Over the last 10 years, NAICS 541710 has accounted for 18,175 award actions and $87.43 billion in obligated spending, with an average action value of $4.81 million. The Department of Energy and NASA dominate the category, while major obligations also flow to national laboratories, defense agencies, and university-affiliated research performers.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541710 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 10 Years)
Federal procurement activity under NAICS 541710 covers research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences across agency contracts and grants in the last 10 years.
Totals reflect readable and exact obligated amounts for the last 10 years and include the agencies and vendors listed in this summary.
NAICS Code
541710
Industry
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES
Total Obligated
87.43 billion
87,433,395,933.92
Award Actions
18,175
Average Action Value
4,810,640.76
About NAICS 541710 federal contract activity
NAICS 541710 covers research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences. Over the last 10 years, FPDS records show $87.43 billion in obligated spending across 18,175 awards, with an average award value of $4.81 million.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
The Department of Energy dominates this market with $74.86 billion in obligations across 2,730 awards, far exceeding every other agency in the dataset. NASA is the second-largest buyer at $10.62 billion and 3,797 awards, while the Department of the Army, Air Force, and Navy each account for a much smaller share of total obligations.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
This NAICS is concentrated among a small set of major research performers and national laboratory operators. Lawrence Livermore National Security leads with $25.96 billion, followed by Battelle Memorial Institute at $12.70 billion and UChicago Argonne, LLC at $10.30 billion; Lockheed Martin Corporation and The Regents of the University of California also rank among the top recipients.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Recent annual obligations remain elevated, with spending ranging from $8.60 billion in 2022 to $10.53 billion in 2023 in the years shown. After the 2023 peak, obligations were $8.62 billion in 2024 and $9.53 billion in 2025, indicating continued high funding levels rather than a sharp downturn.
How to interpret this page
This summary is based on FPDS award data for NAICS 541710 over the last 10 years. Totals reflect obligated dollars and award counts aggregated from the provided dataset; annual trend values cover the years supplied in the analysis window.
Top Agencies
SELECT
agency_id,
agency_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID AS agency_id,
anyHeavy(content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__name) AS agency_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541710'
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY agency_id
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Agency ID | Agency Name | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8900 | ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF | 74,862,900,149.27 | 74.86 billion | 2,730 |
| 8000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | 10,615,569,838.91 | 10.62 billion | 3,797 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 823,954,647.82 | 823.95 million | 2,722 |
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 550,657,557.97 | 550.66 million | 1,343 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 398,828,911.42 | 398.83 million | 1,432 |
| 97JC | MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) | 145,129,929.24 | 145.13 million | 458 |
| 9771 | DEFENSE MICROELECTRONICS ACTIVITY (DMEA) | 117,313,112.00 | 117.31 million | 92 |
| 2036 | BUREAU OF THE FISCAL SERVICE | 14,680,745.38 | 14.68 million | 35 |
| 97AK | DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY (DISA) | 11,577,755.33 | 11.58 million | 710 |
| 9761 | DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY (DTRA) | 9,173,735.99 | 9.17 million | 375 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, obligations under NAICS 541710 were highly concentrated in two agencies: the Department of Energy accounted for $74.86 billion, or about 85.6% of the $87.43 billion total, and NASA added $10.62 billion. The remaining agencies each represented a much smaller share, with no other agency exceeding $824 million in obligations. Award volume was more distributed than dollars, with NASA and the Department of Energy together accounting for 6,527 of 18,175 awards, while the Department of the Army, Air Force, and Navy each recorded substantial award counts but relatively modest obligated amounts.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
cage_code,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
anyHeavy(content__award__vendor__vendorSiteDetails__entityIdentifiers__cageCode) AS cage_code,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541710'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | CAGE Code | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY | 4K7L1 | 25,956,022,392.78 | 25.96 billion | 333 |
| BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE | 1A453 | 12,701,904,504.30 | 12.70 billion | 635 |
| UCHICAGO ARGONNE, LLC | 4E6E0 | 10,296,740,293.48 | 10.30 billion | 302 |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 04236 | 7,532,747,945.55 | 7.53 billion | 1,364 |
| THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA (1741) | 1V9S8 | 7,477,827,381.98 | 7.48 billion | 258 |
| STANFORD UNIVERSITY | 1KN27 | 6,008,184,444.49 | 6.01 billion | 405 |
| FERMI RESEARCH ALLIANCE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY | 4GUN4 | 4,505,489,777.06 | 4.51 billion | 214 |
| THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA | 1GGD0 | 3,876,299,554.24 | 3.88 billion | 120 |
| JEFFERSON SCIENCE ASSOCIATES LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY A SURA/CSC COMPANY | 48VY8 | 1,824,031,072.06 | 1.82 billion | 194 |
| ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY INCORPORATED | 4X357 | 1,115,140,191.12 | 1.12 billion | 103 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, NAICS 541710 obligated $87.43 billion across 18,175 awards, with an average award value of $4.81 million, indicating a high-dollar but relatively dispersed R&D procurement base. The top 10 vendors account for a substantial share of obligations, led by Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC at $25.96 billion, followed by Battelle Memorial Institute at $12.70 billion and UChicago Argonne, LLC at $10.30 billion. Several other large performers, including Lockheed Martin Corporation, the Regents of the University of California entities, Stanford University, and Fermi Research Alliance LLC, further indicate concentration among national laboratory operators, research universities, and related research consortia.
Annual Trend
SELECT
year,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
toYear(parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate)) AS year,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541710'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 10 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9,531,449,665.98 | 9.53 billion | 620 |
| 2024 | 8,622,420,464.12 | 8.62 billion | 878 |
| 2023 | 10,532,698,214.50 | 10.53 billion | 752 |
| 2022 | 8,601,151,940.51 | 8.60 billion | 863 |
| 2021 | 9,382,931,717.55 | 9.38 billion | 1,080 |
| 2020 | 8,114,325,741.72 | 8.11 billion | 1,474 |
| 2019 | 6,384,139,867.27 | 6.38 billion | 1,772 |
| 2018 | 9,969,903,593.08 | 9.97 billion | 2,278 |
| 2017 | 6,590,536,619.65 | 6.59 billion | 3,401 |
| 2016 | 9,703,838,109.54 | 9.70 billion | 5,057 |
Insight
Over the last 10 years, NAICS 541710 accounted for $87.43 billion across 18,175 awards, averaging $4.81 million per award. Obligations were relatively stable at roughly $6.38 billion to $10.53 billion annually, with the highest annual total in 2023 ($10.53 billion) and the lowest in 2019 ($6.38 billion). Award counts declined sharply over the period, from 5,057 in 2016 to 620 in 2025, indicating increasing concentration in fewer, higher-value awards.
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