European companies invest much less in research, pay their engineers less, and distribute more dividends to shareholders than US and Chinese companies.
60% confidence
EconomyInternational
Omissions
No data more recent than the 2025 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard (reference year 2024, published 22 December 2025) was retrievable before the 2026-10-21 session date; the 2026 edition would normally appear only in December 2026, after the speech.
The dividend comparison holds only if measured as dividend yield or as preference for dividends over buybacks; in absolute terms US companies return far more cash to shareholders, both as dividends (~US$740 bn in the 12 months to September 2025) and as buybacks (>US$1 trillion in the same period), so the 'much more dividends' formulation is misleading as stated.
The R&D gap is highly concentrated in ICT/digital sectors: EU companies still lead globally in automotive R&D, and in 2024 EU health-sector R&D grew 13% and electricity/renewables R&D grew 19.8%, faster than US peers (7.1% and 6% respectively) — context that qualifies the blanket 'much less' framing.
The claim about engineer pay is not backed by any source found in this verification; it is asserted without data on relative salary levels.
No comparison with Chinese dividend policy was found in the sources retrieved, so the Chinese part of the dividend comparison remains unverified.
Sources
PrimaryEuropean Commission Joint Research Centre — The 2025 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard (news announcement)The 2025 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard reveals a slowdown in overall R&D investment growth among EU companies... EU companies in the health sector increased R&D investments by 13%, outperforming other regions such as the United States (7.1%), Japan (9.1%), and China (0.1%). Similarly, the EU's energy sector... experienced a 19.8% increase, outpacing global competitors like the United States (6%)... US firms continue to dominate in ICT-related sectors and health, while EU companies retain a global lead in automotive R&D.
SecondaryEFFRA — summary of the 2025 EU Industrial R&D Investment ScoreboardIn 2024, global business R&D investment reached approximately €1 446 billion, growing by 6.3 % year-on-year. EU-headquartered companies contributed €233.8 billion, marking a 2.9 % increase compared with the previous year... While growth in the EU remained more moderate than in the United States (7.8 %), Japan (7.1 %) and the rest of the world (8.1 %)...
SecondaryScience|Business — Growth in EU private R&D investment slowsThis is significantly below global competitors, and the gap is largely explained by a lack of private investment. In the EU, business-funded R&D accounts for around 57% of total expenditure, versus 70% in the US and 79% in China, according to Eurostat.
SecondaryMorningstar — Stock Buybacks Are Booming in 2025. That's Bad News for Dividend Investorscompanies in the Morningstar US Market Index have spent more than $1 trillion on stock buybacks for the trailing 12 months through September 2025. Meanwhile, they've only devoted $740 billion to dividends... Meanwhile, in Europe, dividends remain more popular than buybacks... Europe's Dividend Yield Has Long Exceeded That of the US Stock Market
SecondaryThe Asset — Global share buybacks hit record US$1.46 trillion in 2025European share buybacks totalled just one ninth (10.8%) of the global 2025 total, although they have become a more important part of total shareholder distributions in recent years... Share buybacks globally rose to a new record in 2025, with companies repurchasing US$1.46 trillion of their own shares, up 8.4%