Companies in the United Kingdom that spend the most on R&D
Research and development expense is what the company charged to R&D in the income statement for the year. Most companies report no R&D at all — the line is absent rather than zero — so this ranking covers the roughly 40% of filers that do. Figures are for fiscal year 2025 and are read directly from each company's SEC filings; the source column on every row links to the document.
AstraZeneca (AZN) tops the list with $14.2B in r&d expense for fiscal 2025, ahead of GSK ($9.9B) and Arm Holdings ($2.8B). The top 10 together report $31.8B in r&d expense; the gap between #1 and #10 is ×48.08. 27 companies in the United Kingdom report r&d expense, 2.1% of the 1270-filer universe. The last place on the list, Waldencast, comes in at $3.2M.
| # | Company | R&D expense | YoY | 15-year trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AstraZenecaAZNGBHealthcare | $14.2B | +4.8% | |
| 2 | GSKGSKGBHealthcare | $9.9B | +21.3% | |
| 3 | Arm HoldingsARMGBTechnology | $2.8B | +34.0% | |
| 4 | ShellSHELGBEnergy | $1.2B | +6.5% | |
| 5 | CNH IndustrialCNHGBIndustrials | $1.0B | +10.9% | |
| 6 | UnileverULGBConsumer staples | $945M | −2.2% | |
| 7 | Rio TintoRIOGBMaterials | $524M | +31.7% | |
| 8 | British American Tobacco P.L.CBTIGBConsumer staples | $472M | −2.8% | |
| 9 | HaleonHLNGBConsumer staples | $417M | +9.4% | |
| 10 | Smith & NephewSNNGBHealthcare | $296M | +2.4% | |
| 11 | Immunocore HoldingsIMCRGBHealthcare | $275M | +23.7% | |
| 12 | BPBPGBEnergy | $274M | −9.0% | |
| 13 | LivanovaLIVNGBHealthcare | $186M | +1.8% | |
| 14 | LindeLINGBMaterials | $147M | −2.0% | |
| 15 | Sensata TechnologiesSTGBTechnology | $134M | −21.0% | |
| 16 | AmcorAMCRGBConsumer discretionary | $120M | +103.4% | |
| 17 | Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals InternationalKNSAGBHealthcare | $96.9M | −13.2% | |
| 18 | PentairPNRGBIndustrials | $95.9M | +2.5% | |
| 19 | TechnipfmcFTIGBEnergy | $83.1M | +13.2% | |
| 20 | DiageoDEOGBConsumer staples | $74.0M | +7.2% | |
| 21 | Brightstar LotteryBRSLGBCommunication services | $47.0M | +9.3% | |
| 22 | Genius SportsGENIGBCommunication services | $31.1M | +26.5% | |
| 23 | Nomad FoodsNOMDGBConsumer staples | $26.3M | +16.4% | |
| 24 | PearsonPSOGBCommunication services | $10.6M | +37.5% | |
| 25 | PaysafePSFEGBTechnology | $8.6M | — | |
| 26 | Luxfer HoldingsLXFRGBMaterials | $4.3M | −2.3% | |
| 27 | WaldencastWALDGBConsumer staples | $3.2M | −47.6% |
All figures from SEC filings · FY2025 · 27
see sources
- AstraZeneca 0001104659-26-019130
- GSK 0001131399-26-000004
- Arm Holdings 0001973239-26-000097
- Shell 0001628280-26-017024
- CNH Industrial 0001567094-26-000006
- Unilever 0000217410-26-000007
- Rio Tinto 0001628280-26-009531
- British American Tobacco P.L.C 0001303523-26-000017
- Haleon 0001104659-26-027443
- Smith & Nephew 0001104659-26-028258
- Immunocore Holdings 0001671927-26-000005
- BP 0000313807-26-000006
- Livanova 0001639691-26-000010
- Linde 0001628280-26-011430
- Sensata Technologies 0001477294-26-000007
- Amcor 0001748790-26-000022
- Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International 0001104659-26-019168
- Pentair 0000077360-26-000007
- Technipfmc 0001681459-26-000010
- Diageo 0000835403-25-000021
- Brightstar Lottery 0001628280-26-011083
- Genius Sports 0001193125-26-110749
- Nomad Foods 0001651717-26-000006
- Pearson 0001193125-26-104945
- Paysafe 0000950170-22-004762
- Luxfer Holdings 0001096056-26-000015
- Waldencast 0001840199-24-000027
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{{cite web |title=Companies in the United Kingdom that spend the most on R&D |url=https://companiesranked.com/en/companies-in-the-united-kingdom-that-spend-the-most-on-research-and-development |website=CompaniesRanked |date=2026-09-25 |language=en}}APA 7
CompaniesRanked. (September 25, 2026). Companies in the United Kingdom that spend the most on R&D. CompaniesRanked. https://companiesranked.com/en/companies-in-the-united-kingdom-that-spend-the-most-on-research-and-developmentBibTeX
@misc{companiesranked-en-companies-in-the-united-kingdom-that-spend-the-most-on-research-and-development-2026,
author = {{CompaniesRanked}},
title = {{Companies in the United Kingdom that spend the most on R\&D}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://companiesranked.com/en/companies-in-the-united-kingdom-that-spend-the-most-on-research-and-development}},
note = {Compiled from SEC EDGAR XBRL filings; data as of 2026-09-25},
urldate = {2026-09-25}
}The figures are rebuilt with every data refresh, so the reference carries the publication date. Add your own access date if your style requires one.
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