SAP SE - SAP STOCK NEWS

SAP announced strong Q2 2024 results, with cloud revenue up 25% to €4.15 billion and total revenue up 10% to €8.29 billion. The company's cloud momentum continued, with current cloud backlog growing 28% to €14.81 billion. Cloud ERP Suite revenue saw significant growth of 33%. While IFRS operating profit decreased 11% due to restructuring expenses, non-IFRS operating profit increased 33% to €1.94 billion. SAP reiterated its 2024 financial outlook and increased its 2025 operating profit ambition to reflect anticipated efficiency gains from its expanded transformation program. The company continues to focus on Business AI and cloud growth, with several major customer wins and partnerships announced during the quarter.

SAP is taking a leading role in the business coalition to end plastic waste, leveraging its software to help customers manage material flows, including plastics. SAP's customers generate almost 90% of the world's global business, giving the company unique insights into the challenges posed by complex regulations and the need to align upstream efforts with downstream solutions.

The company is observing a new trend towards eco modulation, which involves material-level incentives to promote the use of more recyclable materials. SAP believes that businesses can play a important role in eliminating plastic pollution and is committed to supporting this effort through its technology and expertise.

WayCool Foods, India's leading agritech company, has partnered with SAP to implement RISE with SAP and SAP S/4HANA to digitalize its food supply chain. This initiative has resulted in a 96% reduction in food wastage and a 13% increase in farmers' average income. The integrated platform connects data from farmers through processing, warehouses, and retail, transforming the food chain from supplier-driven to demand-driven. WayCool's AI-powered data insights help align food supply with actual market demand, improving efficiency and quality. The company plans to expand its digitalized business model to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to promote sustainable agriculture globally.

The EU is set to implement the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free (EUDR) products in December 2024 to combat deforestation and forest degradation. The regulation affects industries including consumer products, chemicals, pharma, agriculture, energy, retail, automotive, and forestry, impacting commodities like cocoa, coffee, soy, wood, palm oil, rubber, and cattle. Companies must perform due diligence, including supplier risk assessments and daily reporting to ensure products are deforestation-free. Non-compliance may lead to fines and reputational risks. SAP's Green Token software is being upgraded to support EUDR compliance, enabling automated due diligence reporting, traceability, and audit history.

SAP SE announced that Bain & Company has successfully transitioned to SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition across 40 countries. This move aims to standardize Bain's core financial processes, enhance decision-making, and automate operations. Since starting the ERP modernization project in 2020, Bain has now completed its first year-end close on the new system, demonstrating its commitment to leveraging advanced technology for business growth. Bain's Chief Information Officer, Ramesh Razdan, and CFO, Steve McLaughlin, highlighted the significant business value and efficiency gained from this transition. The implementation was a joint effort between Bain's ERP transformation team and SAP, focusing on change management and training for global users.

SAP and the Technical University of Munich have introduced a new methodology for integrating carbon management with financial accounting, creating an ERP-centric approach that embeds carbon data into transactional records. This innovation aims to elevate transparency, quality of data, and decision-making processes at all levels of an organization.

The study suggests that adding carbon emissions data to financial journal entries can produce a more comprehensive understanding of a company's sustainability impact. The approach incorporates carbon offsets as intangible assets, enhancing the integrity of carbon flow statements and aligning with standard auditing procedures. SAP's SAP Green Ledger is central to this initiative, offering detailed carbon accounting that complements existing financial systems.

By leveraging AI and adhering to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, this methodology promises improved operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and investor confidence. It represents a significant step towards integrated thinking between financial and sustainability goals, aiming to support businesses in their journey to net-zero emissions.

SAP is advancing sustainability as a core business strategy, integrating it into their ERP systems. At the SAP Sapphire event, they introduced new cloud-based and AI-enabled tools to enhance sustainability efforts. Key features include:

1. Emission Factor Mapping with AI to automate and improve carbon footprint calculations.

2. AI-driven ESG Report Generation to streamline and ensure reliability of sustainability reporting.

3. Advanced Carbon Calculator Engine to embed granular carbon data into business processes.

4. SAP Green Ledger, launching in late 2024, to link emissions and financial data for informed decision-making.

SAP emphasizes that sustainable practices are not only ethical but also strategic for reducing costs and risks while driving innovation.

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) will acquire WalkMe (NASDAQ: WKME) for $14.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion. This acquisition, approved by both companies' boards, represents a 45% premium over WalkMe's closing share price on June 4, 2024. WalkMe's digital adoption platforms (DAPs) boost software use through advanced guidance and automation, enhancing enterprise productivity. The acquisition will strengthen SAP's Business Transformation Management portfolio, including SAP Signavio and SAP LeanIX solutions. WalkMe will continue supporting non-SAP applications and plans to launch WalkMeX copilot, leveraging AI for workflow optimization. The transaction, subject to regulatory clearances and shareholder approval, is expected to close in Q3 2024 and will have an immaterial impact on SAP's non-IFRS earnings per share for fiscal 2024.

SAP SE announced significant AI innovations and partnerships at the 2024 SAP Sapphire conference. The company is integrating generative AI across its enterprise cloud portfolio, enhancing tools like SAP SuccessFactors for better compensation insights and SAP Sales Cloud for improved sales forecasting. SAP's AI copilot, Joule, is expanding to more platforms, including SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP Analytics Cloud. Collaborations with tech giants like Google Cloud, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and NVIDIA are set to optimize AI capabilities, particularly in supply-chain management and analytics. SAP also adopted UNESCO's AI ethics principles, emphasizing responsible AI use. These advancements aim to drive real-world results, agility, and sustainability in business operations.