NEW YORK, Feb 27, 2026, 05:33 (ET) — Premarket
SoundHound AI jumped roughly 4.6% to $9.39 before the bell Friday, building on Thursday’s 5.4% climb that put shares at $8.98. Over the past year, the stock has ranged from $6.52 up to $22.17. Investing.com
It’s notable—smaller AI-focused software stocks have been reacting to near-term demand cues rather than far-off projections. For these names, guidance and deal headlines have become key drivers, particularly since even a minor sentiment swing can send these shares sharply higher or lower.
SoundHound fits that description. The company’s still building out, and with rates unsettled and risk appetite shaky, investors aren’t sticking around for hazy growth narratives.
SoundHound posted a 59% jump in fourth-quarter revenue to $55.1 million, with full-year revenue surging to $168.9 million—almost double last year’s tally. The company’s outlook calls for 2026 revenue between $225 million and $260 million. It wrapped up 2025 holding $248 million in cash, debt-free, following a quarter that saw a record haul of enterprise deals. “As traditional software faces massive AI disruption, businesses are looking to partner with AI natives that can help them achieve success in a new era,” CEO and co-founder Keyvan Mohajer said. SoundHound AI
The company makes voice recognition and conversational AI tools for cars, restaurant ordering, and customer service lines. Lately, it’s been pushing further into “agentic AI”—technology built to handle tasks across multiple channels, rather than just respond to queries.
CFO Nitesh Sharan, speaking on the earnings call, pointed to a $40.1 million GAAP net profit, thanks in part to a non-cash fair-value adjustment connected with acquisition-related contingent liabilities. Adjusted EBITDA, though, came in at a loss of $7.4 million. Sharan told listeners to expect revenue to “ramp” over the course of the year, and set out long-term goals: gross margin topping 70% and EBIT margin above 30% once scaled. Investing.com
This week, SoundHound revealed it has set up an innovation hub in Bengaluru, India, as it looks to scale up its engineering resources. “Bengaluru is a global magnet for world-class AI talent, and our new office here is more than just a workspace,” said Mohajer. SoundHound AI
Voice AI and customer-service automation rivals are all going after the same enterprise dollars, while major tech companies continue rolling out better tools. Smaller players are feeling the squeeze—they have to prove they can win contracts, hold onto clients, and avoid cutting prices.
The setup isn’t one-sided. Guidance ranges open the door to misses, and deal timing tends to make revenue swingy from one quarter to the next. Early pre-market pops often lose steam after the market open.
Investors are eyeing whether SoundHound keeps its early move when trading begins, and also watching for any changes in rate expectations next week. Attention is fixed on the U.S. February jobs report, set for March 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET—a release known for shaking up Treasury yields and swinging high-growth tech names. bls.gov
