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Foreign Direct Investment in US Surged 49% to $232B in 2025
Japan invested $50.5B in US firms in 2025 as total foreign direct investment expenditures jumped 49% to $232B, BEA data show. Publishing and chemicals led industry spending.
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Expenditures by foreign investors to buy, start, or expand U.S. businesses hit $232.2 billion last year, a 49.5% jump from 2024, according to preliminary Bureau of Economic Analysis data released Thursday. Acquisitions of existing U.S. companies accounted for the bulk – $218.4 billion – while new business establishments added $4.6 billion and expansions of already-owned outfits contributed $9.2 billion. When including planned future outlays, the total commitment reached $284.5 billion.
Publishing and Manufacturing Drew the Biggest Dollars
By industry, publishing companies pulled in the most foreign capital at $50.7 billion. Chemicals manufacturing followed at $45.4 billion. Plastics and rubber products manufacturing took $19.0 billion. The manufacturing sector as a whole captured $121.8 billion, or 52.5% of all FDI expenditures.
The surge in publishing likely reflects continued cross-border dealmaking in digital content, software platforms, and media assets – categories the BEA groups under that heading. The chemicals number includes expansions tied to petrochemicals and specialty materials, a segment that has drawn Japanese and European capital in recent years.
Japan Topped the Country List; California Took the Most State Dollars
Japan was the single largest source of new investment at $50.5 billion. Germany contributed $26.7 billion, Canada $23.5 billion. By region, Europe still dominated: $116.6 billion, or just over half of all 2025 FDI, flowed from European investors. Asia and the Pacific supplied $71.9 billion.
California received $59.7 billion in first-year expenditures, more than double the next closest state. Texas took $21.5 billion. Pennsylvania pulled in $20.9 billion.