Analysts' opinions differ on what makes one company more innovative than another – some give more weight to a major leap forward with one transformative product, while others might point to firms with a long history of success in research and development.

But a recent study from OnDeck says the numbers are clear based on U.S. Patent Office data, and ranked America's firms based on how many patents they were granted by the feds last year.

Here are the nation's most innovative companies, according to the findings:

International Business Machines, better known as IBM, topped the list with 3,953 patents granted last year, the most of any other U.S. company. The report said the tech giant, which has been around since 1911, was the primary creator of U.S. patents globally for nearly thirty years before scaling back in 2022.

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But IBM has regained its throne in the U.S., with 1,591 artificial intelligence-linked patents in 2023 alone. The only other company in the world that filed more U.S. patents than IBM last year was Korea-based Samsung.

San Diego-based Qualcomm, the world's largest semiconductor producer, came in second place in the study with 3,886 patents, and was the only other U.S. company besides IBM to file more than 3,000 patents last year.

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CEO Cristiano Amon told FOX Business' Liz Claman last year that his company was better able to weather the pandemic-era chip production disruptions better than other major firms by innovating outside its typical wheelhouse.

Google's parent company ranked third on the list with 2,579 patents in 2023, as the search engine giant leans heavily into AI.

The tech behemoth rolled out its advanced AI model, Gemini, late last year. Although the new tool's launch was rocky given its image-generator's initial bias against showing White people, Google appears to be back on track.

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Last month, the company announced its first-ever dividend, and CEO Sundar Pichai doubled down on the company's commitment to advancing AI throughout its businesses after shares soared to an all-time high.

Apple came in fourth place for the most U.S. patents filed in 2023, following closely behind Alphabet with 2,568.

The iPhone maker has become known for its consistent innovations and improvements to products. Just this month, the company introduced updated iPad Pro and Air models at its "Let Loose" event.

Chipmaker Micron Technology landed the No. 5 spot on the list of most innovative U.S. companies with 2,267 new patents under its belt in 2023.

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Micron announced in 2021 that it would invest $150 billion over the next decade in memory manufacturing, research and development, with roughly $3 billion a year spend on R&D globally.

FOX Business' Kristen Altus contributed to this report.