NEW YORK, May 2, 2026, 09:04 (EDT)
SoundHound AI surged 20.1% to $9.56 on Friday, thrusting the voice-AI player into the spotlight just days ahead of its Q1 earnings. That price tag put the Santa Clara, California outfit at roughly $3.94 billion. U.S. markets were closed Saturday morning.
Timing’s a factor here. SoundHound will report first-quarter earnings after Thursday’s closing bell, May 7, with a 5 p.m. ET conference call scheduled. That leaves the rally just a handful of sessions to anchor itself on orders, margins, or forward guidance.
No new company news drove Friday’s action. According to Investing.com, momentum traders piled in as the stock picked up short-squeeze chatter ahead of earnings. That’s when short sellers, scrambling to cover losing bets, end up buying shares and pushing prices even higher.
This is far from a minor position. As of April 15, MarketBeat was tracking 146.6 million SoundHound shares sold short—38.18% of the public float. Short sellers would need roughly 7.5 days to cover, based on average volume, according to MarketBeat data.
Twilio delivered a standout update. The customer-engagement software group posted first-quarter revenue of $1.41 billion—a 20% gain—lifted its 2026 revenue-growth target, and the stock surged 23.8% Friday. CEO Khozema Shipchandler described Twilio as “a foundational infrastructure layer in the era of AI.” Twilio Inc.
For SoundHound, the biggest proof point right now is whether it gets its product in use. On April 23, Casey’s pushed its partnership wider, bringing SoundHound’s AI ordering agents to more than 2,600 of its stores. The system had already logged over 21 million guest interactions. These voice AI agents—essentially automated phone operators—can take food orders and field basic menu questions. “Scale a proven solution,” is how Casey’s CIO Sanjeev Satturu described the move, saying it benefits both customers and staff. SoundHound AI
Deals are part of the plan to push deeper into customer service. On April 21, SoundHound and LivePerson said they struck an agreement to merge SoundHound’s voice-and-agentic AI tech—built to handle tasks rather than just spit out answers—with LivePerson’s chat and messaging suite. LivePerson CEO John Sabino put it this way: the “artificial boundaries between talking and typing are disappearing.” SoundHound AI
The LivePerson acquisition still hangs in the balance, a new filing reveals. Before the deal can close, LivePerson stockholders need to sign off, Nasdaq has to approve the SoundHound shares slated for issuance, SoundHound’s registration statement must go effective, and all of LivePerson’s note-restructuring transactions have to wrap up.
SoundHound posted 2025 revenue of $168.9 million, nearly doubling from the prior year—up 99%. Looking ahead, the company is projecting 2026 revenue in a range between $225 million and $260 million. For the year, adjusted EBITDA showed a loss of $58.4 million. SoundHound finished December with $248 million in cash and cash equivalents, no debt on the books.
The rally isn’t risk-free: if upcoming earnings don’t back it up, a trade leaning on positioning could unravel fast. There’s also some C-suite turnover to factor in. A March SEC filing revealed CFO Nitesh Sharan stepped down as of April 3 for personal reasons. Co-founder James Hom stepped in as interim CFO, and the hunt is on for a new finance chief.
The stakes are higher than usual for the May 7 report. Investors want to see if Casey’s rollout, the LivePerson plan, and a fresh push for AI-driven customer-service software can actually fuel consistent revenue growth—rather than just spark another volatile swing in SOUN stock.
