SAP Pairs Nvidia Security Rollout With Fresh Buyback Purchases Ahead of Q3 Report

SAP repurchased 590,000 shares for EUR 108.4 million on XETRA as it widened its Nvidia collaboration on AI agent security.

SAP spent EUR 108,368,601.00 snapping up 590,000 of its own shares on XETRA during the trading week of September 21–25, the latest installment of a capital-return program that has now repurchased 8,895,886 shares under the 2026 buyback authorization. The week's activity was heavily skewed toward a single session: 550,000 of those shares changed hands on September 24 alone.

Buybacks of this kind shrink the pool of shares in circulation and give a mathematical lift to earnings per share, a lever Europe's largest software maker continues to pull even as its stock struggles. The shares slipped 0.6% in the prior session to close at EUR 184.50 and are down 12% since the start of the year. During Wednesday's trading the DAX-listed equity was quoted at EUR 185.78, a gain of 0.06%.

Agent Security Becomes the New Battleground

While the repurchase machine hums along, SAP is pushing deeper into the infrastructure that governs how autonomous software behaves. The Walldorf-based group said Wednesday it is widening its collaboration with Nvidia by embedding the OpenShell security architecture into its Business AI Platform, a move aimed at supervising and safeguarding AI agents as they execute core business processes.

The setup works in two layers. Joule Studio, SAP's development platform, screens permissions, business roles and process context before an agent is cleared to act. OpenShell then draws the technical boundaries around data access and program execution. The combination responds to a growing worry among enterprises: automated agent systems operating without strict isolation could expose sensitive commercial data. The joint roadmap also includes certifications under the FedRAMP and FIPS standards, which would open the door to regulated industries and public-sector customers.

SAP is offering the Joule Studio Runtime free of charge to customers and partners through October 2026. Management has not disclosed how much incremental cloud revenue the technology is expected to generate.

The Nvidia tie-up is not the only cloud-side partnership in play. NetApp is evaluating a deeper native integration of its platform into SAP Cloud Infrastructure. That technology already covers file and block storage as well as replication, and the two companies are planning joint go-to-market efforts for enterprise application migrations.

Insiders Trim Holdings, Analysts Split

Filings this month also revealed movement in the portfolios of SAP's leadership. On September 11, board members and supervisory board directors sold smaller stakes in connection with the MOVE SAP employee program. Board member Muhammad Alam disposed of shares worth EUR 34,485.73. The company said the sales were used to settle taxes and levies.

Sentiment on the stock remains divided on the sell side. Roughly a week ago, Jefferies set a price target of EUR 220 while JPMorgan pegged fair value at EUR 175 — a spread that leaves plenty of room for debate over whether the AI strategy will translate into customer spending.

That question will get its next hearing on October 21, when SAP releases third-quarter 2026 results at approximately 22:05 CEST, followed by an analyst and investor call the same evening.