SAP (NYSE:SAP) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

SAP (NYSE:SAP) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. SAP had a net margin of 19.92% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $11.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis.

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 Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of NYSE SAP traded up $9.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $172.67. The company had a trading volume of 4,052,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,224,270. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.38. The company has a market capitalization of $212.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.24. SAP has a one year low of $160.66 and a one year high of $313.28.

SAP Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SAP

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAP. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of SAP by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,650,418 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $805,992,000 after purchasing an additional 973,779 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC increased its holdings in shares of SAP by 130.9% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 2,357,225 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $629,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,325 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of SAP by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,560,994 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $417,113,000 after buying an additional 49,111 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in SAP by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,200,024 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $291,498,000 after acquiring an additional 83,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in shares of SAP by 1,126.3% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 842,416 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $225,102,000 after purchasing an additional 773,720 shares during the last quarter.

Key Stories Impacting SAP

Here are the key news stories impacting SAP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on profit and solid revenue: SAP reported $1.99 EPS vs. $1.92 est. and revenue roughly in line with expectations, with operating profit up ~17% — the numbers beat consensus and underpin the rally. MarketBeat Q1 coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth is driving confidence: Current cloud backlog rose to €21.9B (+20%, +25% cc) and cloud revenue grew strongly (reported +19%, +27% cc), showing recurring revenue momentum that reduces cyclical risk. PR Newswire Quarterly Statement
• Positive Sentiment: Management message eases AI fears: CEO comments in media interviews stressed SAP’s AI-readiness and differentiated positioning, helping investors view SAP as a beneficiary — not a casualty — of AI disruption. CNBC CEO interview
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and rebound: Major outlets (WSJ, Barron’s, Bloomberg) frame the move as a rebound for SAP and the cloud segment after a weak software session, adding broader market context but not new fundamental data. WSJ coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call available: Investors can review the earnings slide deck and call transcript for details on guidance, segment trends and margins (useful for modelling but not new market-moving headlines). Slide deck
• Negative Sentiment: Some analyst target trims: BMO lowered its price target from $210 to $200 but kept an “outperform” rating, which signals cautious optimism but reduces upside expectations. Benzinga note
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimmed targets ahead of the print: Several brokers trimmed price targets before earnings, a reminder that consensus expectations and estimates remain in flux despite the beat. InsiderMonkey on target trims

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered SAP from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of SAP from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SAP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of SAP in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on SAP from $283.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.75.

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.