I suspect both are true, for different types of patents.

Tons of low-quality, generic software patents are good for extracting small settlements. Especially when the firm wielding said patents can dissolve and reform overnight to dodge negative judgements, there's very little downside.

Separately, funding serious research purely for the purposes of creating high quality patents does not seem like a winning proposition.

Unsure of where creating patents in the normal course of business and using them for M&A leverage or for tit-for-tat deterrence falls on ROI scale.