Filings buzz: 27% decrease in internet of things mentions since Q3 of 2020

Fujitsu and Honeywell International are leading the way for artificial intelligence investment among top aerospace, defence and security companies according to our analysis of a range of GlobalData data.

We analysed mentions of IoT within the filings of companies in the railway industry using data from GlobalData.

Mentions of the internet of things (IoT) within the filings of companies in the railway industry were 27% lower in the third quarter of 2021 than in Q3 of 2020.

In total, the frequency of sentences related to IoT between October 2020 and September 2021 was 43% higher than in 2016 when GlobalData, from whom our data for this article is taken, first began to track the key issues referred to in company filings.

When companies in the railway industry publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing companies in the coming years.

IoT is one of these topics. Companies that excel and invest in these areas are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

To assess whether IoT is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of companies in the railway industry, two measures were calculated.

Firstly, we looked at the percentage of companies that have mentioned IoT at least once in filings during the past twelve months – this was 57% compared to 38% in 2016. Secondly, we calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to the internet of things.

Of the 50 biggest employers in the railway industry, Nagoya Railroad was the company that referred to IoT the most between October 2020 and September 2021. GlobalData identified six internet of things-related sentences in the Japan-based company's filings – 0.4% of all sentences.

Hitachi Transport System mentioned IoT the second-most – the issue was referred to in 0.3% of sentences in the company's filings. Other top employers with high internet of things mentions included ID Logistics Group, Yamato Holdings and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.

This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on IoT and how important the issue is considered within the railway industry, but it also has limitations and should be interpreted carefully.

For example, a company mentioning IoT more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures into the internet of things have been successes or failures.

GlobalData also categorises IoT mentions by a series of subthemes. Of these subthemes, the most commonly referred to the topic in the third quarter of 2021 was 'ambient commerce', which made up 53% of all internet of things subtheme mentions by companies in the railway industry.

Fujitsu and Honeywell International are leading the way for artificial intelligence investment among top aerospace, defence and security companies according to our analysis of a range of GlobalData data.

GlobalData's thematic approach to sector activity seeks to group key company information on investments to see which industries are best placed to deal with any issues they may encounter.

These themes, of which artificial intelligence is one, are best thought of as "any issue that keeps a CEO awake at night", and by tracking them, it becomes possible to ascertain which companies are leading the way on specific issues and which ones have some work to do.