Foreign Multinational Enterprises in the U.S.: BEA Guide

Last reviewed: July 2026.

Foreign Multinational Enterprises in the U.S.: BEA Guide explains BEA’s activities-of-multinational-enterprises statistics for U.S. businesses owned by foreign investors. The guide separates ownership, control, operating activity and investment-position concepts so users can interpret employment, value added, sales, capital expenditure and research data correctly.

Current reference point: BEA released preliminary 2024 activities statistics and revised 2023 statistics on July 10, 2026.

What is a U.S. affiliate of a foreign multinational enterprise?

A U.S. affiliate is a U.S. business enterprise in which a foreign person owns or controls, directly or indirectly, at least 10 percent of the voting securities of an incorporated business or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated business. The 10 percent threshold indicates direct investment and presumed influence; it does not necessarily mean majority control.

All affiliates and majority-owned affiliates

BEA publishes statistics for all U.S. affiliates and more detailed operating statistics for majority-owned U.S. affiliates. A majority-owned affiliate is one in which foreign parents collectively own more than 50 percent. When comparing tables, verify whether the population covers all affiliates or only the majority-owned group.

Foreign parent and ultimate beneficial owner

The foreign parent is the first foreign person in the ownership chain with a qualifying direct-investment interest. The ultimate beneficial owner identifies the person or organisation at the top of the ownership chain that is not itself majority owned by another person. Country analysis can differ depending on whether it is based on the immediate parent or the ultimate owner.

What the activities statistics measure

The programme describes the finances and operations of U.S. affiliates. Measures include employment, employee compensation, sales, value added, property, plant and equipment expenditure, research and development, trade in goods, balance-sheet items and income-statement items. The broad coverage makes the data useful for assessing the economic role of foreign-owned businesses.

Value added and contribution to GDP

Value added measures an affiliate’s contribution to U.S. production after deducting intermediate inputs. It is conceptually related to GDP and is more informative than sales when the objective is to measure domestic production. High sales do not always imply equally high domestic value added because an affiliate may rely heavily on imported or purchased inputs.

Employment and compensation

Employment statistics show the scale and distribution of jobs at U.S. affiliates, while compensation adds information about labour cost and income. Tables can be analysed by industry, state and country of ultimate beneficial owner. Users should compare employment levels with the appropriate private-industry totals and avoid assuming that every job exists because of new foreign investment in the current year.

Sales, capital expenditure and R&D

Sales describe the size of affiliate operations, capital expenditure indicates investment in productive capacity, and research and development spending provides evidence about innovation activity. The measures may move differently across industries. A mature affiliate can have high sales but moderate capital expenditure, while a growing manufacturing affiliate may invest heavily before revenue expands.

Activities data versus direct investment positions

Activities statistics describe the full operations of affiliates. A direct investment position measures the equity and debt financing relationship between direct investors and affiliates. The assets of an affiliate may be much larger than the direct investment position because the affiliate can also finance assets through local borrowing, retained earnings and other sources.

How the data are collected

BEA obtains the statistics from mandatory surveys of foreign direct investment in the United States. Benchmark surveys provide the most comprehensive coverage, while annual surveys update the series. Published tables include classifications, definitions and disclosure protections. Analysts should document the survey year, preliminary or revised status and population covered.

Current reference point: 2024 preliminary statistics

BEA’s July 10, 2026 release reported preliminary 2024 activities data. Majority-owned U.S. affiliates employed about 8.57 million workers, represented 6.1 percent of U.S. private-industry employment, and generated current-dollar value added of approximately $1.52 trillion. These are national aggregates and should be used with the detailed industry, state and ownership tables.

Confidentiality and coarsening

Survey information is protected, so some data are suppressed, aggregated, rounded or presented in ranges. BEA’s updated disclosure-avoidance approach can improve the amount of information published while protecting respondents. A blank or range therefore may reflect confidentiality treatment rather than zero activity.

How to analyse an affiliate table

1. Identify all affiliates or majority-owned affiliates.
2. Check the survey year and revision status.
3. Select country of immediate parent or ultimate owner.
4. Compare industry, state and national totals.
5. Separate sales from value added.
6. Review employment, compensation, capital expenditure and R&D together.
7. Note disclosure markings and classification changes.

Accounting and business uses

Economic analysts can measure the domestic footprint of foreign-owned enterprises, state agencies can examine employment and investment, and companies can benchmark industry scale. For financial reporting, the statistics are contextual rather than a substitute for consolidated accounts, segment reporting or entity-level disclosures.

Common mistakes

• Treating 10 percent ownership as majority control.
• Mixing all-affiliate and majority-owned tables.
• Confusing affiliate assets with the direct investment position.
• Using sales as a direct measure of GDP contribution.
• Ignoring preliminary and revised vintages.
• Reading confidential or ranged cells as exact amounts.

A disciplined reporting note

State the affiliate population, ownership concept, year, preliminary or revised status, industry and geography, measure used, unit, and any confidentiality marker. This information is essential when turning a BEA table into an investment, policy or business conclusion.

Related Accounting Support guides

• GDP, Corporate Profits and State Income: BEA Data Guide
• U.S. International Investment Position and Transactions Guide
• Arts and Cultural Production: Economic Accounting Guide

Official sources and data access

• BEA Activities of U.S. Affiliates data page
• BEA Activities of U.S. Affiliates, 2024 release
• BEA Direct Investment and MNE interactive data

Key takeaway: Use the release as a structured accounting dataset rather than as a single headline number. Check definitions, period, price basis, annualisation, revisions and links between flows and stocks before drawing conclusions.

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