European Growth Leaders 2026

Annual ranking data providerLSEG WorkspaceUsed with permission · acknowledgements

An independent research observatory tracking Europe’s listed growth companies.

Francesco Castellaneta, Full Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, SKEMA Business School – Université Côte d’Azur (GREDEG) · Scientific Committee Diego Zunino and Jackie Krafft

← All companies

Annual rank89

Germany · Technology

SAP

Enterprise software provider connecting finance, procurement, human resources, supply chains and customer experience.

+25%revenue growth
FY2022–FY2025
+214%net-income growth
FY2022–FY2025
+125%stock return
FY2022–FY2025
−9%2026 stock return
current context only

Company profile

The operating software behind finance, people and supply chains

SAP develops enterprise software that connects transactions, operational decisions and the data behind them. Its cloud portfolio spans finance and enterprise resource planning, supply chains, procurement, human resources, customer processes, analytics and application development. The strategic thread is integration: SAP Business Technology Platform connects SAP and third-party systems, while Business Data Cloud and Joule give analytics and AI the governed business context needed to act inside real workflows.

ERP and supply chain

A common record links the financial plan to physical operations

SAP Cloud ERP brings finance, purchasing, projects, sales and operations into one transactional system; supply-chain applications add demand, inventory, manufacturing and transport planning. Microsoft illustrates the practical reach: SAP Integrated Business Planning and Azure replaced disconnected planning across a device supply chain with 42,000 active stock-keeping units, cutting manual planning by 50% and reducing the planning cycle from about five days to less than one.

People and procurement

Specialist suites meet at the employee's next decision

SuccessFactors covers core HR, payroll, recruiting, learning and talent; SAP Ariba handles sourcing, suppliers, contracts, buying and invoices. At LC Waikiki's manufacturing companies, Joule-based agents now bridge those domains: a procurement assistant traces customer orders, sales orders and purchase orders, while an HR agent answers payroll and leave questions in Microsoft Teams. SAP reports 50% fewer manual procurement errors and HR process-cycle reductions of 40% to 60%.

Business AI and data

Joule can move from a prompt to a governed business action

Joule assistants and agents work with the process context held in SAP applications; Business Data Cloud preserves the meaning and governance of data drawn from SAP and third-party sources. The idea reaches beyond office automation. At automotive supplier Martur Fompak, SAP Extended Warehouse Management, Joule and Embodied AI provide production priorities and material-location context to robots that identify, transport and confirm line-feeding tasks in a live factory.

Platform and integration

Customers can extend the suite without isolating the result

SAP Business Technology Platform combines application development, automation, data and integration services. Vorwerk used it with SAP Integration Suite to build VORyou and VORleads for more than 90,000 independent sales advisers, linking digital order entry, signatures and lead management to SAP and third-party back ends. SAP's case study reports that 85% of sales were digital in 2023, up from 1% in 2018, while the customer video shows the workflow behind that change.

Official profile sources: The History of SAP · SAP Company Information · What is SAP?

Current 2026 update

What is changing at SAP in 2026?

Q2 current cloud backlog grew 27%. Since then SAP has completed Dremio and Prior Labs, described a new Industry AI delivery model and won NTT DATA for a global SuccessFactors, Business Data Cloud and Joule deployment.

Latest official evidence August 2026 Published 19 August 2026

The change in one sentence

SAP is trying to turn enterprise context into its moat against generic AI.

SAP's current strategy connects acquired data technology, process-aware agents, industry specialists and customer deployments; the test is whether tailored work becomes repeatable software and measurable use.

Four lenses on 2026

The same four-quadrant format used in the Company profile.

01 · Data foundation

Both acquisitions are closed, while Prior Labs remains independent

SAP completed Dremio on 6 July and Prior Labs on 17 July. Dremio adds an open lakehouse intended to combine SAP and non-SAP data for analytics and AI without moving or converting it. Prior Labs continues as an independent entity focused on Tabular Foundation Models; SAP committed more than €1bn over four years. The two acquisitions are projected to dilute 2026 non-IFRS operating profit by more than €100m.

  • Current signalDremio + Prior Labs · both closed
  • Why it mattersSAP is betting that governed enterprise data, not only stronger models, will make agents useful and defensible.
  • Dremio closing SAP and non-SAP data without movement or conversion
  • Prior Labs closing Tabular models and the four-year investment commitment
  • Q2 statement Cloud backlog and acquisition dilution

02 · Industry AI delivery model

SAP is putting engineers inside customers before productising the result

Industry AI combines SAP's process knowledge across 26 industries with a dedicated forward-deployed engineering workforce. Specialists are meant to solve customer-specific problems on site, then turn what works into standardised offerings. SAP describes one commercial package spanning platform consumption, cloud services, solutions, engineering and expert support, priced against customer business value.

  • Current signal26 industries · dedicated forward-deployed engineers
  • Why it mattersThe offering combines hands-on customer delivery with one value-based package; the test is whether tailored work becomes repeatable product.
  • Industry AI portfolio Delivery workforce, productisation loop and value-based package
  • Autonomous Enterprise The strategic platform beneath the new offering

03 · Customer adoption

NTT DATA is combining the system of record, data cloud and Joule

NTT DATA selected SuccessFactors, Business Data Cloud and Joule to replace multiple legacy HR systems with one platform for people data and processes. SuccessFactors is intended to become the system of record, while Business Data Cloud connects workforce data with other functions. NTT DATA plans to lead its own implementation over 12 months; selection is not completed deployment.

  • Current signal12-month rollout · unified HR data and processes
  • Why it mattersThis is a concrete test of whether SAP can join applications, governed data and an AI orchestrator in one global workflow.
  • NTT DATA selection SuccessFactors, Business Data Cloud, Joule and rollout boundary

04 · What to watch

Three questions that test SAP's AI strategy

Later disclosures must distinguish announcements, tailored work and repeatable adoption.

  • Acquisition productisationDo Dremio and Prior Labs produce named products or customer wins beyond integration milestones?
  • Industry AI repeatabilityDoes SAP disclose customers, measurable outcomes or standard products emerging from forward-deployed engagements?
  • DeliveryDo the NTT DATA rollout and announced H2 Joule-Gemini marketing integration go live with reported use?
Sources:Q2 statement Dremio closing Prior Labs closing Industry AI NTT DATA Google multi-agent AI

Annual record

Ranking history

Future editions add rows; they do not rewrite the 2026 record.

EditionMeasurement periodRankRevenue growthNet-income growthStock return
2026FY2022–FY202589+25%+214%+125%