductors and consumer electronics. The company has had a great deal of success in the smartphone market. In the past five years, the company’s awarded patents roughly doubled. At the same time, share pricehas jumped 67 percent. Last year, the company earned $13.7 billion. It recently said it would increase 2012 capital expenditure to $41 billion.
1. International Business Machines2011 Patent Grants: 6,180
Profits: $14.8 Billion
Sales: $99.9 Billion
Value: 31st Largest In World
The constant chief in patents has been, and remains, IBM. Last year, the company was awarded 6,180 separate patents, more than any other two companies combined excluding Samsung. This is the 19th consecutive year in a row that the company has been the top patent producer in the world. The massive IT Company has substantial market share in business technology consulting, as well as computer software and hardware development. The company made $14.8 billion in profits last year. Over the past five years, IBM shares are up more than 80 percent.
Tags: Foxconn, Hon Hai, Taiwan, IBM, Microsoft, Hitachi, Toshiba, IPhone
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