SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SoundHound AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOUN), a global leader in voice and agentic AI, today announced that it will release its third quarter 2026 financial results after market close on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The company will host a conference call and webcast to review the results on the same day.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
SoundHound AI will host its conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET. A live audio webcast will be available at investors.soundhound.com and a replay will be available at the same location.
If you wish to receive company email notifications, please register at https://investors.soundhound.com/ir-resources/email-alerts
About SoundHound AI
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq:SOUN) is a voice and agentic AI company that enables businesses to deliver natural, end-to-end conversational experiences across digital and physical channels, including phones, kiosks, chat, smart devices, drive-thrus, TVs, in-vehicle, and more. Its agentic platform, OASYS, is a self-learning, orchestrated AI system where organizations can build and deploy conversational AI agents to handle transactions, tasks, and workflows on behalf of customers and employees. Built on proprietary technology backed by 750+ patents and years of AI research, SoundHound serves leading brands across industries including automotive, financial services, healthcare, retail, telecommunications, and more. It powers millions of products and processes billions of interactions annually for enterprise customers worldwide. Learn more at: www.soundhound.com
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) closed at $4.72 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.4% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.28% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.02%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.02%.
Coming into today, shares of the company had lost 24.64% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 2.28%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.67%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of SoundHound AI, Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect SoundHound AI, Inc. to post earnings of -$0.07 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 133.33%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $63.02 million, up 49.86% from the prior-year quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of -$0.19 per share and a revenue of $241.12 million, indicating changes of -46.15% and +42.74%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for SoundHound AI, Inc. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Currently, SoundHound AI, Inc. is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 159, placing it within the bottom 36% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Stock Preachers News Commentary - A new personal AI agent has been downloaded 10.9 million times in the six weeks since its September 8 launch, according to Sensor Tower data reported by Yahoo Finance on October 20, with more than 10.2 million of those downloads in the United States. Over the past 30 days, U.S. downloads of a leading chatbot app fell 25% from the prior 30-day period, Yahoo Finance reported. The shift is a reminder that the market for AI assistants is still wide open, and companies across social media, local search, voice technology and neighborhood networks are building agents of their own. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META), Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP), SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOUN), Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXDR).
The early numbers are striking. Sensor Tower estimates the new agent reached about 2.5 million daily active users for the first time on October 16, with daily users up 15% week over week, and says only 11 other apps have reached 10 million U.S. downloads within 40 days. A Deutsche Bank analyst projected the product could account for as much as 8% of its parent company's revenue by 2030, roughly $36 billion, with a low-end estimate of $2.4 billion, Yahoo Finance reported.
What separates an agent from a chatbot is action. Instead of answering questions, these products are being built to book, call, compare and complete tasks on a user's behalf, often inside apps people already open every day. That puts companies with large, engaged audiences or specialized local data in a position to compete, and several of them have shipped new AI features in the past six weeks.
Agents are the new battleground for attention. Learn to read the charts behind moves like these with the free Stock Preachers guide at stockpreachers.com
In other industry developments and happenings in the market this week include:
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META)
Meta introduced Muse on September 8 as a secure, private personal AI agent powered by its Muse Spark model, designed to send emails, book travel, fill out forms and negotiate on a user's behalf, while asking for approval before actions such as sending an email or making a purchase. Muse rolled out in the U.S. on iOS, Android and muse.ai, can be messaged in WhatsApp, and is free for most uses, with subscription plans available.
Meta has since added a small-business version and introduced new Muse Wonder models that it says will soon power experiences in Muse. The company reports third-quarter 2026 results after the market close on October 21, with a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP)
Yelp announced on October 20 its 2026 Fall Product Release, with more than 30 new features, integrations and updates. Yelp Assistant can now book tables at tens of thousands of additional restaurants on iOS through a new reservations integration, bringing its coverage to more than half a million restaurants when combined with existing partners.
A new feature called Check for Me uses an AI phone agent to call a restaurant, confirm the current wait time and text the answer back within minutes; it is rolling out in the coming months in the U.S. on iOS. Yelp said about 10% of its Request a Quote submissions came through Yelp Assistant in the second quarter.
Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP)
Snap introduced SPECS Intelligence in September, which it describes as an anticipatory AI service designed to work across iPhone, Mac and its SPECS augmented reality glasses. Full early access is by invitation only through the SPECS Mac app, while U.S. users 18 and older can try a mobile preview in the SPECS iOS app. Snap said personal content from connected accounts will not be used to train its AI models or serve personalized ads.
The service builds on a large audience: Snap reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.599 billion, up 19%, with 493 million daily active users and 971 million monthly active users. It will hold its third-quarter conference call on November 4.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOUN)
SoundHound AI introduced OASYS Edge in September, an embedded architecture that brings LLM-powered voice AI agents directly to edge hardware in vehicles and smart devices, scheduled for deployment in late 2026. On September 30, an automaker's voice assistant built on SoundHound's real-time generative AI made its global debut on a new SUV in India.
Earlier in September, SoundHound completed its acquisition of LivePerson, adding a customer base that includes 25 of the Fortune 100. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $61.9 million, up 45%, and raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $230 million to $260 million.
Nextdoor Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXDR)
Nextdoor, which cites more than 110 million verified neighbors, introduced Neighborhood Intelligence on October 7, an advertiser product that uses AI to make sense of local signals across 350,000 neighborhoods. It is available on request, and Nextdoor said pilot campaigns showed a 1.28x lift in brand awareness.
In September, Nextdoor upgraded its AI-powered search in the U.S. to summarize relevant insights from 15 years of neighbor knowledge and added AI summaries to Business Pages. The company moved its listing to the Nasdaq Capital Market on October 14 and will report third-quarter results before the market opens on November 5.
Want to spot the next AI winner on the chart before the crowd? Download the free Stock Preachers guide to reading charts, plus The Roadmap market reports, at stockpreachers.com.
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This article is independent news commentary. Stock Preachers is wholly owned and operated by Market Equities Limited ("MEL"), a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. MEL has not been paid by any company mentioned in this article. MEL and its owners, operators, directors, and affiliates own shares of META with no plans to sell them in the next 30 days; do not currently own any shares of any other companies mentioned in this article, but reserve the right to, and will, buy and sell shares of those companies at any time without further notice. App download and usage figures are third-party estimates. Information is drawn from company news releases and filings, published reporting and third-party data believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. Investing in securities carries risk, including the loss of some or all of your investment. This document is governed by the laws of Ireland.
Shares of voice artificial intelligence (AI) company SoundHound AI (SOUN +1.29%) have been in a seemingly endless tailspin this year. And the sell-off didn't begin in 2026, as the stock, which has lost more than half of its value this year, is down more than 75% in the past 12 months.
The last time SoundHound traded at these levels was around September 2024. That was the year that the stock skyrocketed more than 835% after investors learned Nvidia had invested in the business. Nvidia, however, would ultimately exit its position in SoundHound.
Excitement around the stock has effectively faded, even though it has some tremendous opportunities in AI, which could lead to further growth for the business in the future. Could now be a good time to buy SoundHound AI stock?
Image source: Getty Images.
SoundHound's been growing its top line, but investors may be more concerned about the bottom lineAt first glance, SoundHound may appear to be a great, underrated growth stock to own. In its most recent quarter, which went up until the end of June, its revenue rose by 45%, totaling $61.9 million. It was a terrific quarter, but not if you looked further down the income statement.
The company incurred an operating loss of $43.3 million. And over the past two quarters, it has burned through just under $60 million in cash from its day-to-day operating activities, which is up from a burn rate of $43.7 million during the same period a year ago.
Investing in a cash-burning business at a time when interest rates are rising isn't a terribly exciting prospect for most investors to consider. Alas, it's not terribly surprising that the company's acquisition-fueled growth isn't enough to win over investors.
$4.71+$0.06 (+1.29%)
NASDAQ · As of 12:13 PM ET 10/20/26
The stock is cheap, but that doesn't mean it can't go lowerSimply investing in a stock because it has declined significantly in value and may seem overdue for a bounce back is a dangerous idea. SoundHound's market cap is around $2.1 billion, and it may seem incredibly modest, but there's a valid reason the market is bearish on the stock -- its business just doesn't look all that good. It's also hard to gauge how well it's growing organically because SoundHound has been leaning heavily on acquisitions.
Without a clear path to profitability and an end to its cash burn, there's no compelling reason to suggest that the business is on the right track and that the stock should trade at a higher value. It could continue to go lower. Until its financials improve drastically, I'd steer clear of this troubled AI stock.
Key Takeaways SOUN's Q2 revenues hit a record $61.9M, up 45% year over year and nearly 10X Q2 2022 levels.OASYS adoption and the LivePerson deal fuel growth, with 2026 revenue guidance raised to $230M-$260M.SOUN's EBITDA loss narrowed 33%, but cash outflows and competition from Five9 and NICE pose challenges.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) has achieved significant revenue growth since becoming publicly traded in 2022, supported by rising enterprise adoption of conversational and agentic artificial intelligence (AI). Second-quarter 2026 revenues reached a record $61.9 million, nearly 10 times the level reported in second-quarter 2022, highlighting the company's expanding market presence and growing customer base.
Revenues increased 45% year over year and 40% sequentially in the second quarter of 2026. Strong enterprise demand for its OASYS platform, launched in May 2026, contributed significantly to this growth.
OASYS and Enterprise Expansion Fuel SOUN's GrowthSoundHound's OASYS platform is accelerating enterprise AI adoption across healthcare, banking, automotive, restaurants and telecommunications. Strong customer renewals, faster pilot conversions and expanding deployments indicate growing demand for automated customer engagement solutions.
The company also raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $230-$260 million, reflecting confidence in continued enterprise adoption.
Furthermore, the September 2026 LivePerson acquisition expands SoundHound's reach to a combined customer base including 25 Fortune 100 brands. Management sees potential for more than $500 million in future revenues from existing customers through cross-selling and broader platform adoption.
Can SoundHound Sustain Its Growth Momentum?Despite strong revenue momentum, profitability remains challenging. SoundHound's adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed 33% year over year to $9.6 million in the second quarter, while GAAP gross margin improved 610 basis points to 45.1%.
However, operating cash outflows of approximately $60 million during the first half of 2026 and integration-related expenses remain concerns.
SoundHound has considerable growth opportunities through enterprise AI adoption and acquisitions. Nevertheless, converting its expanding revenue base into sustainable profitability and positive cash flow remains critical to its longer-term investment appeal.
Enterprise AI Growth Heats Up: Where Does SoundHound Stand?SoundHound faces growing competition from Five9 (FIVN - Free Report) and NICE Ltd. (NICE - Free Report) , both benefiting from accelerating enterprise adoption of AI-powered customer engagement solutions.
Five9's second-quarter 2026 revenues increased 10% year over year to $312 million, supported by 14% subscription revenue growth. Five9's AI revenues surged 78% to approximately $39 million, prompting management to raise its full-year AI revenue growth outlook to at least 60%. Five9's expanding Voice AI Agents capabilities and a $100-million Fortune 100 customer contract strengthen its long-term growth prospects.
NICE reported second-quarter revenues of $782 million, up 8% year over year, with cloud revenues increasing 12.6%. NICE's AI annual recurring revenue grew 52%, while AI backlog expanded 72%, reflecting strong enterprise demand. NICE's integration of Cognigy into CXone further strengthens its competitive position.
Both Five9 and NICE present significant competitive challenges as SoundHound seeks to sustain its rapid revenue expansion.
SoundHound's tenfold revenue expansion since second-quarter 2022 highlights its strong growth potential, but sustaining this momentum will depend on broader enterprise AI adoption, successful acquisition integration and its ability to translate rising revenues into sustainable profitability and positive cash flow.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.
Shares of this company have returned -20.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.5% change. The Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, to which SoundHound AI belongs, has gained 2.4% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, SoundHound AI is expected to post a loss of $0.07 per share, indicating a change of -133.3% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
The consensus earnings estimate of -$0.19 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of -46.2%. This estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $0.14 indicates a change of +24.6% from what SoundHound AI is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +30.3%.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, SoundHound AI is rated Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.
In the case of SoundHound AI, the consensus sales estimate of $63.02 million for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +49.9%. The $241.12 million and $334.44 million estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +42.7% and +38.7%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistorySoundHound AI reported revenues of $61.9 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +45%. EPS of -$0.02 for the same period compares with -$0.03 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $52.49 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +17.92%. The EPS surprise was +33.33%.
Over the last four quarters, SoundHound AI surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
SoundHound AI is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about SoundHound AI. However, its Zacks Rank #4 does suggest that it may underperform the broader market in the near term.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) stock has plunged 53% in 2026, closing at $4.72 on Friday as investors reassess the artificial intelligence (AI) company's growth prospects, profitability, and valuation.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $4.55, demonstrating a -6.76% change from the preceding day's closing price. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.11%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1.88%.
Heading into today, shares of the company had lost 20.65% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.49% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.06%.
The upcoming earnings release of SoundHound AI, Inc. will be of great interest to investors. On that day, SoundHound AI, Inc. is projected to report earnings of -$0.07 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 133.33%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $62.13 million, indicating a 47.74% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of -$0.19 per share and a revenue of $239.18 million, representing changes of -46.15% and +41.59%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for SoundHound AI, Inc. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. SoundHound AI, Inc. presently features a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 81, positioning it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
SoundHound AI (SOUN -7.17%) is pushing its agentic platform from the cloud onto cars and devices with OASYS Edge. The opportunity is clear: deeper integrations could make the platform harder to replace. But with big tech and Cerence competing for the same customers, the next proof points may matter more than the demo itself.
Stock prices used were the market prices of Sept. 29, 2026. The video was published on Oct. 12, 2026.
Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends SoundHound AI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
SoundHound AI, Inc. SOUN has struggled to maintain investor confidence in 2026 despite strong revenue growth, expanding enterprise AI adoption and strategic acquisitions. Persistent losses, negative cash flow and uncertainty surrounding its path to profitability have weighed heavily on the stock.
Choosing between Innodata (INOD -2.55%) and SoundHound AI (SOUN -1.81%) requires balancing established profitability against explosive top-line growth as the artificial intelligence landscape shifts into its next phase of enterprise adoption.
Innodata specializes in the data foundations and human expertise required to train large models, while SoundHound AI focuses on the conversational interfaces that allow users to interact with technology. Both companies occupy critical niches but offer distinct financial profiles for investors looking for exposure to the AI boom.
The case for InnodataInnodata positions itself as a critical partner for businesses building generative AI models. Among tech stocks, it provides specialized data engineering and evaluation frameworks to ensure AI systems are accurate. The company serves five of the "Magnificent Seven" technology firms, but one customer accounted for nearly 58% of total revenue in 2025. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business.
In its latest annual report, filed for FY 2025, revenue reached approximately $251.7 million, representing a 47.6% increase over the previous year. This growth helped the company generate a net income of roughly $32.2 million, although its net margin tightened to 12.8% from 16.8% in the year prior. This performance demonstrates a transition from a net loss in 2023 to consistent profitability as enterprise demand for high-quality data engineering scales.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x shows the company carries nearly no debt relative to the value owned by shareholders. The current ratio of 2.7x indicates a strong ability to cover short-term bills with current assets. Free cash flow for the period was roughly $35.6 million. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 23.8% of operating cash flow, inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
The case for SoundHound AISoundHound AI specializes in conversational intelligence and voice-enabled AI experiences through its OASYS platform. It serves a diverse range of industries, including the automotive and restaurant sectors, aiming to power billions of conversations annually. The company recently integrated omnichannel capabilities through the acquisition of LivePerson in September 2026. A key partnership with Casey's involves deploying AI-powered ordering agents across more than 2,600 stores.
In FY 2025, revenue reached roughly $168.9 million, an impressive 99.4% increase over the prior year. Despite this rapid expansion, the company reported a net loss of nearly $14.0 million for the period. While this was a significant improvement from the much larger losses reported in 2024, it reflects a business that is still prioritizing market share and platform scaling over immediate bottom-line profitability.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, SoundHound AI maintained a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x and a current ratio of 4.6x. This high current ratio suggests a substantial cash cushion to fund its ongoing research and development. However, free cash flow was negative $103.1 million for the fiscal year. This negative cash flow illustrates the company's reliance on capital raises to fund its aggressive growth and acquisition strategy.
Image source: Getty Images.
Risk profile comparisonInnodata faces significant risks from revenue concentration, as a single customer generated nearly 58% of revenue in 2025. It competes in a crowded market against large-scale tech providers and specialized rivals like Accenture (ACN +0.19%) and Appen (OTC:APPEF). The company also manages ongoing litigation, including a 2024 securities class action, and risks from its international operations in regions such as India and the Philippines.
SoundHound AI continues to report significant net losses and negative operating cash flows, requiring constant capital raises that may dilute existing shareholders. It faces intense competition from better-resourced giants like Microsoft (MSFT +0.43%) and Amazon (AMZN -0.37%) in the voice AI space. Furthermore, the company must manage integration risks arising from its recent acquisition of LivePerson and prior purchases of SYNQ3 and Amelia, which could result in impairment charges.
Valuation comparisonInnodata currently appears more attractive for value-oriented investors due to its mildly positive earnings, while SoundHound AI commands a higher P/S ratio reflecting its faster revenue growth. I mean, this is technically true but nobody calls Innodata "affordable," either.
MetricInnodataSoundHound AIForward P/E47.7xn/aP/S ratio6.1x10.5xValuation metrics include sourcing from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
These companies play very different roles in the AI ecosystem. Innodata organizes other companies' data for further analysis and AI training. SoundHound AI has been perfecting voice interpretation software for decades and has fairly recently built a business model around it.
Here's the thing, though. Innodata's profits rest on a narrow foundation; one client still drives nearly 58% of revenue. SoundHound AI has no customer accounting for more than 10% of quarterly sales, so losing any single account would sting but not sink the ship.
The end market is also enormous. Voice is the most natural interface people have, and I expect it to spread into far more cars, drive-thrus, call centers, and gadgets over the next decade. SoundHound has spent two decades preparing for that moment.
I haven't loved every one of SoundHound AI's acquisitions, but LivePerson's messaging tools and enterprise client list could open the door to plenty of cross-selling. The cash burn is real, and dilution is likely along the way. I'll accept that trade-off for a diversified business that nearly doubled its revenue last year. SoundHound AI is my pick in October 2026, at least compared to Innodata.
Both companies will report Q3 results on Nov. 5. Stay tuned for the twin events to get a fresh look at each AI company's growth prospects for next year.
Enterprise software stocks climbed while SoundHound shares collapsed, a split that points to something specific happening inside this company rather than across the sector. The real question is whether that something is temporary or a sign of deeper trouble ahead.
Shares of SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN), a developer of voice artificial intelligence (AI) software, trade at $4.86, down 22% over the past month. Measured on a year-to-date basis, SoundHound stock is down 51%.
This slide has occurred during a month when the enterprise software group that includes SoundHound moved higher. Over the past month, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (CBOE:IGV) is up 10%. Across that same past-month window, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up 2%, suggesting that the broader equities market has held steady.
Meanwhile, shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM | CRM Price Prediction) are at $239.03, down 3% over the past month, representing a far smaller decline than the drop in SoundHound stock. Shares of ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) trade at $139.11, up 5% over the past month, moving in the opposite direction from SoundHound stock.
Software Rally Leaves SoundHound Behind Put together, the figures point to a decline specific to SoundHound stock. Large enterprise vendors selling AI agents, along with the broader software fund, held up or climbed over the same month in which SoundHound shares fell sharply. That pattern rules out the explanation many readers might reach for first: a broad markdown of companies building AI agents.
SoundHound builds conversational voice AI. The software lets a person speak to a drive-through ordering system, a car or a call center and be understood without a menu. Its customers include restaurant chains, automakers and contact-center operators. Each of those buyers signs on through a deployment contract, so revenue arrives one customer win at a time.
Salesforce and ServiceNow sell agent software into existing enterprise subscriptions across a vast number of accounts, and spreading demand over such a wide base gives both companies a steadier ground when sentiment shifts. Those agent products ride on relationships the two vendors already hold, which cushions the impact of any one lost deal.
Weighing SoundHound’s Bull and Bear Cases Optimists could argue that SoundHound’s voice platform addresses a market the large enterprise vendors haven’t built for directly. Supporters can note that SoundHound shares now trade at a fraction of where they started the year, which could leave room for a rebound if deployments keep converting. A business built on deployment contracts can also scale fast when several large customers go live in close succession.
On the bearish side, a company winning business one deployment at a time has little buffer when sentiment turns. The peer and fund figures held up across the category, so the weakness looks tied to SoundHound stock alone.
What to Watch Next SoundHound’s unresolved question is whether its next set of customer deployments converts into revenue growth large enough to re-rate SoundHound shares after such a heavy markdown. The focus is whether new restaurant, automotive and contact-center launches begin showing up as faster top-line gains. Contract wins that stay as headlines without lifting reported growth leave the negative argument intact.
Shareholders could look for signs that the gap between SoundHound stock and the software fund starts to narrow. A continued split would reinforce the case that the selling reflects company-specific doubts. Until then, SOUN stockholders may want to keep their positions appropriately sized with that company-specific risk in mind.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Cerebras Systems: Rapid Upward Revenue Growth TrendsCerebras Systems (CBRS +1.11%) primarily earns its revenue by developing and manufacturing advanced artificial intelligence compute platforms for data centers.
During the most recent reporting period, it introduced a new rack-scale accelerator designed specifically for heavy computational workloads, and it signed colocation services agreements for a new data center campus located in Minnesota and another in Finland.
SoundHound AI: Gradual Quarterly Revenue Growth IncreasesSoundHound AI (SOUN -1.51%) earns its revenue by providing a specialized voice technology platform that helps businesses build conversational assistants.
It recently finalized the strategic acquisition of LivePerson following the necessary stockholder approvals, and it launched a new embedded agentic voice AI platform designed for integration into modern vehicles and connected smart devices.
Why Revenue Matters for InvestorsRevenue gives investors a foundational baseline measure of a business's total sales volume. Closely tracking this top-line financial figure helps investors understand the total scale and growth trajectory of a business.
Cerebras Systems vs. SoundHound AI Revenue over the last 8 quarters.
Reviewing the Quarterly Revenue Trends for Cerebras Systems and SoundHound AICalendar quarterCerebras Systems RevenueSoundHound AI RevenueQ3 2024$72.3 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)$25.1 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)Q4 2024$81.5 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)$34.5 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)Q1 2025$99.5 million (quarter ended March 31, 2025)$29.1 million (quarter ended March 31, 2025)Q2 2025$103.3 million (quarter ended June 30, 2025)$42.7 million (quarter ended June 30, 2025)Q3 2025$135.7 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)$42.0 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)Q4 2025$171.4 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)$55.1 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)Q1 2026$193.4 million (quarter ended March 31, 2026)$44.2 million (quarter ended March 31, 2026)Q2 2026$180.1 million (quarter ended June 30, 2026)$61.9 million (quarter ended June 30, 2026)Data source: Financial Modeling Prep. Data as of Oct. 13, 2026.
Foolish TakeComparing revenue trends between Cerebras Systems and SoundHound AI reveals how these businesses are evolving as a result of the artificial intelligence boom.
Cerebras has consistently demonstrated quarter-over-quarter increases over the past two years. That trend stopped in the second quarter of 2026 only because of the amortization of customer warrant assets to the tune of $28 million, which is deducted from revenue. If not for this, Q2 sales would have continued the company's quarter-over-quarter growth trajectory. This demonstrates the strong demand Cerebras is experiencing for its unique wafer-scale architecture, which enables AI systems to operate faster.
SoundHound AI's revenue growth is fueled by acquisitions. Its purchase of LivePerson in September is the latest that has allowed the company's top-line expansion over the past eight quarters. SoundHound previously raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to a range between $230 million and $260 million, but that is expected to go up due to the LivePerson deal.
Key Takeaways SoundHound's LivePerson deal expands its enterprise AI reach to 25 Fortune 100 brands.SoundHound sees over $500M in future revenue potential from cross-selling and enterprise adoption.SOUN faces integration risks and cash burn despite 45% revenue growth and a debt-free balance sheet. SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) is expanding its enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) footprint following the completion of its LivePerson acquisition in September 2026. The deal gives the combined company access to a customer base that includes 25 Fortune 100 brands, strengthening its ability to scale conversational and agentic AI solutions across industries.
LivePerson Expands SoundHound's Enterprise ReachThe acquisition combines LivePerson's digital messaging infrastructure with SoundHound's proprietary voice AI capabilities. Integrating LivePerson into SoundHound's OASYS platform will enable unified customer interactions across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels.
The combined company also holds more than 750 patents, strengthening its competitive positioning. Management sees an opportunity to generate more than $500 million in future revenues from the existing customer base alone, supported by cross-selling and broader enterprise adoption.
SoundHound's second-quarter 2026 revenues increased 45% year over year to $61.9 million, reflecting growing demand for OASYS. Its adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed 33% to $9.6 million, indicating improving operating efficiency.
Can SoundHound Convert Scale Into Profitability?Despite significant expansion opportunities, integration challenges, customer retention risks and implementation costs could pressure near-term profitability.
SoundHound used approximately $60 million in operating cash during the first half of 2026. However, its debt-free balance sheet provides financial flexibility.
The LivePerson acquisition could accelerate SoundHound's transition into a larger enterprise AI provider. Nevertheless, realizing the anticipated revenue opportunities while controlling costs and improving cash generation will be critical to achieving sustainable growth.
SoundHound Faces Rising Competition in Enterprise AISoundHound faces growing competition from Five9 (FIVN - Free Report) and NICE Ltd. (NICE - Free Report) , which are strengthening their AI-powered customer engagement platforms to capture rising enterprise demand.
Five9 provides cloud-based contact center solutions, integrating conversational AI, intelligent automation and virtual agents to improve customer interactions. Five9's established enterprise relationships and cloud infrastructure support large-scale AI deployments. Its expanding AI capabilities could intensify competition with SoundHound as businesses seek unified customer engagement solutions. Five9's focus on automation and customer experience also positions it to capture enterprise spending.
NICE offers AI-powered customer experience solutions through its CXone platform, combining digital engagement, automation and workforce optimization. NICE's extensive enterprise customer base, established market presence and comprehensive product portfolio provide competitive advantages. NICE continues investing in AI-driven automation and omnichannel capabilities to strengthen its position.
While Five9 and NICE benefit from established enterprise platforms, SoundHound's LivePerson acquisition expands its customer reach and cross-selling opportunities. However, successful integration remains essential to competing effectively at scale.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 50.2% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 7.83, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has remained unchanged at 19 cents and 14 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) and Zapata Quantum (OTCMKTS:ZPTA – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.
Analyst Ratings This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for SoundHound AI and Zapata Quantum, as reported by MarketBeat.
Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score SoundHound AI 1 2 3 1 2.57 Zapata Quantum 0 1 0 1 3.00 SoundHound AI presently has a consensus target price of $12.75, indicating a potential upside of 156.54%. Given SoundHound AI’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SoundHound AI is more favorable than Zapata Quantum.
Valuation and Earnings This table compares SoundHound AI and Zapata Quantum”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio SoundHound AI $203.20 million 10.86 -$14.01 million ($0.38) -13.08 Zapata Quantum $3.88 million 27.52 $9.34 million ($0.02) -28.50 Zapata Quantum has lower revenue, but higher earnings than SoundHound AI. Zapata Quantum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SoundHound AI, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership 19.3% of SoundHound AI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.2% of Zapata Quantum shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.8% of SoundHound AI shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 39.3% of Zapata Quantum shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability This table compares SoundHound AI and Zapata Quantum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets SoundHound AI -67.45% -30.22% -20.28% Zapata Quantum N/A -7.23% -3.10% Volatility & Risk SoundHound AI has a beta of 2.73, meaning that its stock price is 173% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zapata Quantum has a beta of 20.94, meaning that its stock price is 1,994% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary Zapata Quantum beats SoundHound AI on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About SoundHound AI (Get Free Report)
SoundHound AI, Inc. develops independent voice artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that enables businesses across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Its products include Houndify platform that offers a suite of Houndify tools to help brands build conversational voice assistants, such as Application Programming Interfaces (API) for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, extensive library of content domains, inclusive software development kit platforms, collaboration capabilities, diagnostic tools, and built-in analytics; SoundHound Chat AI that integrates with knowledge domains, pulling real-time data like weather, sports, stocks, flight status, and restaurants; and SoundHound Smart Answering is built to offer customer establishments custom AI-powered voice assistant. The company's products also include CaiNET software that uses machine learning to enhance how domains work together to handle queries; CaiLAN software that arbitrates responses so users get answers from the right domain; Dynamic Interaction a real-time, multimodal customer service interface; Smart Ordering which offers an easy-to-understand voice assistant for restaurants; Employee Assist; automatic speech recognition; natural language understanding; wake words; custom domains; text-to-speech; and embedded voice solutions. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
About Zapata Quantum (Get Free Report)
Zapata Computing Holdings Inc. operates as an industrial generative artificial intelligence (AI) software company in the United States. The company offers subscription-based solutions that combine software and services to develop generative AI applications, as well as accompanying services to solve complex industrial problems. It also provides Zapata AI Sense, a suite of algorithms and complex mathematical models to enhance analytics and other data-driven applications; Zapata AI Prose, a set of generative AI solutions based on large language models for generic chatbot applications; and Orquestra, an industrial generative AI application development platform, which provides sense and prose. It serves enterprise organizations. Zapata Computing Holdings Inc. was founded in 2017 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
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SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $4.96 and last traded at $4.97, with a volume of 20,345,551 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $5.39.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded SoundHound AI from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on SoundHound AI from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on SoundHound AI from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of SoundHound AI in a report on Friday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.75.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SoundHound AI
SoundHound AI Stock Down 7.8%
The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -13.08 and a beta of 2.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.01.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.38 million. SoundHound AI had a negative net margin of 67.45% and a negative return on equity of 30.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) EPS. Analysts expect that SoundHound AI, Inc. will post -0.32 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at SoundHound AI
In other SoundHound AI news, insider James Hom sold 38,730 shares of SoundHound AI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $245,160.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,105,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,998,163.15. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Keyvan Mohajer sold 137,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $869,045.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,684,947 shares in the company, valued at $23,325,714.51. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 288,758 shares of company stock valued at $1,828,598 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.84% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SoundHound AI by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 132,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 36,415 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in SoundHound AI by 10.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 32,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 3,163 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in SoundHound AI by 12.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 22,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SoundHound AI by 6.9% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 64,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 4,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of SoundHound AI in the second quarter worth $165,000. 19.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About SoundHound AI
(Get Free Report)
SoundHound AI, Inc develops voice artificial intelligence technologies that enable people to interact with products and services using natural language. Its platform is designed to understand conversational speech, answer questions, and support voice-enabled experiences across automotive, restaurant, consumer electronics and other industries.
The company’s offerings include the Houndify voice AI platform, which businesses can use to build customized voice assistants, and SoundHound Chat AI, a conversational assistant designed to provide responses and complete tasks through voice interaction.
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NEW YORK CITY & NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM: SOUN) (“SoundHound” or the “Company”).
In January 2024, the Company acquired artificial intelligence (“AI”) software companies SYNQ3 and Amelia Holdings, Inc., resulting in what it hailed as the Company’s “breakthrough year” in 2024. However, on March 4, 2025, the Company disclosed it could not timely file its 2024 Annual Report “[d]ue to the complexity of accounting for [the SYNQ3 and Amelia Acquisitions]” and that it “ha[d] identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting.” A week later, the Company filed its 2024 10-K, which restated certain financials and revealed for the first time that the Company’s lack of effective controls was impairing its ability to account for corporate acquisitions.
Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period in violation of federal securities laws, which remains ongoing.
KSF’s investigation is focusing on whether SoundHound’s officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.
If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of SoundHound shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-833-538-3606 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgm-soun/ to learn more.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation’s premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.
TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services
To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
SoundHound AI (SOUN -2.35%) has a much larger enterprise opportunity after acquiring LivePerson. The critical question is whether OASYS can turn that expanded customer reach into cross-selling, higher recurring revenue, and improved economics before losses, declining legacy revenue, and dilution weigh on the story.
Stock prices used were the market prices of Sept. 24, 2026. The video was published on Oct. 10, 2026.
Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends SoundHound AI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Buy a call spread on SoundHound (e.g., buy SOUN 1–3 month calls, sell nearer-dated higher-strike calls). The setup is a heavily shorted, technically broken stock with earnings approaching—perfect conditions for a violent rebound if any positive catalyst hits (guidance, deal traction, or buy-side momentum). The goal is to profit from a squeeze-driven spike rather than a slow recovery.
Key Risk: Earnings and guidance disappoint and the stock keeps sliding, crushing call premiums and preventing a squeeze.
SOUN short
Sell short SoundHound (SOUN). The stock broke key support at $5.80 and is below the 50-week EMA and a descending trendline, so rallies likely get sold. Short interest is high (40%), but the chart still points down toward ~$4; that’s where forced covering may be limited until price stabilizes. Revenue growth and loss narrowing haven’t stopped the sell-off, so fundamentals aren’t yet overriding positioning.
Key Risk: A sustained short squeeze that lifts SOUN above $5.80 and holds it, forcing shorts to cover.
SoundHound stock has plunged to its lowest level since November 2024 as investors continue betting against the voice AI company. It slumped to a low of $5.38 on Friday, down by nearly 80% from its all-time high, a sign that Nvidia’s investment has flopped.
SOUN stock has plunged since October last year, when it peaked at $22 after Nvidia took a stake in the company. Despite its strong revenue growth, investors have continued to bet against the company, with the short interest rising to 40%. This makes it one of the most heavily shorted companies in the US.
Short interest is a figure that looks at the number of shares of a stock that investors have sold short but have not yet covered or closed out. It is usually a measure of how many traders are betting that a stock will fall. A high figure is a sign that many people expect it to drop over time.
It can also be a sign that a stock will experience a short squeeze, a situation where it rebounds, forcing short sellers to buy shares to close their positions. A good example of a short squeeze was GameStop, which surged in early 2021. OpenDoor also experienced a short squeeze last year.
SoundHound’s crash and the rising short interest is happening even as its revenue continue growing. Its last earnings report showed that revenue jumped by 45% to $61.9 million as more companies continued to embrace its technology. It signed a 7-figure deal with a healthcare system with over 30,000 employees. It also renewed its contracts with top companies like Rakuten Securities and Hyundai.
SoundHound also continued to narrow its losses during the quarter. Its net loss came in at $42.8 million from $74 million a year earlier. The management decided to hike its targets for the year. It now expects that its annual revenue will be between $230 million and $260 million.
Analysts expect that its revenue will be $251 million, followed by $390 million next year. The real figures will be higher than these because of its recent LivePerson acquisition in a $43 million deal.
SoundHound stock chart | Source: TradingView
The weekly chart shows that the SoundHound stock has been in a strong sell-off since last year. It has now dropped below the important support level of $5.80, its lowest level in March and August, invalidating the double-bottom pattern. The double-bottom is one of the most common bullish reversal patterns in technical analysis.
The stock continues falling below the 50-week Exponential Moving Average and the descending trendline that connects the highest swing since January. Its double-bottom pattern was part of the descending triangle pattern.
Therefore, the path of the least resistance is downwards, with the next key target to watch being at $4. The risk, however, is that it may experience a short squeeze, especially as its earnings nears.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $5.52, moving -1.95% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.47%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1.25%.
Shares of the company witnessed a loss of 13.12% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its gain of 6.08%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.15%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of SoundHound AI, Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, SoundHound AI, Inc. is projected to report earnings of -$0.07 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 133.33%. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $62.13 million, reflecting a 47.74% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of -$0.19 per share and a revenue of $239.18 million, demonstrating changes of -46.15% and +41.59%, respectively, from the preceding year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for SoundHound AI, Inc. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Currently, SoundHound AI, Inc. is carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, placing it within the top 31% of over 250 industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
Key Takeaways SoundHound is extending OASYS across IoT, automotive systems, TVs and Voice Commerce.New deals bring OASYS agents to automotive diagnostics, TVs and in-car transactions.SOUN posted 45% revenue growth but remained loss-making and used nearly $60M in operating cash. SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) is widening the reach of its agentic AI beyond traditional voice applications as it pushes deeper into connected devices, automotive systems and Voice Commerce. The strategy centers on OASYS, its self-learning agentic platform, which allows AI agents to operate independently of a specific channel and extend across physical and digital touchpoints. Management says OASYS agents can support vehicle assistants, retail transactions and other complex workflows across multiple verticals.
IoT Deals Broaden OASYS ReachMomentum is becoming visible in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. During the second quarter, SoundHound secured an IoT deal with an automotive maintenance and diagnostic company that plans to use AI agents to improve on-site productivity. The customer will integrate with OASYS, enabling purpose-built agents to work across multiple channels.
SoundHound is also moving into consumer electronics. A multinational electronics manufacturer agreed to deploy its technology for agentic transactions directly through TVs, while the company signed another automotive brand for in-car Voice Commerce. These initiatives could turn connected devices into transaction points, expanding monetization opportunities beyond licensing and voice assistance.
Growth Opportunity Comes With Execution RiskThe broader business provides encouraging momentum. Second-quarter revenues increased 45% year over year to $61.9 million, while SoundHound raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $230-$260 million. However, the company remained loss-making and used nearly $60 million of operating cash during the first half.
The completed LivePerson acquisition further expands SoundHound across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels. If OASYS can successfully connect these digital channels with cars, TVs and other devices, SoundHound could materially broaden its agentic AI addressable market.
SoundHound Faces Competition From Cerence and AlphabetCerence (CRNC - Free Report) remains a key competitor as SoundHound expands agentic AI across connected vehicles and IoT environments. Cerence offers generative AI-powered in-car assistants that can be embedded or cloud-connected, giving automakers control over branded, context-aware voice experiences. Cerence’s deep automotive specialization and established OEM relationships could make it harder for SoundHound to expand in vehicle-based commerce and connected-device applications.
Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) represents another major competitive threat as Google broadens the reach of Gemini across its device and automotive ecosystem. Gemini is being integrated into Android, Android Auto and vehicles equipped with Google built-in, allowing users to complete increasingly complex tasks through AI-driven interactions.
Alphabet’s extensive Android footprint gives it a significant distribution advantage as agentic AI expands across smartphones, vehicles and connected devices. Its automotive ambitions are also deepening through partnerships such as Mahindra, where Gemini-powered capabilities are being incorporated into in-vehicle experiences.
Still, SoundHound’s channel-independent OASYS platform and focus on OEM-controlled deployments could help it differentiate against both Cerence and Alphabet.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 40.9% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 9.29, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 19 cents and 14 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.
Shares of this company have returned -12.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.8% change. The Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, to which SoundHound AI belongs, has lost 4.9% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Earnings Estimate RevisionsHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
SoundHound AI is expected to post a loss of $0.07 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -133.3%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.
The consensus earnings estimate of -$0.19 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of -46.2%. This estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $0.14 indicates a change of +24.6% from what SoundHound AI is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, SoundHound AI is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.
For SoundHound AI, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $62.13 million indicates a year-over-year change of +47.7%. For the current and next fiscal years, $239.18 million and $293.87 million estimates indicate +41.6% and +22.9% changes, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistorySoundHound AI reported revenues of $61.9 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +45%. EPS of -$0.02 for the same period compares with -$0.03 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $52.49 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +17.92%. The EPS surprise was +33.33%.
Over the last four quarters, SoundHound AI surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
SoundHound AI is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about SoundHound AI. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.
Artificial intelligence (AI) audio agent company SoundHound AI (SOUN +0.69%) has disappointed shareholders thus far in 2026. As of this writing, the stock is down 41.6%, while the S&P 500 has climbed 12.8% over the same period.
Based on analyst forecasts, 2027 could offer a better performance, but even with those forecasts, a note of caution is warranted.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
The stock price forecast Overall, based on analyst price targets, there could be significant upside for SoundHound stock by October 2027. The stock doesn't receive much coverage, but among the eight analysts tracking it, the median one-year price target is $13.50, according to CNN. From the Oct. 2 closing price of $5.84, that would be a gain of 131%.
The most bullish target, $17, would represent a 191% gain, and even the lowest target, $7, is a nearly 20% gain.
However, that is still based on a small group of analysts, and price targets aren't guarantees; they essentially offer sentiment around an investment more than anything else. In addition, based on the risks, those targets seem a bit optimistic, even a year out.
The upside and risks SoundHound is an intriguing investment, but it comes with plenty of uncertainty. On the one hand, it has managed to line up an impressive list of clients, from the car manufacturer Stellantis to the restaurant chain Five Guys, giving it an early lead in the audio AI agent space. And after it closed the acquisition of LivePerson in September, SoundHound could become an even more robust platform. Whereas SoundHound's specialty is in the audio space, LivePerson's is messaging, with its AI agents handling tasks like automated texts or email replies for a business.
At the time of the acquisition announcement in April, SoundHound expected its 2027 revenue totals to fall within a range of $350 million to $400 million, with $100 million of growth from sales contributions from LivePerson's customers. For context, SoundHound's 2025 full-year revenue was $168.9 million, so the climb up to as much as $400 million so soon is promising.
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That said, the risks remain significant. Regarding the LivePerson deal, one risk is that the synergies SoundHound expects will take longer than anticipated to materialize or may not materialize at all. Also, the AI agent space is becoming increasingly competitive. Hence, an additional threat is that a much larger company with a bigger bankroll, such as Alphabet, Amazon, or Microsoft, could start encroaching on SoundHound's market. Even the start-ups OpenAI and Anthropic could broadly be considered indirect competitors with their AI agents.
With all that in mind, I still view SoundHound as worthy of a small, speculative position in a portfolio. But making meaningful wealth from the stock will take more time. SoundHound has to execute on integrating LivePerson and demonstrate the expected revenue growth and operational efficiencies the merger created, or, better yet, exceed expectations. For the short term, I don't see too many catalysts that would send the stock price higher.
That's why I would also be comfortable sitting on the sidelines and not buying it or adding to a position. If it starts to move higher on company-specific news over the next year, that at least shows it has renewed momentum. And if it heads lower, that may provide a more favorable entry point for long-term investors.
SoundHound AI (SOUN +1.46%)'s stock has been struggling badly this year. It's already down more than 40%, even as other stocks involved in artificial intelligence (AI) are soaring. The market has been doing well, but SoundHound AI has not.
That's a troubling sign, but it might also mean that there's an opportunity here. The key is to understand why the stock is down, and whether the market is overreacting to a recent news event involving the business, or if there are truly fundamental issues that are preventing SoundHound AI from joining the larger tech rally.
Below, I'll look at what the real reason for SoundHound AI's decline is, and whether the tech stock is a steal of a deal while it's trading at around $6.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why isn't SoundHound's strong growth enough to lift the stock higher?Over the past few years, SoundHound has experienced significant growth as opportunities in voice AI have taken off. Acquisitions have given the business a boost, and its growth rate has remained fairly strong.
SOUN Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
The challenge for investors is that, while the growth looks impressive, SoundHound has been heavily focused on acquisitions to expand its business. While that can be an effective way to grow and diversify, it may not improve prospects for profitability. Meanwhile, investors have a more difficult time assessing whether the business is growing organically or whether it's simply due to acquisitions.
In the June quarter, SoundHound's revenue hit a record high of $61.9 million, but its net loss was also fairly significant at $42.8 million. That was down from a loss of $74.7 million in the same period a year ago, but given such a steep loss, investors may be wondering whether the business will ever become profitable.
SoundHound AI stock deserves to be trading at a discountThe greater the risk and uncertainty around a business, the larger a discount investors should demand on the stock. The question marks around SoundHound's organic growth and its bottom line make it little wonder that the stock hasn't been doing all that well this year, despite seemingly impressive top-line numbers.
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SoundHound has been expanding via acquisitions, but simply adding more businesses into the fold doesn't make it a better investment. Integrating them and becoming profitable while doing so is the big test, which it still hasn't passed.
The stock may be trading at a drastically reduced valuation, but with ample competition in AI and SoundHound still deep in the red, I'd avoid it.
If you're a growth stock enthusiast, you may be familiar with SoundHound AI (SOUN -3.47%), a company specializing in voice and conversational artificial intelligence (AI) technology for companies -- which lets people talk to their cars, among other things. It has been a bit of a market darling in recent years, averaging annual gains of 42.7% over the past three years.
But over the past year, it's down 63%. And year to date, it's down 41%. Does that make it a bargain now? Could buying into SoundHound now set you up for life? Let's see.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company began as a music-recognition specialist before pivoting a bit into the voice artificial intelligence (AI) market. Its technology is now found in cars, enabling drivers to use voice commands, and in restaurants, where it's helping make customers' orders more accurate, among other things.
Bulls like the fact that SoundHound is growing rapidly. Its second quarter featured record revenue of $62 million, up 45% year over year, and achievements such as signing "a 7-figure deal with a nationally ranked healthcare system with 30,000 employees throughout its hospitals, health parks, and medical offices."
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Bears worry, though, because the company is posting net losses rather than net profits, and it has been growing, in large part, through acquisitions.
I don't think you can expect SoundHound to "set you up for life," but it could grow for you over time. As I write this, its price-to-sales ratio is 12, down from 90 in 2024 and nearly 27 in 2025. So the stock is definitely a better value than it has been, but that's still a steep ratio. Another way to look at it is this: Its market capitalization, or market value, is around $2.7 billion. If you expect it to be significantly higher than that years from now and you plan to hang on to the stock, you might consider snapping up some shares.
Selena Maranjian has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends SoundHound AI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $5.84, moving -3.47% from the previous trading session. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.73% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.49%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.19%.
The company's shares have seen a decrease of 10.24% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.36% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of SoundHound AI, Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of -$0.07, indicating a 133.33% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $62.13 million, showing a 47.74% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of -$0.19 per share and revenue of $239.18 million, indicating changes of -46.15% and +41.59%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for SoundHound AI, Inc. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. SoundHound AI, Inc. is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 59, this industry ranks in the top 24% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
The search for explosive growth often leads investors to IonQ (IONQ +0.30%) and SoundHound AI (SOUN +0.50%). Each company is pioneering a different frontier of the modern technological landscape to capture market share.
IonQ specializes in the complex world of quantum hardware, while SoundHound AI focuses on conversational artificial intelligence. Both represent high-risk, high-reward opportunities for those interested in emerging technologies. This comparison explores which business model and financial profile offer a more compelling path forward for retail investors.
The case for IonQIonQ develops trapped-ion quantum computing, quantum networking, sensing, and security solutions. In its latest annual report, the company details how it offers Quantum-Computing-as-a-Service through major cloud providers like Amazon (AMZN -0.37%) and Microsoft (MSFT -0.02%). It also maintains a presence on the Google Cloud Marketplace. As IonQ advances its footprint in the tech stocks landscape, it recently acquired SkyWater Technology to establish an internal secure quantum foundry. This move helps the company manage its own supply chain and hardware development.
In FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $130.0 million, which is a significant increase from roughly $43.1 million in the prior year. This represents revenue growth of approximately 201.9% as the company scales its commercial operations. However, the company reported a net loss of nearly $510.4 million for the same period. This resulted in a net margin of close to -392.6%. The company continues to spend heavily on research and development to maintain its technological edge.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is 0.0x. This means the company carries no debt relative to its shareholder equity. The current ratio stands at roughly 15.5x, which indicates that IonQ has many more current assets than current liabilities. Free cash flow for the period was negative $299.6 million, as the company prioritized building out its hardware infrastructure. Free cash flow is calculated by subtracting capital expenditures from cash provided by operations.
The case for SoundHound AISoundHound AI delivers voice and agentic AI software that delivers conversational experiences across various industries. These include the automotive, hospitality, and retail sectors where voice interaction is becoming a standard feature. In late 2026, the company completed the acquisition of LivePerson to expand its enterprise AI and omnichannel customer engagement capabilities. The company integrates its platform with existing third-party telecommunications and internet infrastructure to serve enterprise customers. Its technology is found in everything from smart devices and televisions to in-vehicle systems.
In FY 2025, revenue was close to $168.9 million, representing a 99.4% jump from the approximately $84.7 million reported in 2024. Despite this rapid growth, the company reported a net loss of nearly $14.0 million. This reflects a net margin of approximately -8.3% for the fiscal year. This margin is a significant improvement from the much larger losses reported in previous fiscal periods. The company is working toward achieving profitability as it expands its footprint in the voice AI market.
According to its December 2025 balance sheet, SoundHound AI has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x. The current ratio, which measures the company's ability to cover its short-term debts with short-term assets, is roughly 4.6x. Free cash flow was negative $103.1 million for the year. This figure is determined by taking cash from operations and subtracting capital expenditures. The company continues to invest in its agentic AI platform to stay ahead of evolving consumer demands.
Risk profile comparisonIonQ faces risks from the unproven nature of scalable quantum computing. It relies heavily on specialized personnel and faces complex international regulatory laws. Significant historical losses require the company to potentially seek more capital.
SoundHound AI deals with high customer concentration and intense competition from companies like Nvidia (NVDA +1.09%). It has also disclosed material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting. There are also legal risks regarding the accuracy of its generative AI tools.
Valuation comparisonSoundHound AI is cheaper based on its P/S ratio, which measures market value against sales over the past twelve months.
MetricIonQSoundHound AIForward P/EN/AN/AP/S ratio66.8x13.1xValuation metrics include sourcing from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
I'd go with IonQ, though this is a speculative pick that comes with real caveats. Both companies are early-stage and unprofitable, and IonQ's losses are substantial, as it is burning through cash at a significant pace to achieve its current scale.
IonQ's revenue guidance jumped dramatically this year, though much of that increase reflects the SkyWater acquisition rather than purely organic quantum contract wins. The backlog is expanding, but quantum projects are tied to multi-year research milestones that do not always convert to cash on a predictable schedule.
SoundHound is making steady progress, and the voice AI platform is finding traction in ways that are starting to show up in the numbers. Revenue grew at a strong double-digit rate in the most recent quarter, and enterprise deals are accumulating across healthcare and automotive.
For an investor willing to accept significant volatility, IonQ's diversified customer base and expanded manufacturing capabilities make it the slightly more grounded of these two highly speculative bets.
Key Takeaways SoundHound signed three major U.S. restaurant chains as key-account renewal rates reached 100%.A major pizza chain now has SoundHound technology live in more than 75% of its thousands of stores.SOUN's QSR momentum comes as second-quarter revenues rose 45% year over year to $61.9 million. SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) is strengthening its position in restaurant automation as demand for voice AI expands across quick-service restaurants (QSRs). During the second quarter of 2026, the company signed three major U.S. restaurant chains, while restaurant renewal rates reached 100% for key accounts. Location counts also increased across customers including Jersey Mike’s, Five Guys and IHOP. A major pizza chain with thousands of stores now has SoundHound technology live in more than 75% of its locations.
The broader restaurant pipeline remains encouraging. SoundHound disclosed new deals with a large seafood QSR, Ruby Tuesday, a major American-style Mexican QSR and a sushi restaurant. It also renewed agreements with Habit Burger, Red Lobster and Torchy’s Tacos, while Lazy Dog expanded its use of Smart Answering and Smart Ordering. This combination of new customer wins, renewals and store-level expansion supports SoundHound’s land-and-expand strategy.
Importantly, management said a well-known QSR customer continues to see higher revenues at drive-thru locations using SoundHound AI compared with comparable locations without the technology. Improving performance metrics could encourage broader deployments across existing restaurant chains. SoundHound also sees cross-selling opportunities through OASYS, including IT help desk and guest-relations services.
The restaurant momentum comes as SoundHound’s overall business scales rapidly. Second-quarter revenues increased 45% year over year to $61.9 million, while GAAP gross margin improved to 45.1%. Continued QSR wins and wider rollouts could therefore make restaurants an increasingly important contributor to SoundHound’s long-term growth.
Competitive Pressure in Restaurant AISoundHound faces competition from Toast (TOST - Free Report) and PAR Technology (PAR - Free Report) as restaurant operators increasingly adopt AI-enabled ordering and automation.
Toast has strengthened its QSR presence with Toast Drive-Thru, an enterprise solution combining hardware, restaurant software and AI voice-ordering integrations. Toast also supports AI-powered ordering through partners such as Incept AI, while its broad POS ecosystem can make Toast attractive to restaurant chains seeking an integrated technology stack.
PAR Technology is another relevant competitor given its deep exposure to large restaurant chains. PAR Technology provides POS, digital ordering, loyalty, drive-thru and AI-powered restaurant tools, with more than 140,000 restaurant locations using PAR ordering technology. PAR Technology is also embedding AI across its restaurant platform to deliver real-time operational insights and automation. While Toast and PAR Technology have broader restaurant ecosystems, SoundHound’s specialization in conversational and voice AI could help differentiate its offering as QSR chains expand automated ordering.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 41.4% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 9.26, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 19 cents and 14 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SoundHound AI just scored a category-first milestone in one of the world's fastest-growing automotive markets, and the stock moved accordingly. Find out what that launch signals for the broader AI group and whether BigBear.ai and Pony AI are positioned to…
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SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) stock jumped 5% to $6.11 on Wednesday after the company highlighted a product launch featuring its generative voice AI technology in the Kia Sorento in India. BigBear.ai Holdings (NYSE:BBAI | BBAI Price Prediction) shares rose 3% to $2.73, while Pony AI (NASDAQ:PONY) stock stayed essentially flat, up 0.15% to $6.55. AI-focused names showed selective strength as investors tracked new automotive deployments and platform updates.
Broader markets advanced modestly, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE ARCA:SPY) up 0.47% to $767.77. SoundHound AI continues to expand its automotive and enterprise footprint through product rollouts and customer wins. The latest move centers on a real-time generative voice assistant in the Kia Sorento for the Indian market, alongside recent coverage of second-quarter revenue of $61.9 million, rising estimate support, and ongoing acquisition integration work.
SoundHound AI Debuts Generative Assistant in Kia Sorento SoundHound AI’s technology powers the Kia AI Assistant with real-time generative AI in the Sorento launched in India. The system marks a global debut for the feature in the Sorento lineup and a category first in the Indian market. Drivers and passengers can use the “Hey Kia” command for continuous, multi-turn conversations that handle complex requests without rigid pre-programmed phrasing.
Capabilities include natural-language control of climate, lighting, windows, and driving modes; instant answers from the digital owner’s manual on vehicle features; and dynamic conversational search for navigation, points of interest, news, and contextual questions. The integration builds on SoundHound AI’s expanding presence in high-growth Asian automotive markets and its broader OASYS platform for agentic voice AI.
BigBear.ai Advances While Pony AI Holds Steady BigBear.ai stock posted a solid gain on the day. The company provides artificial-intelligence and machine-learning solutions focused on decision intelligence for government, defense, and commercial customers. BigBear.ai shares have responded to broader interest in applied AI platforms even as individual names move on company-specific catalysts.
Pony AI stock remained nearly unchanged. Pony AI develops autonomous driving technology and robotaxi services, primarily targeting markets in China and beyond. Both BigBear.ai and Pony AI operate in specialized AI niches that differ from SoundHound AI’s concentration on voice and conversational agents for automotive and enterprise use cases.
AI Group Tracks Automotive and Platform Momentum SoundHound AI has also advanced its OASYS Edge architecture, which enables fully embedded agentic voice AI on edge hardware for vehicles and smart devices. The approach allows developers to build an agent once and deploy it in cloud, edge, or hybrid environments, supporting local processing for privacy, lower cloud costs, and operation in low-connectivity settings. Deployment is targeted for late 2026.
Similarities among SoundHound AI, BigBear.ai, and Pony AI include exposure to artificial-intelligence applications and growth tied to commercial adoption. Differences appear in end markets, with SoundHound AI emphasizing voice interfaces, BigBear.ai focusing on decision systems, and Pony AI concentrating on autonomous mobility. Recent product wins and platform expansions remain key for SoundHound AI’s narrative.
What to Look for With SOUN Stock The Kia Sorento launch and OASYS Edge development illustrate SoundHound AI’s push to scale voice AI across automotive and embedded devices. Second-quarter revenue growth and analyst estimate support have accompanied the shares, though integration of recent acquisitions and competitive dynamics in conversational AI continue to factor into investor views. BigBear.ai and Pony AI face their own execution and market-adoption variables.
Investors should consider keeping position sizes modest given the volatility typical of smaller AI and technology stocks. Further automotive wins, enterprise traction, and successful platform rollouts could support SoundHound AI stock, while slower adoption or heightened competition may pressure the group.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Investors are searching for high-growth opportunities within the evolving artificial intelligence landscape. Comparing Innodata (INOD -3.50%) and SoundHound AI (SOUN -3.64%) reveals two distinct ways to play the infrastructure and interface sides of this massive tech trend.
Innodata provides the high-quality data engineering required to train large language models, while SoundHound AI focuses on conversational voice experiences across the automotive and retail sectors. Both firms have seen significant interest as enterprises rush to integrate AI. This comparison examines their financial health, customer concentration, and valuation to determine which is the better buy today.
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The case for InnodataInnodata is an increasingly popular name among tech stocks due to its focus on data engineering for AI development. Its customer base includes five of the Magnificent Seven technology companies and frontier AI research labs that rely on its human expertise to build trusted systems. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, one customer in the Digital Data Solutions segment accounted for approximately 58% of total revenue. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business.
In its latest annual report, filed for FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $252 million, representing a 47.6% growth over the previous year. The company reported a net income of approximately $32.2 million, a significant increase from $28.7 million in 2024. This growth trend shows the rising demand for the company's evaluation frameworks and data services as more enterprises adopt generative AI.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x, indicating it has no significant debt relative to its equity. Its current ratio of 2.7x indicates a healthy ability to cover short-term obligations with assets that can be quickly converted to cash. Free cash flow for the period was roughly $35.6 million. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 23.8% of operating cash flow, inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back to cash flow.
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The case for SoundHound AISoundHound AI builds conversational experiences through its OASYS platform, serving global brands in the automotive and hospitality industries. Following its acquisition of LivePerson in September 2026, the company has significantly expanded its enterprise AI reach and customer engagement capabilities. It now powers billions of annual conversations for original equipment manufacturers and major restaurant chains.
In FY 2025, revenue reached $168.9 million, a 99.4% increase over the previous year. While the company is still scaling, it reported a net loss of approximately $14.0 million, a substantial improvement from the much larger losses recorded in prior periods. This narrowed loss suggests the company is making progress toward profitability as its agentic AI platform gains wider adoption.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the current ratio is approximately 4.6x, indicating a strong liquidity position to meet short-term needs. The debt-to-equity ratio is 0.0x, as the company maintains a clean balance sheet without significant debt. However, free cash flow was negative at roughly $103 million, reflecting the heavy investments required to integrate recent acquisitions and scale its voice AI technology.
Image source: Getty Images.
Risk profile comparisonInnodata faces significant revenue concentration, with one customer accounting for 58% of its 2025 revenue. The company also deals with legal risks, including a putative securities class action and ongoing litigation in the Philippines. Competition from other AI data companies and the potential for large tech clients to move data tasks in-house could put pressure on pricing. Furthermore, its globally dispersed operations subject the business to political and currency risks.
SoundHound AI carries risks related to its consistent history of net losses and negative operating cash flow, which may necessitate further capital raises. Integrating large acquisitions like LivePerson poses management challenges and the risk of failing to realize expected synergies. The company also reported material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting at the end of 2025. It faces intense competition from Microsoft (MSFT -1.35%) and other large technology providers with far greater resources.
Valuation comparisonInnodata appears more conservatively valued, given its positive net income and a lower sales multiple than the high-growth but unprofitable SoundHound AI.
MetricInnodataSoundHound AIForward P/E41.2xn/aP/S ratio7.2x12.9xValuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
At first glance, Innodata looks like the obvious winner. Innodata is profitable and cheaper on a price-to-sales basis, at about 7.6x versus roughly 12.5x for SoundHound. The recent Hunterbrook report tying the company to Meta (META -4.79%) and its Muse AI agent platform also gave Innodata's stock a jolt. But that link is unconfirmed, and it cuts both ways. Even after some welcome diversification in Q2, Innodata's top customer still generated 37% of its total revenue. That customer may well be Meta, which already owns a big stake in Scale AI and could do more of its data work in-house.
SoundHound looks like the better long-term bet to me. Second-quarter revenue rose 45% year over year to a record $61.9 million. Management raised its full-year 2026 outlook range to $230 million to $260 million, with a guidance update planned once the recently closed LivePerson deal is folded in. The combined company counts 25 Fortune 100 companies as customers and carries no debt. Its new CFO once took LivePerson from more than $100 million of annual cash burn to positive free cash flow in a single year. The losses are real, but the stock trades roughly 70% below its peak. Meanwhile, the company continues to convert a massive backlog into impressive revenue, and the addressable market is gigantic.
SoundHound is the riskier pick, and it's still the one I'd buy today.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM: SOUN) ("SoundHound" or the "Company").
In January 2024, the Company acquired artificial intelligence ("AI") software companies SYNQ3 and Amelia Holdings, Inc., resulting in what it hailed as the Company's "breakthrough year" in 2024. However, on March 4, 2025, the Company disclosed it could not timely file its 2024 Annual Report "[d]ue to the complexity of accounting for [the SYNQ3 and Amelia Acquisitions]" and that it "ha[d] identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting." A week later, the Company filed its 2024 10-K, which restated certain financials and revealed for the first time that the Company's lack of effective controls was impairing its ability to account for corporate acquisitions.
Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period in violation of federal securities laws, which remains ongoing.
KSF's investigation is focusing on whether SoundHound's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.
If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of SoundHound shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-833-538-3606 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgm-soun/ to learn more.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.
TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services
To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
Contact:
Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner
[email protected]
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Key Takeaways OASYS Edge brings LLM-powered voice AI agents directly to vehicles and smart devices.SOUN enables multi-step requests and system orchestration with local, cloud or hybrid deployment.Local processing can lower API and bandwidth costs while supporting connectivity and privacy needs. SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) introduced OASYS Edge, a new embedded architecture that brings LLM-powered voice AI agents directly to edge hardware. The technology is designed for vehicles and smart devices, with deployment scheduled for late 2026. By supporting cloud, edge and hybrid deployment, OASYS Edge could give manufacturers more flexibility in how AI agents are integrated into products.
SoundHound Expands Embedded AI With Agentic CapabilitiesOASYS Edge moves SoundHound beyond traditional voice systems that handle individual commands. The architecture enables multi-step requests and multi-system orchestration directly on the device. AI agents can understand vague requests, resolve user intent and coordinate multiple functions using optimized language models.
Developers can also build an AI agent once on SoundHound’s OASYS platform and deploy it across cloud, edge or hybrid environments. This flexibility could make the technology suitable for manufacturers with different hardware, connectivity and cost requirements.
SOUN Targets Lower-Cost and More Reliable AI ProcessingLocal processing can reduce the need for constant cloud processing, lowering recurring API costs and bandwidth requirements for manufacturers. OASYS Edge can also support voice requests in connectivity dead zones, including tunnels, underground garages and remote locations.
User interactions, voice processing and telemetry can optionally remain on the local device. Customizable model sizes and configurations also allow the technology to operate on lower-cost chipsets. These features address key considerations for manufacturers around cost, connectivity and data privacy.
OASYS Edge Could Broaden SoundHound’s Embedded AI ReachSoundHound is initially targeting vehicles and smart devices, with use cases also extending to robots. The ability to support local, cloud and hybrid deployment gives manufacturers more ways to integrate agentic AI across different devices and environments.
For SoundHound, broader deployment flexibility provides more ways to integrate agentic AI across different devices. This may expand the range of embedded applications that can use the company’s technology.
SoundHound vs. Other Market PlayersSoundHound competes with Five9, Inc. (FIVN - Free Report) and NICE Ltd. (NICE - Free Report) in the enterprise conversational AI market.
Five9 combines cloud contact-center software with AI-driven automation, virtual agents and workflow tools. Its established enterprise customer base and deep contact-center integrations support broader AI deployments. However, SoundHound’s OASYS differentiates itself through self-building and self-optimizing agents, along with faster movement from pilot programs to production-scale implementations.
Meanwhile, NICE focuses on customer experience automation through its CXone platform. The platform combines customer interactions, human agents and AI capabilities, supported by broad enterprise reach and mature contact-center capabilities. However, SoundHound is positioning OASYS around rapid deployment, omnichannel orchestration and agentic automation.
SoundHound’s focus on voice AI and faster deployment gives it a distinct position in the market. However, the established enterprise presence of Five9 and NICE creates competition as businesses increase spending on AI-driven customer engagement and automation.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 38.8% year to date (“YTD”), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 10.28, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 19 cents and 14 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.
Shares of this company have returned -15.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.7% change. The Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, to which SoundHound AI belongs, has lost 3.5% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
SoundHound AI is expected to post a loss of $0.07 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -133.3%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.
The consensus earnings estimate of -$0.19 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of -46.2%. This estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $0.14 indicates a change of +24.6% from what SoundHound AI is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, SoundHound AI is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Revenue Growth ForecastEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.
For SoundHound AI, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $62.13 million indicates a year-over-year change of +47.7%. For the current and next fiscal years, $239.18 million and $293.87 million estimates indicate +41.6% and +22.9% changes, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistorySoundHound AI reported revenues of $61.9 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +45%. EPS of -$0.02 for the same period compares with -$0.03 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $52.49 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +17.92%. The EPS surprise was +33.33%.
Over the last four quarters, SoundHound AI surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
SoundHound AI is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about SoundHound AI. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SoundHound AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOUN), a global leader in voice and agentic AI, today announced OASYS Edge, a new embedded architecture that brings LLM-powered voice AI agents directly to edge hardware. Available for vehicles and smart devices, OASYS Edge provides users with proactive conversational AI assistance that runs seamlessly, regardless of connectivity. Because processing happens locally, conversations stay private by default, and can continue uninterrupted even when network signals are unavailable.
OASYS Edge marks the first time global automakers, device manufacturers, and service providers will be able to deploy fully embedded agentic AI, with SoundHound setting the global pace as a longtime pioneer in edge and hybrid processing.
Build Once, Deploy Anywhere
With OASYS Edge, developers from any business can build intelligent voice agents on the OASYS platform once, then deploy them in the cloud, on the edge, or in a hybrid environment. This flexible architecture gives manufacturers full control over their technology stack for stronger data privacy, lower cloud costs and bandwidth needs, and consistently high-speed responsiveness.
For drivers and end users, OASYS Edge means a fast, reliable voice experience that feels unlimited, with AI agents that can understand even vague requests, resolve complex needs, and make smart decisions anytime in any location.
"For a long time, the industry assumed this kind of sophisticated agentic capability could only live in the cloud, forcing companies to compromise on speed, cost, reliability, and privacy," said James Hom, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder at SoundHound AI. "OASYS Edge fundamentally shifts that dynamic. By enabling developers to create AI voice agents just once and seamlessly deploy them in the cloud, on the edge, or across hybrid environments, we give manufacturers unprecedented flexibility. This allows them to provide uninterrupted AI assistance to end users without network overhead or cloud processing.
From Cars to Robots: Embedded Agentic Reasoning in Action
OASYS Edge goes beyond rigid, single-action voice commands to deliver natural, multi-system orchestration locally and only hands off tasks when cloud connectivity is needed. For example:
Multi-Step Route Planning, Even Off the Grid: A driver heading through a remote stretch with poor signal says, "Navigate to Los Angeles and add two iconic tourist attraction stops along the way, and tell me about each of them." Even with zero connectivity, OASYS Edge calculates the route, identifies well-known landmarks from its local knowledge base, and narrates highlights for each stop — updating the plan in real time, entirely on-device, with no cloud required.Listening, Not Streaming: A home or workplace robot needs to listen continuously to be useful, so OASYS Edge handles query detection and everyday conversational responses entirely on-device. This means the robot can always be ready without streaming audio to the cloud, enabling full conversational AI without compromising on privacy. Key Benefits for OEMs and End Users
Flexible Hybrid Architecture: Developers can create AI agents once on OASYS and deploy across cloud, edge, or hybrid environments depending on performance, cost, and hardware needs.Instant Responses & Offline Reliability: Voice requests execute at fast, natural conversational speeds and systems operate reliably in connectivity dead zones, such as underground garages, tunnels, and remote areas.Privacy by Design: User interactions, voice processing, and telemetry can optionally remain on the local device. No sensitive cabin or personal data is transmitted to external servers, providing full data sovereignty and meeting strict international privacy mandates.Onboard Multi-System Orchestration: OASYS Edge understands intent, resolves ambiguous requests, and autonomously controls multiple features simultaneously without cloud reliance. This is powered by an optimized, purpose-built range of language models.Lower Operating Overhead: Bypassing constant cloud processing significantly reduces recurring API costs and bandwidth demands for manufacturers. With customizable model sizes and configurations, the solution delivers high autonomy even on low-cost chipsets.
Availability & Implementation
SoundHound AI’s OASYS Edge is scheduled for deployment in late 2026, with live demonstrations available now and to be featured on the show floor at CES 2027.
You can learn more about OASYS Edge here.
About SoundHound AI
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq: SOUN) is a voice and agentic AI company that enables businesses to deliver natural, end-to-end conversational experiences across digital and physical channels, including phones, kiosks, chat, smart devices, drive-thrus, TVs, in-vehicle, and more. Its agentic platform, OASYS, is a self-learning, orchestrated AI system where organizations can build and deploy conversational AI agents to handle transactions, tasks, and workflows on behalf of customers and employees. Built on proprietary technology backed by 750+ patents and years of AI research, SoundHound serves leading brands across industries including automotive, financial services, healthcare, retail, telecommunications, and more. It powers millions of products and processes billions of interactions annually for enterprise customers worldwide. Learn more at: www.soundhound.com
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $6.01, moving -1.8% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.76%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.68%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.13%.
The stock of company has fallen by 13.19% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 6.68% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.26%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of SoundHound AI, Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at -$0.06, signifying a 100.00% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $62.43 million, indicating a 48.47% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of -$0.18 per share and a revenue of $238.2 million, representing changes of -38.46% and +41.02%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for SoundHound AI, Inc. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. SoundHound AI, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 92, finds itself in the top 38% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow SOUN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Key Takeaways SOUN expanded contracts with major banks and an insurer as demand grows for AI customer service.OASYS combines guardrails, evaluation and omnichannel tools to support secure, traceable financial workflows.Q2 revenues rose 45% to $61.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA remained a $9.6 million loss. SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) is gaining traction in banking and financial services as enterprises look to automate customer interactions without weakening service quality. In the second quarter of 2026, the company renewed or expanded contracts with two of the top seven global banking institutions and one of the largest global insurers. Management also cited growing demand from regional banks and credit unions seeking to scale customer service and extend operating hours. A top-tier regional credit union recently deployed SoundHound’s automated AI agents while maintaining service standards and containment rates.
The opportunity is meaningful because financial services require stronger controls than many consumer-facing markets. SoundHound says its platform combines built-in guardrails with rigorous agent evaluation, providing the security and traceability needed for mission-critical workflows. That could help OASYS differentiate as banks prioritize reliability, oversight and consistent customer experiences alongside automation.
The LivePerson acquisition further strengthens this strategy. By integrating LivePerson’s enterprise digital messaging infrastructure into OASYS, SoundHound can offer a unified platform spanning voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels. The combined company also gains access to a customer base that includes 25 Fortune 100 companies, creating cross-selling opportunities in large enterprises.
Still, winning regulated markets will depend on execution. Financial institutions face strict compliance, cybersecurity and data-governance requirements, while SoundHound must successfully integrate LivePerson and improve profitability. Second-quarter revenues rose 45% year over year to $61.9 million, but adjusted EBITDA remained a $9.6 million loss. Sustained banking adoption could broaden SoundHound’s enterprise mix, but proof of secure deployment at scale will be critical.
Competition Intensifies in Financial-Services AISoundHound faces competition from NICE Ltd. (NICE - Free Report) and Five9 (FIVN - Free Report) as AI agents gain traction across banking and financial services.
NICE has a strong position through its CXone platform, which combines AI-driven self-service, workflow automation and agent assistance. NICE also targets banks, insurers and wealth-management firms with security-focused customer-experience tools, while its AI agents can handle voice and digital interactions under defined governance. This enterprise presence could make NICE a formidable competitor as regulated institutions scale automation.
Five9 similarly offers cloud-based contact-center solutions tailored to financial institutions, combining omnichannel engagement, AI agents and agent-assist capabilities. Five9 emphasizes controlled dialogue flows for highly regulated industries such as banking, helping enterprises maintain precise and compliant customer communications. Its expanding Voice AI Agents platform also supports complex, multi-step workflows. Consequently, Five9 and NICE could intensify competition as SoundHound seeks deeper penetration in regulated financial markets.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 38.6% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 10.32, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 18 cents and 13 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) COO Michael Zagorsek sold 71,113 shares of SoundHound AI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $450,145.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,600,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,459,462.23. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
SoundHound AI Trading Down 1.2% SOUN stock opened at $5.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.21. SoundHound AI, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.65 and a 1-year high of $22.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -15.60 and a beta of 2.66.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $61.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.38 million. SoundHound AI had a negative return on equity of 30.22% and a negative net margin of 67.45%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that SoundHound AI, Inc. will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current year.
Key Headlines Impacting SoundHound AI Here are the key news stories impacting SoundHound AI this week: Positive Sentiment: Analysts tracked by American Banking News have an average $13.00 price target for SoundHound AI, well above recent trading levels. The consensus suggests significant potential upside if the company executes on its growth strategy. SoundHound AI Receives $13.00 Average Price Target from Analysts Positive Sentiment: SoundHound’s Asia business has extended its deal momentum to five consecutive quarters, including new wins in China and India and continued expansion of its OASYS automotive platform. The progress supports the company’s international growth and automotive AI opportunity. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SoundHound AI Positive Sentiment: SoundHound’s completed LivePerson acquisition and appointment of former LivePerson executive John Collins as CFO could improve financial integration and support a push toward sustainable profitability. The company’s recent strong second-quarter results and raised full-year guidance add to the bullish case. SoundHound AI’s LivePerson Deal and New CFO Shift Its Profitability Narrative? Neutral Sentiment: SoundHound is being compared with NVIDIA as a faster-growing but much smaller AI company. Its narrower voice-AI focus and continuing losses make SOUN a higher-risk growth investment despite its expansion potential. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SoundHound AI Negative Sentiment: CEO Keyvan Mohajer, COO Michael Zagorsek, SVP Majid Emami and insider James Hom collectively sold approximately 285,863 shares at $6.33 per share. The filings identify tax withholding related to vested equity awards as the reason, reducing the bearish signal, although the insider selling may still weigh on sentiment. SoundHound AI Insider Buying and Selling Analysts Set New Price Targets SOUN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised SoundHound AI from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on SoundHound AI from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of SoundHound AI in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on SoundHound AI from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on SOUN
Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of SoundHound AI by 25.0% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 440,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 87,998 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in SoundHound AI by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,180,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,543,000 after purchasing an additional 273,097 shares during the last quarter. Havemeyer Place LP purchased a new position in SoundHound AI during the fourth quarter worth about $956,000. Themes Management Co LLC grew its position in SoundHound AI by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Themes Management Co LLC now owns 191,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 88,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in SoundHound AI in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.28% of the company’s stock.
SoundHound AI Company Profile (Get Free Report)
SoundHound AI, Inc develops conversational artificial intelligence and voice-enabled technologies. Its platform is designed to let users interact with devices, applications and services through natural-language speech, supporting functions such as information retrieval, question answering and task completion.
The company’s offerings include the Houndify conversational AI platform, which businesses can use to build branded voice assistants, as well as SoundHound Chat AI, an in-car and consumer-oriented voice assistant that combines conversational capabilities with access to information and services.
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SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) insider James Hom sold 38,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total value of $245,160.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,105,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,998,163.15. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
SoundHound AI Price Performance SoundHound AI stock opened at $5.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.21. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -15.60 and a beta of 2.66. SoundHound AI, Inc. has a one year low of $5.65 and a one year high of $22.17.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $61.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.38 million. SoundHound AI had a negative return on equity of 30.22% and a negative net margin of 67.45%.The business’s revenue was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that SoundHound AI, Inc. will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On SoundHound AI Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of SoundHound AI by 197.5% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 3,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of SoundHound AI in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SoundHound AI by 5,164.8% in the 4th quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SoundHound AI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SoundHound AI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. 19.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SoundHound AI from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of SoundHound AI in a research note on Friday, September 11th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on SoundHound AI from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on SoundHound AI from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SoundHound AI
Key Headlines Impacting SoundHound AI Here are the key news stories impacting SoundHound AI this week:
Positive Sentiment: Analysts tracked by American Banking News have an average $13.00 price target for SoundHound AI, well above recent trading levels. The consensus suggests significant potential upside if the company executes on its growth strategy. SoundHound AI Receives $13.00 Average Price Target from Analysts Positive Sentiment: SoundHound’s Asia business has extended its deal momentum to five consecutive quarters, including new wins in China and India and continued expansion of its OASYS automotive platform. The progress supports the company’s international growth and automotive AI opportunity. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SoundHound AI Positive Sentiment: SoundHound’s completed LivePerson acquisition and appointment of former LivePerson executive John Collins as CFO could improve financial integration and support a push toward sustainable profitability. The company’s recent strong second-quarter results and raised full-year guidance add to the bullish case. SoundHound AI’s LivePerson Deal and New CFO Shift Its Profitability Narrative? Neutral Sentiment: SoundHound is being compared with NVIDIA as a faster-growing but much smaller AI company. Its narrower voice-AI focus and continuing losses make SOUN a higher-risk growth investment despite its expansion potential. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SoundHound AI Negative Sentiment: CEO Keyvan Mohajer, COO Michael Zagorsek, SVP Majid Emami and insider James Hom collectively sold approximately 285,863 shares at $6.33 per share. The filings identify tax withholding related to vested equity awards as the reason, reducing the bearish signal, although the insider selling may still weigh on sentiment. SoundHound AI Insider Buying and Selling About SoundHound AI (Get Free Report)
SoundHound AI, Inc develops conversational artificial intelligence and voice-enabled technologies. Its platform is designed to let users interact with devices, applications and services through natural-language speech, supporting functions such as information retrieval, question answering and task completion.
The company’s offerings include the Houndify conversational AI platform, which businesses can use to build branded voice assistants, as well as SoundHound Chat AI, an in-car and consumer-oriented voice assistant that combines conversational capabilities with access to information and services.
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SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) SVP Majid Emami sold 38,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $245,160.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 834,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,280,821.49. The trade was a 4.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
SoundHound AI Stock Down 1.2% SOUN stock opened at $5.93 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.21. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -15.60 and a beta of 2.66. SoundHound AI, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.65 and a 52 week high of $22.17.
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.11. SoundHound AI had a negative return on equity of 30.22% and a negative net margin of 67.45%.The company had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. SoundHound AI’s revenue was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that SoundHound AI, Inc. will post -0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On SoundHound AI Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SOUN. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in SoundHound AI by 197.5% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 3,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in SoundHound AI in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in SoundHound AI by 5,164.8% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Clarus Group Inc. purchased a new position in SoundHound AI during the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SoundHound AI during the first quarter valued at $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.28% of the company’s stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SoundHound AI from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of SoundHound AI from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of SoundHound AI from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of SoundHound AI in a research report on Friday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SoundHound AI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SoundHound AI
Trending Headlines about SoundHound AI Here are the key news stories impacting SoundHound AI this week:
Positive Sentiment: Analysts tracked by American Banking News have an average $13.00 price target for SoundHound AI, well above recent trading levels. The consensus suggests significant potential upside if the company executes on its growth strategy. SoundHound AI Receives $13.00 Average Price Target from Analysts Positive Sentiment: SoundHound’s Asia business has extended its deal momentum to five consecutive quarters, including new wins in China and India and continued expansion of its OASYS automotive platform. The progress supports the company’s international growth and automotive AI opportunity. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SoundHound AI Positive Sentiment: SoundHound’s completed LivePerson acquisition and appointment of former LivePerson executive John Collins as CFO could improve financial integration and support a push toward sustainable profitability. The company’s recent strong second-quarter results and raised full-year guidance add to the bullish case. SoundHound AI’s LivePerson Deal and New CFO Shift Its Profitability Narrative? Neutral Sentiment: SoundHound is being compared with NVIDIA as a faster-growing but much smaller AI company. Its narrower voice-AI focus and continuing losses make SOUN a higher-risk growth investment despite its expansion potential. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SoundHound AI Negative Sentiment: CEO Keyvan Mohajer, COO Michael Zagorsek, SVP Majid Emami and insider James Hom collectively sold approximately 285,863 shares at $6.33 per share. The filings identify tax withholding related to vested equity awards as the reason, reducing the bearish signal, although the insider selling may still weigh on sentiment. SoundHound AI Insider Buying and Selling About SoundHound AI (Get Free Report)
SoundHound AI, Inc develops conversational artificial intelligence and voice-enabled technologies. Its platform is designed to let users interact with devices, applications and services through natural-language speech, supporting functions such as information retrieval, question answering and task completion.
The company’s offerings include the Houndify conversational AI platform, which businesses can use to build branded voice assistants, as well as SoundHound Chat AI, an in-car and consumer-oriented voice assistant that combines conversational capabilities with access to information and services.
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Key Takeaways SoundHound has secured major Asian automotive deals for five straight quarters, led by China.SOUN added China and India wins as management cites flexible technology and agentic AI capabilities.SoundHound raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $230-$260 million after Q2 revenues climbed 45%. SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) is building a stronger foothold in Asia, with its automotive business in the region posting substantial growth for five consecutive quarters. Management said that the company has signed major Asian deals in each of those quarters, with China emerging as an important market. In the second quarter of 2026, SoundHound secured a seven-figure agreement with a major Chinese automotive infotainment software company and added an automotive maintenance and diagnostics customer.
Momentum is also broadening beyond China. SoundHound secured a six-figure unit expansion with Indian electric two-wheeler maker Ultraviolette and reached an agreement with another large OEM to introduce real-time generative AI capabilities in vehicles in India. Management attributes its traction to its flexible proprietary technology, agentic AI capabilities, vertical expertise and growing regional experience. OASYS could strengthen this opportunity further by allowing customers to deploy purpose-built AI agents across multiple channels.
The broader business momentum provides additional support. Second-quarter revenues increased 45% year over year to $61.9 million, while SoundHound raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $230-$260 million. The completed LivePerson acquisition also expands SoundHound’s global enterprise footprint and creates opportunities to integrate digital messaging with its voice and agentic AI platform.
Still, sustaining Asia’s pace will depend on continued OEM wins, successful deployments and expansion of existing contracts in competitive automotive markets. The five-quarter streak suggests SoundHound is gaining meaningful regional traction, but converting that momentum into recurring, scalable revenues will be the key test ahead.
SoundHound Faces Strong Automotive AI Competition in AsiaSoundHound’s expansion in Asia puts it against established automotive AI players, particularly Cerence (CRNC - Free Report) and Baidu (BIDU - Free Report) .
Cerence is a direct rival in conversational in-car AI, with its xUI agentic platform designed for automakers seeking LLM-powered voice experiences. Cerence has strengthened its Asian exposure through partnerships with Chinese manufacturers, including BYD and Geely, giving it a meaningful presence as SoundHound targets more Chinese OEM wins.
Baidu represents a broader competitive force through its Apollo intelligent-driving ecosystem and DuerOS smart assistant. Baidu combines autonomous-driving technology, AI models and in-vehicle interaction capabilities, while its strong position in China gives it deep local market knowledge and relationships. For SoundHound, continued momentum will depend on converting its technology advantages into additional production programs and wider vehicle deployments. Its flexible proprietary stack and OASYS platform support that effort, but Cerence’s automotive specialization and Baidu’s local AI ecosystem keep competition intense across key Asian markets.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 40.2% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 10.4, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 16 cents and 13 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways SoundHound's Q2 revenues rose 45% to $61.9M, while its full-year outlook increased to $230M-$260M. SoundHound's GAAP gross profit jumped 68%, while its net loss narrowed to $42.8M from $74.7M.NVIDIA's Data Center revenues surged 117%, with Q3 revenues projected at about $108B, plus or minus 2%. SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) emphasizes voice and agentic artificial intelligence (AI), while NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) remains a major player in AI infrastructure. Both companies have benefited from strong AI demand, as reflected in their latest quarterly results. Let’s compare their latest results and growth prospects to determine which stock offers the stronger investment opportunity right away.
SOUN’s Growth Accelerates as Margins Improve and Losses Narrow SoundHound reported exceptional second-quarter 2026 results, as highlighted in the company’s Aug. 5 press release. Revenues reached $61.9 million in the second quarter, up 45% year over year. Revenue growth remains a key positive, as second-quarter revenues were 10 times higher than the second-quarter 2022 levels when it debuted as a public company.
Management expects the revenue growth momentum to continue through the remainder of 2026, and raised its full-year revenue outlook to $230 million-$260 million. Revenue growth is expected to improve as demand for high-ROI voice and agentic AI solutions accelerates, supported by SoundHound’s OASYS platform and in-house AI models.
The company’s GAAP gross profit jumped 68% year over year in the second quarter, outpacing its 45% revenue growth and signaling improving profitability as the business scales. While SoundHound remains unprofitable, its losses are narrowing, with its GAAP net loss declining to $42.8 million from $74.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
NVDA’s AI Growth Accelerates on Strong Data Center Demand NVIDIA’s Data Center business remains the primary growth driver, generating $89 billion in the fiscal second quarter of 2027, up 117% from a year ago and 18% sequentially, according to the company’s Aug. 26 press release. The company’s consolidated revenues reached $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year and 18% quarter over quarter.
Revenue growth momentum is expected to remain strong next quarter. Management projects revenues of around $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, for the fiscal third quarter of 2027, up 12% sequentially at the midpoint.
NVIDIA also delivered robust profitability alongside strong top-line growth. The company’s non-GAAP gross margin was 75% compared to 72.5% a year earlier, while high operating income indicated that NVIDIA was able to convert its revenue growth into higher earnings.
Meanwhile, the advanced Vera Rubin platform is in full production, positioning NVIDIA to benefit from the next wave of AI investment.
SoundHound or NVIDIA—Which AI Stock to Buy Post Earnings? The latest earnings results have highlighted that both SoundHound and NVIDIA have benefited from strong AI-driven growth. SoundHound has demonstrated rapid revenue growth and improving financial performance, while NVIDIA delivered robust revenue growth and strong profitability.
However, SoundHound’s growth remains concentrated in the voice and agentic AI market, which is still smaller in scale, while its ongoing losses make it a high-risk investment. In contrast, NVIDIA has built a dominant position in the AI infrastructure market, supported by a deep-rooted ecosystem, varied revenue streams, and strong profitability.
All these factors make NVIDIA a more mature business, with a stronger financial foundation than SoundHound. Thus, NVIDIA is a more compelling buy right now. NVIDIA currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
In the latest trading session, SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) closed at $6.16, marking a -4.87% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.45% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.63%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.78%.
Shares of the company witnessed a loss of 8.1% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its loss of 1.27%, and the S&P 500's loss of 1.99%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of SoundHound AI, Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of -$0.04, indicating a 33.33% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $62.95 million, reflecting a 49.7% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of -$0.16 per share and a revenue of $238.2 million, signifying shifts of -23.08% and +41.02%, respectively, from the last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for SoundHound AI, Inc. should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. SoundHound AI, Inc. currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Computers - IT Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 102, placing it within the top 42% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
SoundHound AI Investigation Initiated: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of SoundHound AI, Inc. - SOUN Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM: SOUN) (“SoundHound” or the “Company”).
In January 2024, the Company acquired artificial intelligence (“AI”) software companies SYNQ3 and Amelia Holdings, Inc., resulting in what it hailed as the Company’s “breakthrough year” in 2024. However, on March 4, 2025, the Company disclosed it could not timely file its 2024 Annual Report “[d]ue to the complexity of accounting for [the SYNQ3 and Amelia Acquisitions]” and that it “ha[d] identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting.” A week later, the Company filed its 2024 10-K, which restated certain financials and revealed for the first time that the Company’s lack of effective controls was impairing its ability to account for corporate acquisitions.
Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives were sued in a securities class action lawsuit, charging them with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period in violation of federal securities laws, which remains ongoing.
KSF’s investigation is focusing on whether SoundHound’s officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws.
If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of SoundHound shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-833-538-3606 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nasdaqgm-soun/ to learn more.
About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC
KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation’s premier boutique securities litigation law firms. This past year, KSF was ranked by SCAS among the top 10 firms nationally based upon total settlement value. KSF serves a variety of clients, including public and private institutional investors, and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana, Chicago, and a representative office in Luxembourg.
TOP 10 Plaintiff Law Firms - According to ISS Securities Class Action Services
To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914494920/en/
Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.
NEW YORK & NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into SoundHound AI, Inc. (NasdaqGM: SOUN) (“SoundHound” or the “Company”). In January 2024, the Company acquired artificial intelligence (“AI”) software companies SYNQ3 and Amelia Holdings, Inc., resulting in what it hailed as the Company's “breakthrough year” in 2024. However.
SoundHound AI (SOUN +5.99%) has been experiencing strong growth this year, as it looks to be a big player in the voice artificial intelligence (AI) market. It has broadened and diversified its business over the years, with revenue now coming from many different sectors of the economy.
However, despite the strong growth, the tech stock continues to struggle. This year, even as it's posted record numbers, it has fallen by around 35%. But the sell-off isn't all that much of a mystery for investors who have taken a closer look at the company's financials results; SoundHound may be leaning on acquisitions too heavily.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why massive revenue growth isn't enough to give SoundHound's stock a boostLast month, SoundHound's CEO Keyvan Mohajer touted the company's exceptional growth, pointing out that its recent quarterly revenue was 10 times what it was when the stock went public back in 2022. And with strong demand for the company's voice and agentic AI solutions, the future for the business remains promising.
But here's why investors may not be all that enamored with the results. For one thing, it's hard to decipher the company's organic growth rate, which reflects how well the existing business is doing. Acquisitions have given the company's top line a boost and, in doing so, have made it difficult to determine the strength of the core business. Through the first six months of the year, SoundHound's revenue has risen by more than $34 million, which is an impressive increase of 48% year over year. However, much of that increase came from its subscription revenue, which the same company says was "mainly driven by revenue from acquisitions in the Americas."
Meanwhile, the company's loss from operations totaled just under $66 million during the past two quarters, and that's even with the company getting a $43 million boost from a change in the fair value of its contingent acquisition liabilities. It's a concerning sign that even though the business is growing fast, it isn't making much progress toward profitability.
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SoundHound's stock could still go far lowerWhile SoundHound's stock hasn't been doing well this year, it's not necessarily cheap enough where it's become a no-brainer buy. Given its lack of profitability and constant pursuit of acquisitions, there is the risk that the business will continue incurring losses and burning through cash in the months ahead, which may result in stock offerings and dilution for existing shareholders.
Without proof that the AI business is growing organically or that at least it's making serious strides toward profitability, the stock may continue to struggle. For now, the safest option with SoundHound AI is to take a wait-and-see approach.
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.
Over the past month, shares of this company have returned -15.8%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -0.8% change. During this period, the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, which SoundHound AI falls in, has lost 0.9%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Earnings Estimate RevisionsHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, SoundHound AI is expected to post a loss of $0.04 per share, indicating a change of -33.3% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
The consensus earnings estimate of -$0.16 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of -23.1%. This estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $0.13 indicates a change of +14.7% from what SoundHound AI is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, SoundHound AI is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Revenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
For SoundHound AI, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $62.95 million indicates a year-over-year change of +49.7%. For the current and next fiscal years, $238.2 million and $272.98 million estimates indicate +41% and +14.6% changes, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistorySoundHound AI reported revenues of $61.9 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +45%. EPS of -$0.02 for the same period compares with -$0.03 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $52.49 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +17.92%. The EPS surprise was +33.33%.
Over the last four quarters, SoundHound AI surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.
The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
SoundHound AI is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about SoundHound AI. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.
SoundHound AI (SOUN -0.32%) develops voice and conversational AI technology for businesses. The company's shares have tanked nearly 71% from their $22.17 intraday high from October 2025 (closing price as of Sept. 9).
Image source: Getty Images.
Yet SoundHound AI's business has held up far better than its stock price, creating a gap that makes the shares worth a closer look.
Growth is strong, but acquisitions are also helping SoundHound AI's revenue was up 45% year over year to $61.9 million in the second quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss also improved 33% year over year to $9.6 million. The company exited Q2 with $203 million in cash and no debt. Management expects fiscal 2026 revenue to fall in the range of $230 million to $260 million.
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The growth is encouraging, but investors should look past the financial numbers. SoundHound's revenue growth was not entirely organic. The company's service subscription revenue increased 47% year over year to $47 million in the second quarter, mainly due to revenue from acquisitions. The company also used nearly $60 million of cash in operating activities during the first half of fiscal 2026.
Hence, SoundHound AI is growing rapidly, but acquisitions and continued cash burn make the underlying growth story less impressive than the headline numbers suggest.
LivePerson acquisition catalyst SoundHound AI completed its acquisition of LivePerson on Sept. 4, significantly expanding its enterprise reach. The combined company now serves 25 of the Fortune 100 companies. Management expects revenue of at least $350 million and up to $400 million in 2027. SoundHound also sees an opportunity to eventually reach $500 million in annual revenue by leveraging the combined company's existing customer base.
LivePerson's revenue fell 12% year over year in the second quarter, partly due to customer cancellations and downsells. SoundHound AI must therefore successfully cross-sell its AI products into the expanded customer base while improving cash flow.
At today's lower price, the stock looks attractive but still speculative. Stronger organic growth and lower cash burn could make the 71% decline look excessive.
Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends SoundHound AI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Key Takeaways SoundHound shares fell 15% in a month, but the pullback has improved the stock's risk-reward profile.SOUN posted 45% revenue growth in Q2, while gross margin rose 610 basis points to 45.1%.SoundHound's LivePerson deal expands its customer base but adds integration, execution and dilution risks. SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) shares have lost 15% over the past month, giving back a sizable part of the rally that followed its strong second-quarter 2026 results. The decline is much steeper than the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry’s 2.1% fall, the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s 0.1% dip and the S&P 500’s 1.5% decline over the same period.
SOUN’s 1-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The selloff reflects a mix of company-specific and broader market concerns. SoundHound remains an unprofitable, high-growth AI company, making its shares sensitive to higher Treasury yields and weaker risk appetite. The recent completion of the LivePerson acquisition has also shifted investor attention toward integration risks and the cost of converting another acquired business into profitable growth.
Profitability and Cash Burn Remain Key ConcernsSoundHound’s strong growth has yet to translate into bottom-line profits. Second-quarter GAAP net loss was $42.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA remained negative at $9.6 million. Although both measures improved year over year, the company is still investing heavily in technology, sales and acquired businesses. R&D expenses increased 5% and sales and marketing costs rose 5%, while G&A expenses jumped 43%, partly because of acquisition-related legal, advisory and headcount costs.
Cash consumption is another factor keeping investors cautious. SoundHound used nearly $60 million of operating cash during the first six months of 2026, up from $43.7 million a year earlier. It also generated $48.5 million from common-stock sales during the period, highlighting its continued reliance on external capital while scaling operations.
Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for a 16-cent loss per share in 2026, wider than the prior-year loss of 13 cents.
LivePerson Adds Integration, Execution and Dilution RisksSoundHound’s acquisition-led growth strategy adds another layer of risk following the completion of the LivePerson deal. The company must integrate LivePerson’s digital messaging platform with OASYS, retain key customers and employees, capture expected cost savings and convert cross-selling opportunities into profitable revenues. SoundHound itself has highlighted risks tied to integration delays, legacy liabilities, customer retention and management distraction.
Dilution is another concern. SoundHound’s Class A shares outstanding increased to 403.3 million at June 30, 2026, from 390.1 million at 2025-end. The company also raised $48.5 million through sales of Class A shares during the first half of 2026 and issued additional shares to settle acquisition-related liabilities. Given continued operating cash burn and ongoing integration spending, further equity issuance cannot be ruled out, potentially diluting existing shareholders even as acquisitions expand SoundHound’s revenue base.
The slower growth expected beyond 2026 also raises the bar. The consensus estimate points to revenue growth of 41% in 2026 but only 14.6% in 2027.
SOUN’s OASYS Momentum Makes the Dip More InterestingDespite these risks, SoundHound’s underlying operating momentum remains encouraging. Second-quarter revenues surged 45% year over year to a record $61.9 million. GAAP gross margin expanded 610 basis points to 45.1%, while adjusted EBITDA loss improved 33%. Strong first-half execution prompted management to raise its pre-LivePerson 2026 revenue outlook to $230-$260 million.
OASYS is becoming an important part of that growth. Management said that customers are moving from demonstrations to signed contracts faster, with one eight-figure commitment secured less than 90 days after the initial demonstration. The platform also reduces deployment time for complex AI agents from months to minutes, potentially lowering implementation costs while improving scalability.
Traction spans healthcare, financial services, automotive and restaurants, reducing dependence on any single end market.
LivePerson Could Expand SoundHound’s Growth RunwayThe LivePerson deal also offers meaningful upside if integration goes well. The combined company now serves customers that include 25 of the Fortune 100 and has more than 750 patents. LivePerson brings digital messaging capabilities, while SoundHound adds voice and agentic AI, creating an offering across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels.
Management believes the expanded customer base could support more than $500 million in future revenues from existing customers alone. The combined company is also debt-free following the completion of LivePerson’s outstanding debt.
The opportunity comes from upgrading LivePerson customers to OASYS and adding voice capabilities to accounts that previously relied mainly on digital channels. This makes the acquisition more than a simple revenue addition if SoundHound can execute its cross-selling strategy.
How SoundHound’s Valuation Stacks Up Against AI PeersSoundHound trades at 10.64X forward 12-month sales, below the Computers - IT Services industry’s 11.74X, making its valuation more reasonable after the recent decline. However, SoundHound remains expensive against direct competitors. Cerence (CRNC - Free Report) trades at 1.26X forward sales, Five9 (FIVN - Free Report) at 1.71X and NICE (NICE - Free Report) at 1.69X.
SOUN vs Industry (P/S F12M)
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Share-price performance also highlights SoundHound’s higher volatility. SoundHound stock has lost 15% in a month compared with declines of 5.8% for Cerence, 3% for Five9 and 0.5% for NICE. Cerence therefore offers a much lower sales multiple, while Five9 and NICE also carry sizable valuation discounts. Yet SoundHound is growing faster and has broader exposure to voice and agentic AI. Cerence remains a major automotive rival, while Five9 and NICE have established contact-center platforms. SoundHound must sustain stronger growth than Cerence, Five9 and NICE to continue justifying that premium.
SOUN vs CRNC, FIVN, NICE Price Performance (1-Month)
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Should Investors Buy the SOUN Dip?The recent decline has improved SoundHound’s risk-reward profile, but this is not a low-risk stock. Persistent losses, cash burn, LivePerson integration and a sizable valuation premium to key competitors could keep volatility elevated.
Still, the operating direction is improving. Revenue growth remains strong, margins are moving higher, OASYS is driving enterprise wins, and the LivePerson combination greatly expands SoundHound’s customer and cross-selling base. Estimate revisions are also encouraging, with the 2026 consensus estimate for loss narrowing to 16 cents from 18 cents and the 2027 loss estimate improving to 13 cents from 17 cents over the past 60 days. The bullish analyst mix, with five of eight brokerage recommendations at Strong Buy, adds support.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
With SoundHound currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), the 15% pullback looks like a buyable dip for investors comfortable with above-average risk, rather than a reason to abandon the stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?
Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN - Free Report) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage.
SoundHound AI currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.75, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by eight brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.75 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.
Of the eight recommendations that derive the current ABR, five are Strong Buy, representing 62.5% of all recommendations.
Brokerage Recommendation Trends for SOUN
Check price target & stock forecast for SoundHound AI here>>>
The ABR suggests buying SoundHound AI, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.
Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.
In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement.
Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating tool with an impressive externally audited track record, categorizes stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and is an effective indicator of a stock's price performance in the near future. Therefore, using the ABR to validate the Zacks Rank could be an efficient way of making a profitable investment decision.
ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.
The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.
It has been and continues to be the case that analysts employed by brokerage firms are overly optimistic with their recommendations. Because of their employers' vested interests, these analysts issue more favorable ratings than their research would support, misguiding investors far more often than helping them.
In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.
Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.
There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices.
Is SOUN a Good Investment?In terms of earnings estimate revisions for SoundHound AI, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 21.8% over the past month to -$0.16.
Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term.
The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for SoundHound AI. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for SoundHound AI may serve as a useful guide for investors.
Key Takeaways SoundHound's OASYS is moving enterprise AI from demos to signed contracts within months.One OASYS commitment reached eight figures in under 90 days, while pilots convert at a record pace.LivePerson expands SoundHound's reach to 25 Fortune 100 companies across voice and digital channels. SoundHound AI (SOUN - Free Report) is showing early signs that OASYS can shorten the path from enterprise AI experimentation to commercial deployment. Management said that prospects are moving from demos to signed contracts within months, while pilots are converting into large implementations at a record pace. One notable commitment reached eight figures less than 90 days after the initial demo, highlighting OASYS’ potential to accelerate enterprise sales cycles.
A key advantage is OASYS’ self-building and self-optimizing architecture. The platform allows enterprises to create AI agents quickly and deploy them across multiple channels rather than tying workflows to a single interface. Management noted that one healthcare customer was able to build agents within minutes. This flexibility could make OASYS attractive to large organizations seeking consistent automation across complex customer-service environments.
Commercial traction is supporting the thesis. SoundHound’s enterprise AI business remained its largest revenue contributor in the second quarter, while OASYS helped accelerate deals across healthcare, financial services, technology and automotive. Second-quarter 2026 revenues rose 45% year over year to $61.9 million, alongside improvement in adjusted EBITDA.
The recently completed LivePerson acquisition could significantly expand OASYS’ scaling opportunity. SoundHound now reaches a customer base including 25 Fortune 100 companies, while LivePerson’s digital messaging platform will be integrated into OASYS across voice, web, mobile, SMS and social channels.
Still, execution remains key. SoundHound must integrate LivePerson effectively and translate rapid pilot conversions into recurring, profitable deployments. If OASYS maintains its current conversion momentum while expanding across the enlarged customer base, enterprise AI could become an increasingly powerful growth engine.
How SoundHound Compares With Enterprise AI RivalsFive9 (FIVN - Free Report) is a key competitor in enterprise conversational AI, combining cloud contact-center software with AI-driven automation, virtual agents and workflow tools. Five9 benefits from an established enterprise customer base and deep contact-center integrations, giving Five9 a strong platform for scaling AI deployments. However, SoundHound’s OASYS differentiates itself through self-building, self-optimizing agents and faster movement from pilot programs to production-scale implementations.
NICE (NICE - Free Report) is another major rival, offering AI-powered customer-experience automation through its CXone platform. NICE has broad enterprise reach, mature contact-center capabilities and a large installed base that can support cross-selling of AI solutions. NICE also benefits from strong workflow orchestration and analytics capabilities. Still, SoundHound is positioning OASYS around rapid deployment, omnichannel orchestration and agentic automation. While Five9 and NICE have greater enterprise scale, SoundHound’s ability to shorten deployment cycles could help it win customers seeking faster AI adoption and measurable returns.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound’s shares have lost 32.4% year to date (YTD), underperforming the industry, as shown below.
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 11.43, slightly lower than the industry’s average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share has narrowed to 16 cents and 13 cents, respectively, as shown below. The expected loss for 2026 remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents per share.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
