Software maker SAP unseats Novo Nordisk as Europe's largest company
FILE PHOTO: A logo on the SAP exhibition space at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France June 15, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
LONDON :German software company SAP overtook Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk as Europe's largest company by market capitalisation on Monday.
At 0900 GMT, SAP had a market cap of $340 billion, slightly more than Novo Nordisk, according to Reuters calculations using LSEG Workspace data.
SAP is Europe's largest software maker, providing business application software used by companies for finance, sales, supply chain and other functions.
Its shares have surged in recent years, in part due to optimism that its cloud business will be a major beneficiary of recent investment in generative artificial intelligence.
While SAP shares are up 7 per cent so far in 2025, underperforming the broader European STOXX 600 index, which is up 8.3 per cent year-to-date, they have clocked a total return of 160 per cent since the end of 2022, far outperforming the STOXX 600's 28 per cent.
In contrast, Novo Nordisk shares have underperformed the market in recent months after data from trials of its experimental next-generation obesity drug Cagrisema disappointed investors.
The Danish healthcare firm unseated luxury retailer LVMH as Europe's largest company in September 2023.
