Clarivate Analytics has published the sixth edition of its annual Top 100 Global Innovator report, which aims to list the world’s most innovative companies and institutions. The report is based on an analysis of the number of patents granted on a worldwide basis and their impact, measured by the number of times they are cited by other organisations.

With reference to the 2016 listing, the company notes that the volume of patents filed has decreased but the grant rate (i.e. the number of successful applications) has increased — interpreted as “an increased commitment to quality over quantity for commercializing new inventions”.

Together, the firms on the list are reported to have generated more than $4 trillion revenue in 2015 and spent more than $227bn on research and development. On average, according to Clarivate Analytics, the 2016 Top 100 Global Innovators invest 9.1% more in R&D than those in the S&P 100.

Companies are not individually ranked within the Top 100, but the list can be broken down by country and by sector. Japan and the U.S. continued to dominate the rankings in 2016. The U.S. regained the top spot, with 41 organisations in the list, compared with Japan’s 34. The two front-runners were followed by France, the leading European nation, with 10 innovators, ahead of Germany (4).

The listing includes a number of companies with activities in the aerospace & defence sector, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Electric in the U.S. ; and Safran and Thales in France.

Formerly a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, Clarivate Analytics was sold to Onex Corporation and Baring Private Equity Asia in October 2016.