Siemens CEO Takes Aim at Brussels' AI Pace While Buybacks Keep Chipping Away at Record-High Share Supply

Siemens CEO Roland Busch says AI evolves faster than EU rules, defends AI valuations, as stock nears record and buybacks continue.

Roland Busch, the chief executive of Siemens, used a Monday appearance to press the EU on a simple math problem: artificial intelligence is evolving six to eight times faster than the bloc's rulebook. The AI Act and Data Act currently take roughly two years to move from proposal to implementation, a lag Busch argues is untenable for an industry that resets its own benchmarks every few months.

The criticism lands at a pivotal moment for the Munich-based industrial group, which has increasingly staked its growth narrative on automation and digitalization. Busch's remarks were reported by Die Welt and come as the company's share price hovers just beneath a record high — a position that reflects, in part, the very AI enthusiasm that Brussels is now trying to regulate.

A "Biggest Bet in History" — But Not a Bubble

Busch pushed back against the growing chorus of investors who see froth in AI valuations. He described the current cycle as "the biggest bet in history," but drew a sharp distinction between this moment and past speculative manias: today's AI boom is not built on borrowed money. That distinction matters for Siemens, which sells the factory-floor software and automation gear that AI-driven industrial clients increasingly demand.

The market's response to Busch's comments was muted. Shares ticked up briefly in Swiss trading before giving way to modest losses in Germany. By afternoon, the stock sat at €288.55, barely changed from Friday's close of €288.80. The price remains within striking distance of the €291.55 52-week high set just last week, and roughly 4.3 percent above its 50-day moving average — technical evidence that the recent uptrend has yet to crack.

Buybacks: A Steady Hand Beneath the Surface

While the regulatory debate dominated headlines, the company's capital-return machinery continued its quiet work. During the week of August 24-30, Siemens repurchased 273,055 of its own shares at weighted average prices ranging from €280.23 to €290.10 on Xetra. That tranche pushed the cumulative total since the program's July 1 launch past 2.6 million shares.

The cadence has been relentless. In the prior week, the company bought back 310,867 shares, and the week before that, 305,200 — a rhythm that has kept a floor under the stock even as it approaches uncharted territory. The buyback program, which began just as Siemens reported the highest industrial profit in its corporate history, signals management's conviction that the shares remain undervalued even at current levels.

That record earnings print, reported by Reuters in early August, came amid the AI-driven demand surge that Busch now defends against bubble accusations. The combination of peak profitability and continuous share repurchases has given investors a straightforward message: the company's own leadership sees more upside ahead.

Analysts Add Fuel to the Rally

The post-earnings period brought a wave of target-price revisions that reinforced the bullish narrative. Berenberg lifted its price target from €320 to €330 in mid-August, maintaining a "Buy" rating. Goldman Sachs followed suit, raising its target from €292 to €319, also with a "Buy" recommendation. Both moves came in direct response to the quarterly results and reflected growing confidence in the company's operational trajectory.

The stock has gained 21 percent since the start of the year, and the market capitalization now stands at roughly €226 billion. Those figures frame the buyback program as a strategic allocation choice: the company is deploying capital into a paper trading near its historical highs, a decision that keeps shareholders focused on how management balances reinvestment against returning cash.

A Cyber Shadow and a Family Split

Not everything is running smoothly. US authorities — including CISA, the NSA, and the FBI — issued a mid-August warning about potential hacker attacks targeting Siemens control systems in water facilities and other critical infrastructure. For a company whose automation technology is deeply embedded in essential services, the advisory raises questions about operational trust, though there is no evidence the share price has suffered as a result.

The contrast with sister company Siemens Energy could hardly be starker. Its shares fell sharply on Monday after the supervisory board approved the spin-off of the Transformation of Industry division — a move that will reshape the energy group's portfolio but has no direct bearing on Siemens' own stock.

For the parent company, the defining theme of the day remains Busch's positioning against what he sees as a slow-moving and overly broad Brussels. His twin messages — accelerate AI regulation, and avoid blanket tariffs on Chinese goods — reflect a CEO who believes Europe's competitive future depends on precision, not protectionism. Trade disputes, he argued, cannot be reduced to Chinese subsidies alone; China has developed formidable domestic competitors that sweeping tariff walls would do little to contain. Tariffs, he added, should not serve as a mask for Europe's own competitiveness gaps.

The stock's resilience near its peak suggests investors are listening — and, for now, liking what they hear.