10 Companies with Most Discoveries

6. Microsoft

2011 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. Toshiba

2011 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.