SAP trims 2026 profit goal, signalling cost of AI push

SAP ​trimmed its 2026 operating profit outlook on Thursday ​as recent AI-focused data acquisitions weighed on earnings, showing the near-term cost for enterprise software makers of adapting their products for artificial intelligence. The ‌German company ⁠cut its ⁠2026 non-IFRS operating profit outlook to 11.8 billion-12.2 billion euros, from ​11.9 billion-12.3 billion euros, citing a more than 100 million euro ($113.76 ​million) dilutive impact from its Dremio and Prior Labs acquisitions.

Unlike consumer AI tools, enterprise AI depends heavily on structured, secured ​and regulatory compliant company data. Vendors ⁠such as ‌SAP are spending on infrastructure and automation ​systems that ​matches those demands to connect AI tools and ⁠protected data so customers can apply AI ​to finance, supply chain and HR processes. "The only ​change is the operating profit adjustment I just explained, driven solely by mergers and acquisitions," CFO Dominik Asam said in a press call.

SAP left its 2026 cloud revenue target unchanged at 25.8 billion-26.2 billion euros as ‌second quarter rose 24% year-on-year at constant currencies to 6.28 billion euros. Current cloud backlog rose 26% ​at constant ​currencies to ⁠22.93 billion euros, signalling resilient contracted cloud revenue over the next 12 months.


Cloud ERP Suite revenue rose 27% at constant currencies ​to 5.53 billion euros, while software licence revenue fell 32% at constant currencies to 131 million euros, reflecting SAP's shift from upfront licences to subscriptions remained stable with sustained client spending.