TLDR
- SAP’s Q1 non-IFRS EPS came in at €1.72, beating the €1.65 analyst estimate
- Total revenue rose 6% year-over-year to €9.55 billion
- Cloud revenue surged 19% to €5.96 billion, topping Wall Street’s €5.89 billion estimate
- Cloud backlog grew 20% to €21.9 billion
- SAP held its 2026 cloud revenue outlook of €25.8–€26.2 billion, with caveats around the Middle East and the Reltio deal
SAP’s American depositary receipts jumped 7.7% to $175.74 in premarket trading on Friday, a day after the stock dropped 6.2% as software sector sentiment soured following earnings from ServiceNow and IBM.
$SAP Q1’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 Revenue: €9.56B (Est. €9.53B) 🟢; +6%, +12% cc
🔹 Adj. EPS: €1.72; +20%
🔹 Cloud: €5.96B (Est. €5.90B) 🟢; +19%, +27% cc
🔹 Cloud & Software: €8.55B (Est. €8.47B) 🟢; +8%, +14% cc
🔹 Current Cloud Backlog: €21.9B; +20%, +25% constant…— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) April 23, 2026
The German tech giant reported Q1 non-IFRS earnings of €1.72 per share, beating analyst expectations of €1.65. Total revenue came in at €9.55 billion, up 6% from a year ago.
Cloud revenue was the headline number. It came in at €5.96 billion, up 19% year-over-year and just above the €5.89 billion Wall Street had penciled in.
The company also ended Q1 with a cloud backlog of €21.9 billion, up 20% compared to the same period last year. That backlog figure gives investors a forward-looking read on revenue still to be recognized.
Non-IFRS operating profit climbed to €2.87 billion from €2.46 billion a year ago, ahead of the €2.71 billion consensus estimate.
Thursday’s selloff in SAP — down 6.2% — came as part of a broader software sector slide. Investors punished the sector after results from IBM and ServiceNow failed to excite, even though both companies reported solid numbers.
Friday’s premarket rally suggests the market viewed SAP’s results more favorably in isolation.
Full-Year Outlook Held, With Conditions
SAP maintained its 2026 cloud revenue guidance of €25.8 billion to €26.2 billion. The company also said total revenue growth in constant currencies is expected to stay at similar levels as 2025, with acceleration forecast for 2027.
There are two conditions attached to that outlook. First, SAP’s planned acquisition of data management firm Reltio needs to close — expected in Q2 or Q3. Second, the Middle East conflict needs to de-escalate.
CFO Dominik Asam pointed specifically to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz as a risk factor. “We don’t see too long of a continuation of the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz,” he told Barron’s, noting prolonged disruption could affect global supply chains and growth.
He added, with a touch of dry candor: “In such a meltdown scenario, SAP is probably the lesser of your concerns in terms of exposure in capital markets.”
Cloud Business Drives the Story
SAP’s cloud unit has been the growth engine for several years now, fueled in part by enterprise AI adoption. The 19% revenue jump in Q1 continues that trend.
The cloud backlog — now at €21.9 billion — points to contracted future revenue that has yet to hit the income statement.
SAP is Europe’s largest tech stock by market cap, valued at $192.38 billion as of Thursday’s close.
The Reltio acquisition, announced in March, is still pending regulatory clearance and is expected to complete in Q2 or Q3 2026.
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