SAP Keeps Foot on Buyback Pedal as Klein Pitches AI Agents to Enterprise Customers

SAP repurchased 590,000 shares on Xetra from Sept 21-25, 2026, lifting its buyback total to 8,895,886 shares ahead of Q3 results on October 21.

SAP's capital-return program rolled on through late September, with the Walldorf software maker disclosing in its ninth interim report on the current buyback that it repurchased 590,000 of its own shares on Xetra between September 21 and 25, 2026. The bulk of that activity landed on a single session: 550,000 shares changed hands on September 24 alone. The purchases lifted the cumulative total under the program to 8,895,886 shares as of September 25.

Management frames the ongoing repurchases as a way to hand excess liquidity back to shareholders and lift per-share value, a routine exercise in capital-structure housekeeping that also tightens the supply of stock available to trade. The company separately reported insider-related transactions under its MOVE SAP program, in which executives received shares and subsequently sold portions to cover taxes and levies.

A Rough Week for the Stock

The buyback news did little to shield the equity from a softer Friday session. SAP closed at EUR 184.70 on Xetra, down 1.4% on the day, with media reports pointing to no specific catalyst behind the pre-weekend pullback. The shares have shed 12% since the start of the year.

Klein's Case for AI Agents

Running alongside the capital measures is CEO Christian Klein's push to reposition the product portfolio around artificial intelligence. In comments to dpa, Klein described AI-related products as a historic growth opportunity for the group, arguing the window for another significant expansion phase has never been wider. The strategic aim, he said, is to embed so-called AI agents deep into customers' core business processes, data structures and operational steering — moving advanced technology step by step into the value chain of enterprise clients.

That ambition is already taking product form. SAP added the TabPFN-3.5 Plus model to its AI Core platform, giving business customers rapid forecasting capabilities directly inside their operational systems. At its own Transformation Excellence Summit, the company unveiled functional extensions for SAP Signavio, SAP LeanIX, WalkMe and SAP Cloud ALM. SAP Fioneer, meanwhile, published guidance on preparing for the digital euro and the planning phase now facing banks.

Customer Wins Across Sectors

Deployment momentum is visible across a range of industries. U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin successfully went live with SAP SuccessFactors for its core HR processes. In esports, Team Liquid adopted the SAP Business Data Cloud to analyze performance data and sharpen player output. Swiss public transport operator BERNMOBIL is modernizing its process landscape with cloud solutions and an architecture designed for future AI applications — evidence that demand for transformation projects remains intact.

NetApp, for its part, described an expanded alliance with the Walldorf group as a deliberate deepening of a long-standing partnership, aimed at making the infrastructure behind demanding enterprise applications more resilient.

Analyst Tailwind, Then the Q3 Test

Sentiment got a lift roughly a week before the buyback update, when U.S. banks Jefferies and Citi raised their price targets on the stock and reiterated buy ratings, sparking gains in the market. Attention now shifts to the next scheduled milestone: SAP will report third-quarter 2026 results on October 21, 2026, with publication set for 22:05 CET and an analyst and investor call following at 23:00 CET. Only that interim report will show how far the new software offerings and cloud demand have begun flowing through to revenue and operating profit.