SAP shares tank on cloud growth outlook

(Sharecast News) - Shares in SAP tanked on Thursday after the German software giant reported weaker-than-expected growth in its cloud contract backlog in the fourth quarter. SAP's current cloud backlog rose by 16% in the fourth quarter to €21.1bn against expectations of 26% growth. Shares in the company fell 15% on the news.

"Large transformational deals with high cloud revenue ramps in outer years and termination for convenience clauses required by law negatively impacted fourth quarter constant currency current cloud backlog growth by approximately one percentage point," SAP said.

SAP also announced a two-year buyback program worth up to €10bn. The company reported total revenue of €9.7bn for the quarter, in line with a company-compiled consensus.

Cloud revenue for the fourth quarter came in at €5.6bn. SAP expects cloud revenue to grow between 23 - 25% in 2026 to €25.8bn - €26.2bn.

Current cloud backlog growth will slightly decelerate in 2026 after posting 25% growth in 2025, the company added though it expected total revenue growth to accelerate through 2027 as more customers migrate to cloud-based solutions.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com