SoundHound AI, Inc. SOUN is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5, 2026, after market close.
In the last reported quarter, SoundHound delivered a mixed performance, with earnings missing expectations by 20% even as revenue came in ahead of estimates by 3.5%. Yet, SoundHound reported record revenues of $44.2 million, up 52% year over year. The company posted a loss of 6 cents per share, the same as a year ago. The quarter reflected strong demand across enterprise and automotive use cases, continued customer diversification and steady deal momentum, while profitability was weighed down by higher operating costs tied to acquisitions and certain nonrecurring items, including vendor-related true-ups and other acquisition-linked expenses.
This maker of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for computer interpretation of voice commands surpassed earnings estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, missed in one and met on the other occasion. You can see the historical figures in the chart below.
How Are Estimates Placed for SOUN Stock?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second-quarter bottom line has remained unchanged at a loss of 3 cents per share over the past 60 days. The estimate figure is the same as the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $52.5 million, suggesting a 23% year-over-year increase.
For 2026, SOUN is expected to register a 38% increase from a year ago in revenues to $233.2 million. Its bottom line is expected to witness a wider loss of 15 cents per share compared with 13 cents reported in 2025.
SOUN’s Earnings Estimate
SOUN’s Revenue Estimate
What the Zacks Model Unveils for SoundHound
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for SoundHound for the quarter to be reported. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below.
Earnings ESP: SoundHound has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Influencing SoundHound’s Q2 Performance
Revenue Growth to be Driven by Enterprise Expansion: Second-quarter revenues are expected to have benefited from continued adoption of SoundHound's AI solutions across financial services, automotive, healthcare, restaurants, retail, telecommunications and other enterprise verticals. Management indicated that customer demand remains robust, supported by an expanding sales pipeline and broader deployment of AI solutions across existing accounts.
Continued growth in automotive voice assistants, voice commerce and enterprise AI services should remain the primary drivers during the quarter. The company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $225-$260 million, signaling confidence in sustained business momentum through the remainder of the year.
Product Innovation and Customer Wins to Support Growth: SoundHound entered the quarter with several strategic growth catalysts. The launch of OASYS, its self-learning agentic AI platform, is expected to have accelerated enterprise adoption by enabling customers to deploy and continuously improve AI agents across voice, chat, kiosks, vehicles and other digital channels.
Management also highlighted growing adoption of Voice Commerce, Voice Insights and enterprise AI solutions, alongside new customer wins and expansions across automotive, financial services, restaurants, healthcare, utilities and technology markets. The pending acquisition of LivePerson, expected to close in the second half of 2026, is not expected to materially contribute to second-quarter revenues but remains an important strategic initiative that should significantly expand SoundHound's enterprise customer base and omnichannel AI capabilities over time.
Margin Outlook Reflects Continued AI Investment: Margins are likely to remain influenced by continued investments in proprietary AI models, OASYS development and platform expansion. Management has emphasized that these investments are intended to reduce long-term inference costs by increasing reliance on internally developed AI models rather than third-party frontier models. At the same time, ongoing integration efforts and operating leverage from higher enterprise usage are expected to gradually support profitability over the longer term.
SOUN Stock Lags Industry & Sector
SOUN shares have lost 38.5% year to date (YTD), lagging the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500 Index, as shown below.
SOUN Stock’s Performance (YTD)
SoundHound competes with C3.ai AI, Five9 FIVN and NICE Ltd. NICE in the rapidly expanding enterprise conversational AI, customer experience automation and agentic AI markets. So far this year, Five9 has significantly outperformed the group with a 37.2% gain, reflecting investor confidence in accelerating AI adoption across cloud contact centers.
In contrast, C3.ai has plunged 38.5% amid continued concerns over execution and valuation, while NICE has lost 12.6% despite maintaining a strong leadership position in AI-powered customer engagement software. SoundHound differentiates itself through its proprietary voice AI technology, growing automotive and enterprise customer base, expanding omnichannel capabilities and the planned acquisition of LivePerson, which is expected to strengthen its presence in digital messaging and customer service AI. As the company scales its OASYS agentic AI platform and broadens its enterprise footprint, its execution will increasingly be evaluated against these established AI software and customer experience leaders.
A Look at SOUN Stock’s Valuation
SOUN shares are currently trading at a slight discount to the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry. Based on the forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, SoundHound trades at 10.41X, below the industry average of 11.18X, as shown below. Among its closest peers, C3.ai trades at 6.30X, while Five9 and NICE are valued at 1.58X and 1.72X, respectively. Although SoundHound commands a premium to these peers, its valuation reflects investor expectations for sustained growth in voice AI, enterprise adoption and agentic AI, while remaining modestly below the broader industry average.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Why SOUN Stock Is a Hold for Now?
Despite strong long-term growth opportunities in enterprise AI, expanding customer adoption and continued product innovation, SoundHound faces near-term uncertainty heading into its second-quarter results. The consensus estimate points to another quarterly loss, and continued investments in AI platforms may keep margins under pressure. While the stock's valuation remains reasonable relative to the industry, investors may be better served holding SOUN until greater clarity emerges on execution, profitability and the upcoming earnings report.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN): Free Stock Analysis Report
C3.ai, Inc. (AI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Nice (NICE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Five9, Inc. (FIVN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research