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Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Even $200 in These Stocks Could Mint a Fortune
After a strong market rebound since April, some of the market's most attractive artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are no longer cheap. However, that doesn't mean that they have no upside potential. In fact, for long-term investors who can tolerate short-term volatility and premium valuations, there are still a few attractive picks that can help them build wealth, especially as AI adoption has accelerated across all walks of business and life. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » You also would not need boatloads of cash to build this fortune. Even with $200 to invest today (which is not required for paying bills or contingencies), picking a stake in Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) and SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) can prove to be quite brilliant. Here's why. 1. Palantir Technologies Data analytics giant Palantir has delivered an impressive financial performance in its recent first-quarter fiscal 2025 results (ending March 31), and the growth trajectory is likely to remain strong in the long run. The company's revenues jumped 39% year over year to $884 million. The growth rate is nearly double the 21% top-line growth rate achieved in the same quarter of the previous year, indicating that the company is on an accelerated growth trajectory. The U.S. commercial business has emerged as a significant growth catalyst, with year-over-year growth of 71%, crossing the $1 billion annual run rate threshold in the first quarter. Palantir also posted a Rule of 40 score of 83%, a two-percentage-point increase compared to the previous quarter. It is a critical metric for evaluating the performance of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and other high-growth technology companies, stating that the combination of revenue growth and profit margins should be at least 40%. With Palantir operating at approximately double the cutoff, it underscores the quality growth of this AI giant. The company also generated $370 million in free cash flow, demonstrating that it has sufficient funds to support its growth initiatives. Palantir differentiates itself from other AI players with its "Warp Speed" manufacturing operating system, built atop the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), to streamline various industrial operations. Furthermore, instead of focusing on building newer and more advanced AI models, which eventually lose their competitive advantage, the company has developed a solid ontological framework that helps it relate the assets and relationships within an organization to its digital counterparts. This data advantage is leading to huge switching costs for customers, as replacing it becomes not only expensive but also disruptive for the overall business. Palantir trades at 208.3 times forward earnings, which is very expensive. However, profitable and practically debt-free AI companies with accelerating top-line growth and a huge $5.4 billion cash balance are not easy to come by. Hence, the stock is a smart buy for long-term investors who are ready to ride some volatility, even at elevated valuation levels. 2. SoundHound AI Amidst multiple AI stocks with unproven technologies, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) stands out with its voice AI platform, which is already seeing strong traction in the enterprise world. This is evident considering that the company's revenues soared a dramatic 151% year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to $29.1 million. Additionally, the company has also built a $1.2 billion backlog of cumulative subscriptions and bookings. This implies that the company has impressive revenue visibility for several more years to come. SoundHound is leveraging its multimodal and multilingual proprietary Polaris foundational model to power its conversational AI solutions. However, what makes SoundHound's technology stand out is its ability to directly process voice commands to understand the underlying meaning. On the other hand, traditional voice systems first convert the voice to text and then to a meaningful representation. This "speech-to-meaning technology" has helped dramatically reduce latency in real time, thereby making voice communications four times faster than competitors, while also improving accuracy to twice the level of competitors, even in noisy environments. The superior technology has helped the company build a sticky customer base. Although previously geared mainly toward the restaurant industry, SoundHound is now actively diversifying its customer base into healthcare, automotive, and financial services. Furthermore, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of its revenue in the first quarter. SoundHound has also been focusing on strategic acquisitions to build a comprehensive voice ecosystem. The acquisition of SYNQ3 has dramatically expanded its market reach in the restaurant industry. The Amelia acquisition has also strengthened the company's position in the massive enterprise AI market. Recently, SoundHound launched Amelia 7.0, powered by a proprietary multiprocess agentic framework called "Agentic Plus." This platform will enable businesses to deploy fleets of AI agents that can understand, reason, and autonomously complete actions. Finally, the Allset acquisition has positioned SoundHound as a key player in the voice commerce space. The company is developing technology that allows drivers to order food while driving, thereby enabling SoundHound to leverage its automotive partnerships with restaurant networks. It is indisputable that the stock looks expensive at 36.7 times sales, but that misses the bigger picture. With $245.8 million in cash and just $4.6 million in debt, SoundHound has the financial flexibility to focus on several growth initiatives. Management also expects to reach adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) profitability by the end of 2025. Considering the company's cutting-edge conversational AI technology, robust financial trajectory, and focused inorganic growth strategy, SoundHound seems an attractive buy now. Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SoundHound's Amelia 7.0 Launch: A Turning Point for Voice AI?
SoundHound AI's SOUN rollout of Amelia 7.0, unveiled on May 8, marks a significant milestone, shifting its voice AI suite from reactive assistants to fully agentic, voice-enabled AI agents that understand, reason and act autonomously. Built on the proprietary Agentic+ framework, these agents offer a hybrid of deterministic flows and generative AI. This enables them to complete multi-step tasks, like reordering prescriptions or resetting passwords, without human Amelia 7.0 integrates Polaris ASR, delivering low latency and 99% intent recognition accuracy, alongside seamless LLM interoperability and enterprise-grade guardrails. This positions SoundHound not just as a voice AI player, but as a leader in agentic AI, a rapidly emergent category poised for exponential adoption across timing is strategic. During the first quarter of 2025, SoundHound's revenue jumped 151% year over year to $29.1 million, supported by expanded voice commerce in restaurants and automotive integrations. Though slightly below expectations, the company maintained strong guidance ($157–177 million for 2025), backed by a record pipeline and $246 million in cash with no 7.0 could be a catalyst, offering defenses against commoditization in speech-to-text markets and unlocking new revenue streams via autonomous agents in healthcare, finance, customer service, and more. Still, SoundHound must convert technological leadership into clear monetization, maintain competitive gross margins, and scale enterprise adoption amid macroeconomic 7.0 is a transformative leap. If SoundHound can translate this tech into scale, the stock could enjoy a strong re-rating. However, execution is key, especially in proving ROI and driving profitable growth across diverse verticals. As SoundHound pushes forward with Amelia 7.0, it faces mounting competition from both established tech giants and specialized AI players, who are also sculpting the voice AI Corporation MSFT, through its Azure OpenAI integrations and Nuance Communications unit, remains a formidable force. Nuance's deep roots in healthcare voice automation and conversational AI give Microsoft a strong enterprise footprint. By embedding large language models into voice-enabled workflows, Microsoft is targeting the same high-value verticals, like finance and call centers, that SoundHound seeks to Inc.'s GOOGL Google, with its Assistant and Vertex AI platforms, is another heavyweight rival. Google Assistant is already embedded in millions of devices, and Vertex AI provides developers with customizable voice agents powered by Google's advanced speech-to-text and LLM models. Its scalability and ecosystem—spanning Android, Smart Home, and Workspace—present a serious challenge to SoundHound's adoption in consumer and enterprise environments. SoundHound plunged 52.1% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry's 6.7% decline. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of its forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, SOUN is trading at 20.65, higher than the industry's 19.32. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOUN's 2025 loss per share has remained unchanged at 16 cents per share. Nonetheless, the estimated figure reflects an improvement from the year-ago loss of $1.04 per share. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SOUN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 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 Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SOUN Q1 Earnings Call: Product Integration and Industry Diversification Support Growth Amid Revenue Miss
Voice AI recognition company SoundHound (NASDAQ:SOUN) fell short of the market's revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, but sales rose 151% year on year to $29.13 million. Its non-GAAP loss of $0.06 per share was in line with analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy SOUN? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $29.13 million vs analyst estimates of $30.46 million (151% year-on-year growth, 4.4% miss) Adjusted EPS: -$0.06 vs analyst estimates of -$0.06 (in line Billings: $32.8 million at quarter end, up 225% year on year Market Capitalization: $4.03 billion SoundHound's first quarter results were shaped by the company's continued push into diversified end markets and integration of recent acquisitions. Management highlighted robust expansion in enterprise verticals, particularly through the adoption of its Polaris multilingual AI model and the integration of SYNQ3, Allset, and Amelia. CEO Keyvan Mohajer pointed to progress in restaurant and automotive deployments, noting that the company achieved a new milestone by activating more than 1,000 new restaurant locations in a single quarter. The company also emphasized traction in customer service, hospitality, healthcare, and financial services. CFO Nitesh Sharan explained that this broader customer base has helped reduce concentration risk, with no single customer contributing more than 10% of revenue this quarter. Both executives attributed the growth in customer activity and product adoption to differentiated AI performance, as well as the company's ability to offer solutions across industries. Looking ahead, management reaffirmed its outlook for the year and expects continued momentum from the expansion of voice commerce offerings and the launch of the Amelia 7.0 agentic AI platform. Sharan stated, 'We remain committed to our path to profitability and have activated several cost actions to ensure we remain disciplined.' Mohajer described rising enterprise interest in voice commerce and agentic AI, citing active pilots with major automakers and new partnerships in energy and hospitality. The company believes that its technology's ability to drive both automation and incremental revenue for customers positions it well regardless of macroeconomic conditions. Management also anticipates improvements in gross margin over the medium term as acquired contracts are optimized. The team is focused on expanding the reach of its solutions while maintaining discipline on costs and integration. Management attributed the quarter's performance to expanded product adoption, successful integration of recent acquisitions, and increased enterprise demand for voice AI solutions. Acquisition-driven portfolio expansion: SoundHound's integration of SYNQ3, Allset, and Amelia enabled it to deliver new capabilities and cross-sell opportunities, particularly in restaurants and enterprise verticals. Early results showed upgraded locations and new merchant connections, with the Polaris model deployed across much of the acquired footprint. Voice commerce ecosystem growth: The company advanced its voice commerce platform, connecting automotive OEMs, restaurants, and new service partners. Multiple pilots with automakers and over 15 large restaurant chains have joined the network, allowing drivers to place food orders or book services by voice, which management sees as a unique entry point for future transaction-based revenue. Broad-based sector traction: Beyond automotive and restaurants, SoundHound reported contract wins and renewals in financial services, healthcare, energy, retail, telecommunications, and hospitality. The company's product set is being adopted by major brands across these industries, indicating a shift from heavy reliance on any single vertical. Technology differentiation in AI performance: Management emphasized that the Polaris foundation model offers lower latency, higher accuracy, and broader language support than peers, supporting adoption in noisy environments and international use cases. This technical advantage is seen as a competitive moat as more enterprises seek advanced conversational AI. Active customer engagement and scaling: The company cited a significant increase in active users and transactional volume, particularly in the restaurant segment, where locations using SoundHound's ordering solutions have grown to nearly 13,000. Improved automation rates and reduced resolution times were highlighted as signs of operational scaling. SoundHound expects continued revenue growth to be driven by expanding voice commerce, new AI platform releases, and ongoing improvements in product mix and efficiency. Expansion of voice commerce platform: Management believes that increasing adoption by OEMs and restaurants will create new revenue streams as drivers and consumers transact through integrated voice AI systems. This flywheel effect is expected to support both subscription and royalty-based revenue growth. Agentic AI and enterprise deployments: The rollout of Amelia 7.0 and its agentic AI capabilities are anticipated to accelerate customer deployments, expand use cases, and improve customer retention. Management expects these solutions to shorten implementation cycles and increase net revenue retention over time. Margin improvement and contract optimization: The company is focused on raising gross margins by optimizing or exiting lower-margin contracts acquired through M&A. Management expects sequential improvement in adjusted EBITDA and gross margin, with a target of returning to pre-acquisition margin profiles over the next 18–24 months. In the quarters ahead, the StockStory team will be monitoring (1) the pace of new customer wins and deployments in automotive and restaurant verticals, (2) progress in optimizing gross margins as acquired contract terms evolve, and (3) scaling of the voice commerce ecosystem, particularly as new OEM and enterprise partners are onboarded. The success of Amelia 7.0 and agentic AI adoption will also be closely tracked as a signpost for broader enterprise traction. SoundHound AI currently trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 25.2×. In the wake of earnings, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it's free). Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs. While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. 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Business Insider
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
SoundHound AI Stock (SOUN) Hits the High Notes, But Can It Stay in Tune?
SoundHound AI (SOUN) just reported a jaw-dropping 151% jump in quarterly revenue, helping to send the stock up roughly 8.5% in the past month, and over 100% in the past year. Yet, the company finds itself in a familiar spot for many tech-centric growth companies, caught between impressive revenue numbers and stubborn losses. The voice AI specialist has shown tremendous growth potential in an exploding market, but questions persist about when (or if) the company can turn a profit. Confident Investing Starts Here: With the voice AI market projected to reach over $30 billion within the next few years, SoundHound's positioning looks promising. But execution risks and competition from tech giants make this anything but a sure bet. I am neutral on the stock for now and prefer to hold off until a clearer path to profitability emerges. The Numbers Tell a Growth Story SoundHound's recent financial performance appears to be a dream for growth investors. The company's first quarter revenue of $29.1 million is more than double the same period last year. Furthermore, management is projecting full-year revenue between $157 million and $177 million, representing approximately 85-109% growth for 2025. Strategic acquisitions of SYNQ3 and Amelia have broadened SoundHound's capabilities while adding new customers. The company has also diversified across automotive, restaurants, and enterprise sectors, with no single customer representing more than 10% of revenue (a healthy sign). Meanwhile, the market opportunity here is genuinely massive. Voice AI technology is experiencing explosive growth, with industry projections showing the market expanding at nearly 30% annually toward $143 billion by 2033. That's not just hype. Companies across many industries are integrating voice technology into everything from drive-thru windows to car dashboards. Well-Positioned with Enterprise Clients Soundhound's platform is built from the ground up for complex, contextual conversations rather than simple command-and-response interactions. This matters in real-world business applications, where customers may have complex requests or require assistance in navigating multiple options. Rather than competing directly with Amazon's (AMZN) Alexa or Alphabet's (GOOGL) Assistant for consumer attention, the company focuses on providing enterprise solutions. It's building custom voice experiences for brands like Burger King (QSR), partnering with automakers like Hyundai (HYMTF), and creating specialized solutions that big tech companies don't typically offer. The Profitability Problem Here's where SoundHound's story gets complicated. Despite impressive revenue growth, the company is burning through cash at a concerning rate. The first quarter showed an adjusted EBITDA loss of $22.2 million, and gross margins are actually shrinking as the company invests in acquisitions and scales its operations. What's most concerning is the lack of clear guidance on when profitability might arrive. Management hasn't provided a concrete timeline for reaching breakeven, leaving investors to wonder whether the current growth is sustainable or merely a byproduct of expensive customer acquisition that won't pay off in the long term. Despite its current differentiated position in the market, the company operates in a space where it's competing with some of the world's most well-funded technology companies. Amazon, Google, and Apple (AAPL) all have voice AI capabilities and the resources to undercut smaller competitors on price or build competing features into their existing platforms. Should these large tech firms decide to target larger enterprise clients (and why wouldn't they at some point), SoundHound's premium pricing and customization advantages could evaporate quickly. For a company struggling to turn a profit, the music could come to a sudden halt. Watching for Inflection Points Market participants are on the lookout for changes in key metrics, including customer retention rates, organic revenue growth separate from acquisitions, and any concrete guidance toward profitability. The stock is highly shorted, with over 30% of shares held in short interest. Positive news among these key metrics could catalyze a further increase in shares, potentially leading to a short squeeze and creating a positive feedback loop for ongoing momentum in the share price. Is SoundHound AI a Good Stock to Buy? SoundHound's stock currently sits below most analyst price targets, which range from $12 to $18. The consensus rating is a Moderate Buy, reflecting cautious optimism tempered by concerns about execution. Piper Sandler's James Fish initiated coverage of SoundHound with an Overweight rating and set a $12 price target, highlighting the company's potential in the AI voice technology sector. He sees a potential total addressable market of $47 billion by 2027, which is still in its early stages of development. Meanwhile, H.C. Wainwright's analyst Scott Buck has lowered the price target to $18 (from $26), while maintaining a Buy rating. He anticipates revenue growth for SoundHound in the latter half of 2025. Additionally, Wedbush's Daniel Ives has downgraded his price target to $15 (from $22), citing a lower valuation multiple, but retains an Outperform rating. The Bottom Line for SoundHound AI The voice AI market opportunity is real, and SoundHound has positioned itself in an interesting niche with genuine competitive advantages. However, this isn't a stock for investors who need steady returns or can't stomach the possibility of significant losses. The company is still proving its business model, and execution risks remain high. The upcoming quarters will be critical in proving whether SoundHound can evolve from a high-potential growth story into a consistently profitable enterprise. Until that transformation takes shape, the stock remains a speculative play marked by significant volatility — one I'm choosing to stay on the sidelines for now.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) Went Up On Tuesday
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) stands against other best-performing stocks. SoundHound AI grew its share prices by 16.08 percent on Tuesday—a third consecutive day—to finish at $11.12 apiece as investors cheered the company's optimistic rating from an investment firm. On Tuesday, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN), giving it an 'overweight' rating and a price target of $12. According to the investment firm, SoundHound AI, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SOUN) ASR and NLP architecture offer a competitive advantage in delivering dynamic and real-time conversational AI experiences. Additionally, Piper Sandler gave an optimistic view on SoundHound AI, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SOUN) Amelia, saying that it sees a $30-billion addressable market by 2027. A software engineer focused on a computer screen, writing code to create a conversational assistant. Lastly, Piper Sandler is optimistic about SoundHound AI, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SOUN) transition to a subscription-based model, saying that subscription and over-time revenues are expected to contribute 90 percent of total revenues by 2027, or up by 4 percent from two years ago. Overall, SOUN ranks 5th on our list of best-performing stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of SOUN, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SOUN and that has 10,000x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
