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(Sharecast News) - Frankfurt-listed enterprise software giant SAP saw shares rebound from their recent multi-year lows on Friday after beating analysts' expectations with its first-quarter results on the back of impressive cloud revenues.
Total revenues were up 6% on reported basis or 12% higher at constant currencies at 9.56bn, with cloud revenues surging 19% (+27% CC) to 5.96bn. Both figures beat consensus forecasts of 9.53bn and 5.87bn respectively.
Meanwhile, the current cloud backlog jumped 20% (+25% CC) to 21.93bn.
Operating profit was 17% ahead of the year before at 2.87bn with an operating margin of 30%, comfortably ahead of the 2.71bn and 28.5% expected, respectively.
"We delivered a solid start to the year, supported by disciplined execution in revenue and profitability," said chief financial officer Dominik Asam.
"At the same time, we have remained focused on managing our cost base and maintaining profitability as we navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment."
The stock had dropped to its lowest since January 2024 this month amid ongoing concerns about the impact of AI on the wider software sector, with the share price falling over 30% since the start of 2026 alone.
Nevertheless, SAP highlighted strong demand for its own SAP Business AI solutions in the first quarter, claiming that customers were seeing higher bid win rates, significant cost savings and faster invoicing processes using their AI products.
SAP shares were up 5.8% at 148.92 by 1450 BST.
"With FY26 guidance largely unchanged, plenty of investors will be left questioning the need for recent press comments comparing AI to the cloud transition at SAP, unnecessarily raising the spectre of 'short-term pain for structural gain'," said analysts at Jefferies in a research note.
"On balance, the shares should recover some lost ground."
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