Abstract

SoundHound AI Inc will report results on May 7, 2026 Post Market; consensus points to revenue near 42.56 million US dollars and adjusted EPS around -0.04, with investors focused on traction from recent customer expansions, the proposed acquisition of LivePerson, and whether guidance confirms a sustained acceleration through 2026.

Market Forecast

For the March quarter, consensus indicates revenue of 42.56 million US dollars, implying 40.10% year-over-year growth, with EPS estimated at -0.04 and a 45.00% year-over-year change; EBIT is forecast at -38.87 million US dollars, indicating a 29.66% year-over-year contraction. There is no explicit gross margin or net profit margin guidance for the quarter; the most recent reported gross margin was 47.86%. The company’s commercial momentum remains centered on deployments in its core solutions across large multi-location customers and strategic verticals, with recent contract renewals and footprint expansions underpinning recurring revenue visibility into 2026. The most promising segment is Hosted Services, which contributed 108.26 million US dollars in the latest breakdown, and the 59.39% year-over-year company-level revenue growth last quarter suggests a favorable setup for continued expansion.

Last Quarter Review

In the December quarter, SoundHound AI Inc delivered revenue of 55.06 million US dollars (up 59.39% year over year), a gross profit margin of 47.86%, GAAP net profit attributable to common shareholders of 40.06 million US dollars with a net profit margin of 72.75%, and adjusted EPS of -0.02 (a 97.10% year-over-year improvement). Execution highlighted stronger bookings and broad-based demand, with management delivering a top-line beat versus consensus and signing a substantial number of customer agreements; engagement metrics continued to rise at scale. By business line, Hosted Services contributed 108.26 million US dollars, Licensing 45.15 million, Professional Services 15.06 million, and Monetization 0.46 million; while segment-level year-over-year data were not disclosed, overall company revenue rose 59.39% year over year.

Current Quarter Outlook

Core revenue engine: Hosted Services and License

Consensus expects a seasonal step-down from the December quarter’s 55.06 million US dollars to 42.56 million in March, but with a 40.10% year-over-year increase that maintains the multi-quarter acceleration trajectory. The quarter’s revenue mix should again lean on Hosted Services and Licensing, where deployment depth at large enterprises and multi-site retailers supports recurring monetization through active seats, locations, and usage intensity. The renewal and expansion of a marquee quick-service retail relationship across more than 2,600 locations adds incremental scale, sustaining usage-based revenue as the installed base ramps and as incremental modules or workflows are activated. On the automotive and device side, expansion of embedded voice solutions and software licensing continues to add a complementary layer of high-margin revenue that typically scales with model-year and program rollouts, sustaining the mix shift toward software earnings power. Against this backdrop, investors will parse billings and deferred revenue dynamics to assess whether the order pipeline continues to convert to in-period revenue at the pace needed to support 2026 guidance; in the absence of explicit margin guidance for the quarter, unit economics inferred from last quarter’s 47.86% gross margin and mix changes will be closely watched.

Most promising growth vector: Voice-enabled ordering at scale

The most visible near-term growth vector is voice-enabled ordering and customer-support automation across restaurants and convenience retail, where the expanded rollout with a national chain demonstrates a move from pilot to scaled deployment. As more locations go live and throughput rises during peak periods, each additional endpoint can compound revenue through recurring fees and transaction-linked economics, creating operating leverage as model performance benefits from aggregate query volumes. The company has continued to open new innovation capacity, including a recently announced engineering hub in India, which should accelerate release cycles and reduce time-to-value for large customers integrating voice AI into complex workflows. With customer wins spanning renewals, expansions, and new logos, the quarter will be judged on evidence of steady location activations, attach rates for add-on capabilities, and early signals that cross-selling into the existing base is gaining momentum. If deployment velocity tracks the cadence implied by recent announcements, Hosted Services should remain the revenue growth engine through 2026, while Licensing provides incremental upside tied to hardware and platform partners ramping their own end-customer volumes.

Key stock-price swing factors this quarter

Guidance and commentary relative to the company’s 2026 revenue outlook will likely be the primary stock catalyst, with investors focusing on whether March-quarter momentum keeps the business on track for the full-year range discussed publicly earlier this year. The proposed acquisition of LivePerson for 43 million US dollars adds a second major narrative this quarter: management has indicated an expectation for 2027 revenue in the range of 350.00 million to 400.00 million US dollars at the minimum level, with at least 100.00 million of growable contribution from long-tenured LivePerson customers, subject to deal close in the second half; any incremental color on integration planning, revenue synergies, or timing could meaningfully influence sentiment. Investors will also weigh leadership transitions, including the announced CFO change, for signals on operational continuity, capital allocation priorities, and readiness to integrate the pending acquisition while scaling the core business. On profitability, the Street’s forecast for EBIT at -38.87 million US dollars implies operating losses remain elevated; commentary on cost discipline, cloud-efficiency gains, and gross-margin mix will help frame the path to improved operating leverage. Lastly, commercial milestones—including further retail and hospitality expansions, automotive program updates, and enterprise deployments—could shift expectations on annual recurring revenue and backlog conversion rates, driving volatility around the print.

Analyst Opinions

Bullish vs. bearish ratio in the covered period is overwhelmingly positive, with published notes and aggregated rating tallies in early 2026 pointing to a predominantly bullish stance. A major Wall Street firm reiterated an Outperform rating while adjusting its price target to 12.00 US dollars in late February, emphasizing broadening enterprise demand, strong partner execution, and international traction following a quarter in which revenue rose 59.39% year over year and beat consensus. Additional research coverage during the period characterized the shares as a Buy on average, with a mean price target of 15.38 US dollars, and highlighted a positive outlook into 2026 as use cases expand across large customers. Some coverage framed potential upside approaching 75% relative to recent trading ranges, contingent on execution against the revenue pipeline and the contribution from scaled deployments. The bullish case coalesces around three pillars. First, sustained revenue acceleration is supported by multiple vectors: the installed base of voice-enabled endpoints, expanded rollouts with large retailers and quick-service operators, and a growing set of enterprise logos that can support multi-year ramps. The renewal and expansion at a 2,600-plus location customer is viewed as validation of product-market fit at scale; analysts argue that rollouts of this magnitude should incrementally fortify recurring revenue and provide a clearer line of sight to bookings translating into in-period revenue. Second, operating leverage potential is seen as underappreciated: while EBIT is forecast at -38.87 million US dollars for the quarter, bullish analysts note the improving unit economics implied by a 47.86% gross margin last quarter and a business mix that tilts toward software and hosted services. As deployments mature and per-location utilization rises, coverage expects gross margin and cash efficiency to benefit, giving management more headroom to invest in growth while narrowing losses over time. Third, the proposed acquisition of LivePerson is seen as a strategic accelerant: by pairing complementary customer bases and conversational AI capabilities, analysts expect the company to widen its enterprise footprint and upsell into a large, long-tenured install base, with 2027 revenue commentary (350.00 million to 400.00 million US dollars minimum, including at least 100.00 million from LivePerson’s customers) cited as early evidence of the combined opportunity. In the near term, bullish coverage will benchmark March-quarter performance and forward commentary against the company’s full-year revenue framework discussed earlier this year, looking for confirmation that the pace of deployments, logo additions, and cross-sell is sufficient to sustain growth above 40%. Analysts also want to see that the quick-service retail rollout cadence remains on track through midyear, that backlog conversion stays healthy, and that initial integration steps for the LivePerson transaction progress according to plan. While acknowledging seasonal revenue patterns from December to March, the majority view is that the year-over-year acceleration matters more than quarter-on-quarter compares at this stage, provided management articulates a clear path to improving operating leverage through 2026. If guidance and qualitative commentary reinforce these points, the Street’s bullish skew—reflected in the Outperform and Buy ratings and the 12.00 to 15.38 US dollar price-target context—would likely remain intact into the next catalyst window.