100 Leaders in Europe’s Economies: Benchmarking Investment, Innovation and Impact in Europe

Europe’s competitiveness is built on openness, interdependence, and global embeddedness. Its prosperity depends not on how many firms it “owns”, but on how many choose Europe as a place to invest, innovate, and employ. Both European- and non-European-headquartered multinationals generate vast value added, capital investment, and technological spillovers within Europe – forming the backbone of its industrial renewal, productivity growth, and innovation capacity.

Yet the current debate on competitiveness too often turns inward, focusing on the nationality of companies rather than their contribution to Europe’s economy. This framing is outdated and counterproductive. Persisting with it risks depriving Europeans of future economic and technological opportunities, as it diverts political attention from the true drivers of competitiveness: investment, innovation, and integration.

If Europe continues to measure success by the passport of a company rather than its productive footprint, it will erode its attractiveness to global investors and talent. The result would be slower technological diffusion, weaker industrial renewal, and fewer high-quality jobs. In an economy where knowledge, data, and capital move seamlessly across borders, a defensive stance will not protect European interests – it will isolate them.

To remain a global hub for innovation and advanced production, Europe must replace a politics of ownership with a politics of enablement – one that empowers firms, workers, and innovators to invest and grow within Europe, irrespective of headquarters location. A competitive Europe must remain open, predictable, and globally connected, strengthening both the integrity of its Single Market and its engagement through trade, investment, and multilateral partnerships.

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are the cornerstone of Europe’s competitiveness and technological dynamism. MNEs are consistently the most productive segment of Europe’s economy, driving efficiency gains, technological diffusion, and wage growth that smaller enterprises alone cannot sustain. Although they represent only around 1 per cent of all firms across major European economies, their contribution to output, trade, and employment is disproportionate. Around 151,000 MNE groups operate within the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), employing over 49 million people – roughly 29 per cent of the total business-economy workforce. The majority are European-controlled (73 per cent) and account for 83 per cent of MNE employment, while a small number of very large firms – just 5 per cent with more than 1,000 employees – provide over 80 per cent of all MNE jobs. These firms form the backbone of Europe’s production networks and are the main channels of technology transfer, innovation diffusion, and cross-border investment.

This study provides new evidence to inform Europe’s political debate. It analyses 100 of the world’s largest and most research-intensive multinational enterprises with substantial operational footprints in Europe. The sample spans technology, pharmaceuticals, automotive, retail, energy, and manufacturing – comprising 42 European- and 58 non-European-headquartered firms that together generate EUR 10.4 trillion in global revenue and EUR 822 billion in annual capital investment. Their combined presence demonstrates Europe’s enduring appeal as a location to invest, produce, and innovate, as well as its reliance on both domestic and international industrial leaders to sustain competitiveness. Although data gaps remain due to non-standardised corporate disclosures, the findings provide a robust, transparent, and replicable picture of how MNEs shape Europe’s economic fabric – reinforcing its integration into global value chains and its ability to attract frontier industries and talent.

Major Findings

1) Investment and Competitiveness

• Europe remains a global investment hub, attracting both domestic and international firms through market scale, institutional stability, and technological strength.
• Europe’s prosperity relies on openness and interdependence – not protectionism – especially amid rising global policy fragmentation.
• The combined European revenues of the firms analysed exceed EUR 1.5 trillion annually, underscoring their importance as a major source of knowledge, technology, products, and services.
• Europe is also a major employment hub: among 61 companies reporting employment in Europe, more than 2.6 million people work directly across the continent in automotive, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and retail. Overall, multinational groups employ around 49 million people in Europe.
• European-headquartered firms remain dominant employers, led by Volkswagen (203,000), Siemens (174,000), Ahold Delhaize (161,000), Bouygues (150,000), Airbus (150,000), and Mercedes-Benz (138,000), sustaining large regional supply chains.
• Non-European firms are rapidly expanding their footprint, notably in technology, retail, and pharmaceuticals. Amazon employs more than 230,000 people in Europe, alongside Johnson & Johnson (39,000), Apple (22,000), and Toyota (24,000).
• Including indirect jobs, the total labour-market footprint is several times higher, highlighting global corporate embeddedness in Europe.

2) Capital and Investment Footprint

• While disclosure on European assets remains limited, available data reveal substantial capital commitments. European-headquartered leaders include AstraZeneca, Roche, Sanofi, and Ahold Delhaize – reflecting strong pharmaceutical and retail infrastructure.
• Non-European firms also maintain extensive industrial and technological investments. Amazon (EUR 38 billion) anchors logistics, data centres, and renewable infrastructure; Johnson & Johnson (EUR 26.3 billion) and Merck & Co. (EUR 7.3 billion) operate major R&D and clinical networks; Tesla (EUR 4.0 billion) expands through new gigafactories; Samsung Electronics (EUR 4.4 billion) runs key semiconductor and consumer tech facilities. These figures confirm that Europe is not merely a sales destination but a core platform for investment, production, and corporate innovation – a cornerstone of global operations regardless of ownership nationality.

3) European Value Chain Integration

• Europe’s value chains are deeply interconnected, linking industrial production, digital infrastructure, and consumer markets. Among the top 20 firms by European revenue, 45 per cent operate mainly in B2C sectors, 30 per cent in B2B, and 25 per cent in hybrid models – showing how competitiveness depends on industrial and consumer complementarity.
• The firms analysed collectively sold around 8 million vehicles in 2024 – led by Volkswagen (4.2 million), Stellantis (2.6 million), BMW (0.95 million), and Mercedes-Benz (0.91 million) – sustaining extensive supply chains and employment. ArcelorMittal produced 31 million tonnes of steel, Airbus delivered 1,134 aircraft and helicopters, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica serve over 220 million customers, and Meta counts 525 million users in Europe. Amazon enabled more than 280,000 European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reach global customers, generating more than EUR 21 billion in export sales in 2024, while Samsung and Apple shipped 53 and 35 million smartphones respectively.
• Joint ventures and international partnerships are central to Europe’s competitiveness, combining European and global capacities in sectors such as automotive, telecoms, and industrial manufacturing. Firms like Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, ArcelorMittal, Deutsche Telekom, Samsung, Nestlé, and Amazon illustrate how global collaboration drives Europe’s competitiveness.

4) Social and Environmental Performance

• Both European and non-European firms lead global benchmarks in gender diversity and workforce training.
• Training intensity varies more by sector than geography, with technology and pharmaceutical MNEs investing most heavily in skills.
• Many firms already match 100 per cent renewable electricity, particularly in technology, finance, and retail – showing tangible progress in Europe’s green transition.

Policy Priorities for a Competitive Europe

• Preserve openness and global connectedness – Safeguard access to international investment, talent, and technology to keep Europe a preferred destination for global enterprise.
• Reinvigorate trade and investment policy – Maintain open global markets through renewed leadership in the WTO and modern free trade and investment agreements that ensure fair competition and reciprocal market access.
• Deepen and expand the Single Market – Advance harmonisation in horizontal and sectoral regulation to enable scale, reduce fragmentation, and foster cross-border cooperation.
• Foster collaborative ecosystems – Strengthen partnerships between multinationals, SMEs, and research institutions to enhance innovation, workforce skills, and supply-chain resilience.
• Enhance transparency and accountability – Recognise and measure corporate contributions to Europe’s social, environmental, and innovation goals, reinforcing public trust in open and competitive markets.