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SOUN
SoundHound AI, Inc. · AI Software
$6.13
-8.23% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
AAPL
Apple Inc. · Consumer Technology
$303.42
-1.69% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
SOUN
1
AAPL
3
Comparison scoreboard
AAPL LEADS 3/5AI Score
SOUN 23.0
AAPL ✓59.1
1Y Return
SOUN -40.66%
AAPL ✓+49.93%
Fwd P/E
SOUN -50.83
AAPL ✓32.48
Target Up.
SOUN ✓+115.46%
AAPL +4.65%
Op. Margin
SOUN N/A
AAPL 32.62%
Metrics last refreshed: 8/4/2026
Quick take
SOUN vs AAPL Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
SOUN and AAPL are both in voice AI but at completely different scales. SoundHound is a $1-2B market cap pure-play voice AI company targeting restaurant and automotive verticals. Apple is a $3T technology giant with Siri on 1.3B+ devices and Apple Intelligence as an iPhone upgrade catalyst. SoundHound is a speculative small-cap AI bet; Apple is the world's largest company with AI as a product catalyst.
SOUN vs AAPL — SoundHound AI (the pure-play voice AI specialist targeting restaurant ordering automation and automotive embedded voice systems as an independent platform not tied to Apple/Google) versus Apple (the $3T consumer technology platform embedding Apple Intelligence across 1.3B devices while monetizing through iPhone upgrade cycles and $100B+ Services revenue).
Live analysis · updated 8/4/2026
AAPL holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AAPL leads on both 1-year return (+49.93%) and forward P/E quality (32.48x vs -50.83x for SOUN), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for SOUN (+115.46%) than for AAPL (+4.65%).
Normalized 1Y performance
SOUN
AAPL
Recent returns
SOUN
AAPL
Analyst price targets & sentiment
SOUN · 7 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Strong Buy (1.3/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$8.00
analyst high$17.00
analyst mean$13.14
current price$6.13
+115.5% upside to analyst mean
AAPL · 43 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.0/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$215.00
analyst high$400.00
analyst mean$323.28
current price$303.42
+4.7% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
SOUN may suit investors who:
- →want pure-play voice AI exposure in restaurant automation and automotive embedded voice — direct beneficiary of restaurant labor cost inflation driving AI ordering adoption
- →believe SoundHound's independence from big tech is a competitive moat for enterprise and automotive customers concerned about Apple/Google ecosystem lock-in
- →seek high-risk small-cap AI upside — SoundHound at $1-2B market cap could re-rate significantly if restaurant and automotive deployments scale to mass adoption
- →are comfortable with persistent operating losses, big-tech voice AI competition risk, and the possibility SoundHound remains niche rather than achieving profitability at scale
AAPL may suit investors who:
- →prefer the world's most valuable company with 1.3B+ device installed base deploying Apple Intelligence as an AI-driven upgrade catalyst for iPhone hardware replacement cycles
- →value Apple's $100B+ Services recurring revenue providing predictable high-margin revenue regardless of quarterly iPhone unit variability
- →want AI exposure through the world's largest consumer technology platform with proven ability to monetize innovation across its massive installed base
- →are comfortable with Siri's historical voice AI quality gap vs competitors and China market share risk from Huawei re-emergence in the premium smartphone segment
Performance & AI score
| Metric | SOUN | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 23.0 | 59.1 |
| AI rank | #3746 | #183 |
| Latest close | $6.13 | $303.42 |
| 1M return | -8.23% | -1.69% |
| 6M return | -32.49% | +12.37% |
| 1Y return | -40.66% | +49.93% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SOUN | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $5.93K (-40.7%) started 2025-07-31 | $14.92K (+49.2%) started 2025-08-04 |
| 5Y ago | $8.17K (-18.3%) started 2022-04-28 | $21.55K (+115.5%) started 2021-08-05 |
| 10Y ago | $8.17K (-18.3%) started 2022-04-28 | $134.14K (+1241.4%) started 2016-08-05 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | SOUN | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.66B | $4.54T |
| Trailing P/E | N/A | 35.47 |
| Forward P/E | -50.83 | 32.48 |
| Price/Sales | 14.44 | 11.01 |
| EV/Revenue | 13.21 | 9.70 |
| Analyst target | $13.14 | $323.28 |
| Target upside | +115.46% | +4.65% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | SOUN | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 51.70% | 16.40% |
| Earnings growth | N/A | 28.70% |
| EPS growth | N/A | +28.70% |
| FCF margin | -9.07% | +23.08% |
| Operating margin | N/A | 32.62% |
| Profit margin | -91.84% | 27.62% |
| ROIC proxy | -39.40% | 148.75% |
| Return on equity | -39.40% | 148.75% |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.35% |
| Beta | 2.83 | 1.10 |
| Debt/equity | 1.35 | 78.44 |
| Current ratio | 3.94 | 1.00 |
| Quick ratio | 3.80 | 0.81 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
SOUN max drawdown73.36%
AAPL max drawdown13.82%
SOUN max wkly drop26.06%
AAPL max wkly drop10.78%
5Y risk snapshot
SOUN max drawdown93.55%
AAPL max drawdown33.36%
SOUN max wkly drop55.81%
AAPL max wkly drop22.75%
10Y risk snapshot
SOUN max drawdown93.55%
AAPL max drawdown38.52%
SOUN max wkly drop55.81%
AAPL max wkly drop22.75%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | SOUN | AAPL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -40.66% | +49.21% |
| CAGR | -40.68% | +49.34% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.34 | 1.51 | |
| Max drawdown | 73.36% | 13.82% | |
| Max daily drop | 11.57% | 7.35% | |
| Max wkly drop | 26.06% | 10.78% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -18.27% | +110.83% |
| CAGR | -4.63% | +16.10% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.55 | 0.51 | |
| Max drawdown | 93.55% | 33.36% | |
| Max daily drop | 48.36% | 9.25% | |
| Max wkly drop | 55.81% | 22.75% | |
| 10Y | Growth | -18.27% | +1128.52% |
| CAGR | -4.63% | +28.52% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.55 | 0.86 | |
| Max drawdown | 93.55% | 38.52% | |
| Max daily drop | 48.36% | 12.86% | |
| Max wkly drop | 55.81% | 22.75% |
Business comparison
| Category | SOUN | AAPL |
|---|---|---|
| Company | SoundHound AI, Inc. | Apple Inc. |
| Sector | AI Software | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | Consumer Electronics |
| Core business | SoundHound AI is a voice AI company providing conversational intelligence solutions for restaurants, automotive, and enterprise customers. SoundHound's Dynamic Interaction technology enables complex multi-turn voice commands for drive-through ordering, in-car assistant systems, and enterprise voice applications. Restaurant automation is the fastest-growing vertical, driven by labor cost pressures accelerating AI ordering. SoundHound has partnerships with Hyundai, Honda, Stellantis, and restaurant chains. The company operates at a loss with significant R&D investment. | Apple is the world's most valuable company ($3T+ market cap) with flagship products including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Apple Intelligence — Apple's on-device AI platform integrated across iOS 18 — powers enhanced Siri, text generation, image creation, and cross-app AI actions. Apple's Services segment ($100B+ annual revenue) includes App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Siri processes hundreds of millions of voice requests daily across 1.3+ billion active Apple devices. |
| Investor focus | Investors track SoundHound's restaurant AI deployment pipeline, automotive OEM contract wins, ARPU from royalty models, and path to profitability as a pure-play voice AI small-cap. | Investors focus on Apple's iPhone upgrade supercycle driven by Apple Intelligence hardware requirements, Services revenue growth, gross margin expansion from software mix, and India manufacturing diversification. |
SOUN strengths
- →Restaurant AI ordering tailwind: labor inflation and minimum wage increases accelerate restaurant chain adoption of AI ordering systems — SoundHound is deployed at Chipotle, White Castle, and others
- →Automotive embedded voice: SoundHound's in-car voice AI is embedded in vehicles from multiple OEMs — automotive royalty revenue provides recurring cash flow as new models ship
- →Independence from big tech: SoundHound's independence from Apple, Google, and Amazon means automotive and enterprise customers prefer it for privacy and licensing control reasons
AAPL strengths
- →1.3B+ active device installed base: Apple's distribution for voice AI via Siri is unmatched — Siri is the default voice assistant on every iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch globally
- →Apple Intelligence on-device privacy: on-device AI processing is a differentiated privacy positioning valued by enterprise and privacy-conscious consumers vs cloud-dependent alternatives
- →Services $100B+ recurring revenue: software and services generate high-margin recurring revenue with low churn — reducing dependence on hardware replacement cycles
Risks to watch — SOUN
- →Competing against Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa: SoundHound competes in voice AI against companies with billion-user distribution, enormous R&D budgets, and device lock-in
- →Persistent operating losses: SoundHound has not achieved profitability — sustained losses create dilution risk and balance sheet uncertainty
- →Revenue concentration in cyclical verticals: restaurant technology adoption is cyclical — economic slowdowns can delay AI ordering deployments and reduce royalty revenue
Risks to watch — AAPL
- →Siri quality lag vs competitors: Apple's Siri has been criticized for inferior voice AI vs Google Assistant and ChatGPT — Apple Intelligence aims to close the gap but faces catch-up risk
- →iPhone volume plateauing in mature markets: North American and European iPhone penetration is high — growth requires upgrading existing users via AI features rather than net new buyers
- →China market competition from Huawei: Huawei's re-emergence with 5G phones has challenged Apple's China market share — a key revenue geography
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