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SAP SE (SAP) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q4, 2025
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Feb 26, 2026
Risk Change Over Time
- Trade Secrets - Risk 1Legal and IP: Claims and lawsuits against us, such as for IP infringements, infringements or breaches of contract, or our inability to obtain or maintain adequate licenses for third-party technology, or if we are unable to protect or enforce our own intellectual property, may result in adverse outcomes.
We have in the past, and believe that we will continue to be subject to, claims and lawsuits, including intellectual property infringement claims, as our solution portfolio grows; as we acquire companies with increased use of third-party code including open source code; as we expand into new industries with our offerings, resulting in greater overlap in the functional scope of offerings; and as non-practicing entities that do not design, manufacture, or distribute products assert intellectual property infringement claims. Moreover, protecting and defending our intellectual property is crucial to our success. The outcome of litigation and other claims or lawsuits is intrinsically uncertain. We are subject to risks and associated consequences in the following areas, among others: dependency in the aggregate on third-party technology, including cloud and Web services, that we embed in our products or that we resell to our customers; integration of open source software components from third parties into our software and the implications derived from it; inability to prevent third parties from obtaining, using, or selling without authorization what we regard as our proprietary technology and information; and the possibility that third parties might reverse-engineer or otherwise obtain and use technology and information that we regard as proprietary. Moreover, the laws and courts of certain countries might not offer effective means to enforce our legal or intellectual property rights. Finally, SAP might face significant adverse rulings in commercial disputes, or might not be able to collect or otherwise enforce all judgments awarded to it in legal proceedings. The outcome of litigation and other claims or lawsuits is intrinsically uncertain. Management's view of the litigation might also change in the future. Actual outcomes of litigation and other claims or lawsuits could differ from the assessments made by management in prior periods, which are the basis for our accounting for these litigations and claims under IFRS. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, competitive or financial position, profit, or cash flows.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2025
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 13
- Trade Secrets - Risk 1Legal and IP: Claims and lawsuits against us, such as for IP infringements or breaches of contract, or our inability to obtain or maintain adequate licenses for third-party technology, or if we are unable to protect or enforce our own intellectual property, may result in adverse outcomes.
We have in the past, and believe that we will continue to be, subject to claims and lawsuits, including intellectual property infringement claims, as our solution portfolio grows; as we acquire companies with increased use of third-party code including open source code; as we expand into new industries with our offerings, resulting in greater overlap in the functional scope of offerings; and as non-practicing entities that do not design, manufacture, or distribute products assert intellectual property infringement claims. Also, we have been in the past, and believe that we may continue to be in the future, subject to claims and lawsuits alleging competition and antitrust law violations. Such allegations, for example, often arise from competitors and third parties claiming broad access rights to SAP data. Moreover, protecting and defending our intellectual property is crucial to our success. The outcome of litigation and other claims or lawsuits is intrinsically uncertain. We are subject to risks and associated consequences in the following areas, among others: data access and other antitrust-based claims, for example alleged lock-in effects, dependency in the aggregate on third-party technology, including cloud and Web services, that we embed in our products or that we resell to our customers; integration of open source software components from third parties into our software and the implications derived from it; inability to prevent third parties from obtaining, using, or selling without authorization what we regard as our proprietary technology and information; and the possibility that third parties might reverse-engineer or otherwise obtain and use technology and information that we regard as proprietary. Moreover, the laws and courts of certain countries might not offer effective means for us to enforce our legal or intellectual property rights and successfully defend allegations. Finally, SAP might face significant adverse rulings in commercial disputes or might not be able to collect or otherwise enforce all judgments awarded to it in legal proceedings. The outcome of litigation and other claims or lawsuits is intrinsically uncertain. Management's view of the litigation might also change in the future. Actual outcomes of litigation and other claims or lawsuits could differ from the assessments made by management in prior periods, which are the basis for our accounting for these litigations and claims under IFRS.
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