SAP Wins a Higher Price Target as Its Developer Roadmap Takes Shape
Published on 10/28/2026 at 09:41 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Goldman Sachs raised its price target on SAP from €230 to €258 on Friday and reaffirmed its buy rating, giving the software maker a fresh vote of confidence just as it rolls out a broader set of artificial-intelligence tools for developers. The upgrade, reported by dpa-AFX, followed the company's quarterly results on 21 October — and it predates the product news from SAP TechEd, so it should not be read as a verdict on the new developer offerings.
Cloud backlog anchors the bullish case
At the heart of the positive assessments sits SAP's Current Cloud Backlog, which reached €24.1 billion in the third quarter of 2026. That figure climbed 28% year on year, or 26% at constant currencies. The backlog is a different measure from actual revenue, and the distinction matters: one describes contracted future business, the other what has already been booked.
Realized cloud revenue rose 26% to €6.67 billion, while total revenue grew 13% to €10.3 billion. Operating profit advanced 18% under both IFRS and non-IFRS standards, so the improvement was not confined to the top line. SAP also nudged its guidance for cloud revenue and for combined cloud-and-software revenue toward the upper end of its existing range — a more optimistic reading within the forecast, not a lift above its previous ceiling.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SAP?
Two analysts, two sets of reasoning
Jefferies kept SAP at buy with a €220 target on 22 October. Analyst Charles Brennan argued that the business performance underscored the momentum of the cloud transformation and pushed back against fears that AI could cannibalize SAP's core franchise. That is an analyst's judgment, not a guarantee of what lies ahead. Other brokerages also lifted their targets and stuck with positive ratings, and a wave of such commentary helped the stock recover from earlier volatility, aided by a broader market rebound.
Developers get more models to choose from
SAP used its TechEd conference to announce extensions to Joule and the SAP Business AI Platform, alongside a foundation model built for tabular data. Joule Studio now offers access to more than 70 AI models, according to the company. These are product announcements, and no additional revenue can be derived from them on their own — which is why the reported business figures remain the more important financial yardstick.
Where those models come from has become a commercial question in its own right. SAP's finance chief told Reuters on 22 October that customers increasingly ask where the models are developed, with export controls and Europe's sovereignty debate shaping their decisions. Model selection, in other words, is no longer purely technical.
The next checkpoint
The financial evidence and the product roadmap now run on separate tracks: cloud growth supplies the proof of execution, while the AI extensions are meant to shape what SAP sells next. The next hard test arrives on 28 January 2027, when SAP reports fourth-quarter 2026 figures. Whether the momentum from the third quarter carries through to year-end will determine how much of that analyst optimism holds up.
Ad
SAP Stock: New Analysis - 28 October
Fresh SAP information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
