Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) received 10,589 US patents in 2025, more than any other listed company and 2.5 times as many as the next company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC (TSM), with 4,163 [1]. Qualcomm (QCOM) was third with 3,771 and Apple (AAPL) fourth with 3,355 [1]. DataPorium data show that listed companies received 174,614 US patents in 2025, 0.6% more than in 2024, and the 25 companies in the ranking received 62,249 of them, or 35.6% [1].
Which companies received the most US patents in 2025?
The table ranks listed companies by the number of US patents granted to them in calendar year 2025, counting utility, design and other patent types. A patent counts for the company that owned it when it was granted, with subsidiaries included where they have been reviewed. Claims are the numbered statements that define what a patent protects; more claims per patent usually means broader or more detailed coverage. "Cited by" counts later US patents that cite the company's 2025 patents, as of October 6, 2026. The 2026 column covers grants from January 1 to October 6, 2026 [1].
| Rank | Company | Country | 2025 patents | 2024 | Change | Claims per patent | Cited by | 2026 to Oct. 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) | South Korea | 10,589 | 9,685 | +9.3% | 17.0 | 2,871 | 8,917 |
| 2 | TSMC (TSM) | Taiwan | 4,163 | 3,981 | +4.6% | 19.9 | 207 | 2,396 |
| 3 | Qualcomm (QCOM) | United States | 3,771 | 3,454 | +9.2% | 27.6 | 463 | 3,239 |
| 4 | Apple (AAPL) | United States | 3,355 | 3,506 | -4.3% | 18.1 | 3,325 | 2,348 |
| 5 | Canon (7751.T) | Japan | 2,840 | 2,543 | +11.7% | 14.7 | 202 | 2,244 |
| 6 | Toyota Motor (TM) | Japan | 2,688 | 2,232 | +20.4% | 9.3 | 740 | 2,177 |
| 7 | LG Electronics (066570.KS) | South Korea | 2,619 | 3,201 | -18.2% | 12.5 | 1,239 | 1,792 |
| 8 | Dell Technologies (DELL) | United States | 2,458 | 1,904 | +29.1% | 18.4 | 306 | 1,916 |
| 9 | IBM (IBM) | United States | 2,442 | 2,748 | -11.1% | 18.4 | 237 | 2,260 |
| 10 | Alphabet (GOOG) | United States | 2,422 | 2,774 | -12.7% | 17.7 | 892 | 1,599 |
| 11 | BOE Technology Group (000725.SZ) | China | 2,366 | 1,999 | +18.4% | 17.5 | 233 | 1,586 |
| 12 | Sony Group (SONY) | Japan | 2,092 | 2,448 | -14.5% | 15.7 | 406 | 1,410 |
| 13 | Intel (INTC) | United States | 2,090 | 1,945 | +7.5% | 19.8 | 332 | 1,478 |
| 14 | Kia (000270.KS) | South Korea | 1,866 | 1,431 | +30.4% | 13.8 | 977 | 1,544 |
| 15 | Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) | South Korea | 1,860 | 1,430 | +30.1% | 13.8 | 976 | 1,544 |
| 16 | Microsoft (MSFT) | United States | 1,793 | 1,765 | +1.6% | 18.9 | 349 | 1,288 |
| 17 | Amazon (AMZN) | United States | 1,691 | 1,763 | -4.1% | 18.5 | 1,189 | 1,239 |
| 18 | RTX (RTX) | United States | 1,687 | 1,773 | -4.9% | 15.9 | 209 | 1,283 |
| 19 | Panasonic Holdings (PCRFF) | Japan | 1,626 | 1,774 | -8.3% | 10.8 | 171 | 1,130 |
| 20 | Ericsson (ERIC) | Sweden | 1,515 | 1,523 | -0.5% | 18.2 | 189 | 1,224 |
| 21 | Micron Technology (MU) | United States | 1,381 | 1,799 | -23.2% | 19.6 | 162 | 1,141 |
| 22 | Fujifilm Holdings (4901.T) | Japan | 1,311 | 1,395 | -6.0% | 14.1 | 193 | 1,144 |
| 23 | General Motors (GM) | United States | 1,299 | 1,285 | +1.1% | 15.9 | 1,102 | 968 |
| 24 | Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) | China | 1,169 | 1,092 | +7.1% | 18.5 | 107 | 810 |
| 25 | Honda Motor (HMC) | Japan | 1,156 | 1,061 | +9.0% | 9.9 | 303 | 904 |
Source: DataPorium Patents, US patents granted to listed companies, data as of October 6, 2026 [1]. Claims per patent = total claims divided by patents. Change compares 2025 with 2024.
What stands out in the 2025 patent ranking?
Samsung is far ahead
Samsung's 10,589 patents were 6.1% of all US patents granted to listed companies in 2025, up 9.3% from 9,685 in 2024 [1]. Its 2025 patents carry 179,837 claims, more than twice TSMC's 82,781 [1]. In 2026 through October 6, Samsung had already received 8,917 patents, again the most [1].
United States companies hold the most places, South Korea the most patents per company
Eleven of the 25 companies are based in the United States, six in Japan, four in South Korea, two in China and one each in Taiwan and Sweden [1]. The 11 US companies received 24,389 patents in 2025 and the four South Korean companies 16,934; Samsung alone accounts for 10,589 of the South Korean total [1].
Claims per patent differ widely
Qualcomm's patents average 27.6 claims, the most in the top 25, followed by TSMC at 19.9 and Intel at 19.8 [1]. Toyota (9.3), Honda (9.9) and Panasonic (10.8) average the fewest [1]. Across all listed companies, 2025 patents averaged 15.9 claims, about the same as in 2024 [1].
Who moved up and down
Fourteen of the 25 companies received more patents in 2025 than in 2024 [1]. Kia (+30.4%), Hyundai Motor (+30.1%), Dell Technologies (+29.1%) and Toyota (+20.4%) grew the most; Micron Technology (-23.2%), LG Electronics (-18.2%) and Sony (-14.5%) declined the most [1]. Kia and Hyundai have almost identical counts, claims and citations in both years, which indicates that many of their patents are jointly owned and counted for each company; adding the two would double count them [1].
Which technologies did the 2025 patents cover?
Each utility patent has a main technology class in the Cooperative Patent Classification, the system the US and European patent offices use. In 2025, section H (electricity, including electronics, semiconductors and communication) accounted for 60,063 patents, or 34.4% of patents granted to listed companies, and section G (physics, including computing, measuring and optics) for 53,558, or 30.7% [1]. Vehicles, machining and printing (section B) followed with 18,904, or 10.8%, and health, food and personal items (section A) with 13,498, or 7.7% [1]. Design patents, which protect the look of a product, numbered 10,095, or 5.8% [1].
| Rank | Technology class | What it covers | 2025 patents | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G06F | Computing and data processing | 19,227 | 632 |
| 2 | H04W | Wireless communication networks | 10,122 | 261 |
| 3 | H04L | Digital data transmission | 9,835 | 426 |
| 4 | H01L | Semiconductor devices | 7,071 | 283 |
| 5 | H04N | Images and video, including television | 5,957 | 304 |
| 6 | A61B | Medical diagnosis and surgery | 4,394 | 271 |
| 7 | G06T | Image processing | 4,243 | 385 |
| 8 | H01M | Batteries and fuel cells | 3,007 | 244 |
| 9 | G06Q | Business and financial data systems | 2,983 | 310 |
| 10 | H10K | Organic electronic devices, such as OLED displays | 2,558 | 65 |
Source: DataPorium Patents, 2025 grants by main technology class [1]. Companies = listed companies with at least one 2025 patent in the class.
G06F, computing, was the largest class with 19,227 patents from 632 companies, 11.7% of 2025 patents that have a technology class [1]. Wireless networks (H04W) came second with 10,122 patents from 261 companies [1].
Which 2025 patents were cited most?
Citations build up over years, so patents granted in 2025 have had little time to be cited, and older patents usually have more. Among the top 25, Apple's 2025 patents were cited by 3,325 later US patents, more than Samsung's 2,871 even though Samsung received more than three times as many [1]. Per 100 patents, Apple's 2025 patents had 99.1 citations, General Motors' 84.8 and Amazon's 70.3, against 5.0 for TSMC [1].
Among individual 2025 utility patents, seven of the ten most cited belong to Masimo (MASI), the medical monitoring company [1]. The most cited, patent 12,198,790 for physiological monitor sensor systems, granted on January 14, 2025, had been cited by 82 later patents as of October 6, 2026 [1]. The full lists by company and class are on the DataPorium patents screener.
Samsung Electronics received 10,589 US patents in 2025, 2.5 times as many as TSMC, the second-largest recipient among listed companies.
How we ranked the companies
- Universe: US patents granted since 2015 to companies with a stock listing, from official US government patent data [1].
- Measure: number of patents granted in calendar year 2025 (January 1 to December 31, 2025), all patent types [1].
- Owner: the company that owned the patent at grant, with reviewed subsidiaries included. Patents granted to private companies, universities and individuals are not in the data, so some large patent recipients are not listed [1].
- Dates: new patents are granted every Tuesday; the newest grants in the data are from October 6, 2026, and citation counts are as of that date [1].
A patent count measures output of the patent process, not the value of the inventions, and companies differ in how often they seek patents.
Key takeaways
- Samsung Electronics received 10,589 US patents in 2025, the most of any listed company, up 9.3% from 2024 [1].
- TSMC (4,163), Qualcomm (3,771) and Apple (3,355) followed; the top 25 received 62,249 patents, 35.6% of the total [1].
- Listed companies received 174,614 US patents in 2025, 0.6% more than in 2024 [1].
- Computing (G06F) was the largest technology class with 19,227 patents; electricity and physics sections together made up 65.1% [1].
- Through October 6, 2026, listed companies had received 134,536 US patents, 77.0% of the 2025 total, led again by Samsung with 8,917 [1].
Frequently asked questions
Which company received the most US patents in 2025?
Samsung Electronics, with 10,589 US patents granted in 2025, followed by TSMC with 4,163 and Qualcomm with 3,771 [1].
How many US patents did Apple get in 2025?
Apple received 3,355 US patents in 2025, 4.3% fewer than its 3,506 in 2024, and ranked fourth among listed companies [1].
Which US company has the most patents in 2025?
Qualcomm, with 3,771 US patents granted in 2025, was the top US-based listed company, ahead of Apple with 3,355 [1].
Who leads in US patents in 2026 so far?
Samsung Electronics again, with 8,917 patents granted from January 1 to October 6, 2026, followed by Qualcomm with 3,239 and TSMC with 2,396 [1].