On several occasions in recent times, MarketScreener analysts have expressed their reservations about SAP's actual economic performance.
Sluggish growth, ongoing margin compression, and the decidedly dubious profitability of the Group's external growth operations - despite EUR 25 billion invested in acquisitions over the ten-year cycle - lent themselves to our concerns.
As we have seen, the market did not share our concerns. The share price has doubled in two years, mainly reflecting SAP's breakthrough into the cloud, which is now a reality after a noticeable delay. This development is all the more welcome given that it took place in Germany, in a market where stock market setbacks were piling up.
SAP's competitive advantages are well known. Its ubiquitous ERP software suite is frequently presented as a genuine "royalty" on economic activity, so dependent are its customers on it.
Our analysts, however, will confess to still struggling to feel confident. Well received by the market, the Group's latest half-year results published this summer show a profit before tax and exceptional items that has stagnated for three years.
But it's true that we can also choose to see the glass as half full. Operating profit for the first six months of the year is at an all-time high, as is free cash flow generation, which has improved significantly.
The market, meanwhile, has clearly chosen its camp - that of the glass half-full. SAP's valuation has skyrocketed in recent quarters, and is now well above its historical average, and even at a higher profit multiple than Microsoft.