SAP (NYSE:SAP) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

SAP (NYSE:SAP) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $11.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.21 billion. SAP had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 17.62%. SAP’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from SAP’s conference call:

• SAP reported a strong Q1 — current cloud backlog rose 25% to €21.9bn, cloud revenue grew 27% (close to €6bn), total revenue was €9.6bn (+12%), and operating margin reached 30% (operating profit €2.9bn, +24%).
• Management positioned Business AI as the core strategic priority, announcing planned portfolio changes at Sapphire to embed SAP’s ERP domain knowledge into AI agents and signaling a gradual shift toward more consumption‑based cloud revenue rather than a disruptive transition.
• Executives cautioned that the ongoing Middle East conflict — and especially a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz — could materially disrupt supply chains and customer spending, creating downside risk to 2026 bookings and cloud growth despite management maintaining guidance assuming near‑term de‑escalation.
• SAP cited concrete AI and productivity wins that support monetization and margin upside — customer examples (e.g., Daimler Trucks €70m impact) and faster ERP migrations with partners, plus internal gains (developers +30%, 20% of support tickets resolved autonomously) and a target of ~€2bn one‑way efficiencies by end‑2028.

SAP Price Performance

SAP stock opened at $175.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.70. The company has a market capitalization of $215.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.24. SAP has a 1 year low of $160.66 and a 1 year high of $313.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

SAP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a $2.9291 dividend. This is a positive change from SAP’s previous annual dividend of $2.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 175.0%. SAP’s payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of SAP in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of SAP from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of SAP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SAP from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of SAP in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.75.

More SAP News

Here are the key news stories impacting SAP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat and cloud momentum — SAP reported $1.99 EPS vs. $1.92 expected, IFRS operating profit +17%, and strong cloud metrics: cloud revenue +27% at constant currencies and current cloud backlog €21.9bn (+25% CC). This underpins revenue visibility and margin improvement. SAP Quarterly Statement Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage highlights the beat and cloud strength — multiple outlets report the cloud-driven rebound and link it to the stock move, reinforcing investor confidence. SAP stock surges on cloud performance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade / bullish write-ups — Seeking Alpha upgraded SAP to Buy citing accelerating cloud revenue and improving operating margins, which supports more bullish investor sentiment. SAP upgrade article
• Positive Sentiment: Management and CEO positioning on AI — CEO comments emphasizing SAP’s AI readiness and differentiated ERP positioning help calm sector AI fears and support the narrative that SAP can capture enterprise AI spend. CEO AI remarks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus and long-term targets still varied — coverage ranges from trimmed near-term targets to high long-term price targets (average reported around $297), reflecting differing views on valuation vs. growth runway. Brokerage targets
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose sharply in April — short interest increased ~31.6% month-over-month to ~7.56M shares (≈0.7% of float). That shows some investor skepticism and could pressure the stock if sentiment weakens. (Short-interest ratio ≈2.4 days.)
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target trim from BMO — BMO lowered its target from $210 to $200 (still an outperform), a modest near-term downgrade that may temper upside in the near term. BMO note
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings target trims — some analysts trimmed targets ahead of Q1, highlighting lingering concerns about sector headwinds and valuation that could limit momentum despite the beat. Analyst trims

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in SAP by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 147 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SAP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Greenline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SAP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in SAP by 101.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 250 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in SAP by 194.2% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period.

About SAP

SAP SE is a global enterprise software company headquartered in Walldorf, Germany. Founded in 1972 by five former IBM engineers, the company’s name is an acronym for Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung (Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing). SAP develops and sells software and services that help organizations manage business processes across finance, human resources, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and customer relationships.

SAP’s product portfolio spans on‑premises and cloud offerings, anchored by its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions such as SAP S/4HANA and the SAP HANA in‑memory database and platform.