SoundHound AI (SOUN -8.45%) has had an exciting few weeks. The stock has surged in popularity and has risen about 30% since the start of September. However, that pales in comparison to what its stock could do in the future if the growth it has displayed over the past few quarters is sustainable.
SoundHound is a rare combination of a company that's growing quickly in a space that can span multiple industries. This is a key trait to look for in stocks that can deliver 100-fold returns, and a $10,000 investment today could turn into $1 million if it puts up those returns.
That's not an easy feat, but is SoundHound up to the task?
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SoundHound AI's products are being deployed in multiple industries
SoundHound AI merges generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology with audio recognition. This isn't a new concept; Siri and Alexa have been attempting to do this for some time. However, their performance leaves a lot to be desired. SoundHound AI's models have consistently proven that they are successful and can even outperform human counterparts in some scenarios.
SoundHound AI's technology is seeing huge success in two areas right now: restaurant drive-thrus and digital assistants in vehicles. While the digital assistants in vehicles haven't made their way to the U.S. quite yet, they're available in many other parts of the world.
Several retailers have already deployed SoundHound AI's products in the drive-thru, and you may have experienced it already when ordering food.
Other areas SoundHound AI is targeting are financial services and healthcare. Both of these industries have to spend a lot on employees who talk with customers over the phone, and if SoundHound AI can automate this task, it could result in massive cost savings for these businesses.
SoundHound says that seven of the top 10 global financial institutions are clients, and that four of them either renewed their contracts or expanded them during the quarter. These clients are ones to watch, as they could be a massive source of revenue for SoundHound AI.
All of these major wins contributed toward SoundHound AI delivering outstanding 217% growth in the second quarter. However, not all of that was organic. Organic revenue is a metric that's used when a company makes an acquisition, as it compares the current quarter's growth to only existing businesses within the company, not those acquired.
While management didn't give an exact figure, it stated that organic revenue growth was 50% or greater, and that it sees the 50% or greater organic revenue growth continuing for the "foreseeable future." That's a strong growth rate, but the time frame is a bit uncertain. If SoundHound can sustain that growth rate for multiple years, it could be the ticket investors need to become millionaires off a reasonable investment figure.
Delivering 100x returns will be a tall task for SoundHound AI
But is it realistic? SoundHound has generated $131 million over the past 12 months. If we assume that its stock price will grow in lockstep with its revenue growth, that means SoundHound would have to generate $13.1 billion over one year to turn the stock into a 100-bagger.
At SoundHound AI's 50% growth rate, that would occur in just over 11 years. I would not consider 11 years the "foreseeable future," as there are few who could have predicted COVID-19 or the rise of artificial intelligence a decade ago.
This shows how impressive 100x returns truly are, and that any company that has achieved them has done something that few will ever do. Still, just because SoundHound AI may not be your ticket to becoming a millionaire doesn't mean that it can't produce acceptable returns. A stock that delivers 10x returns in a decade is still a monster winner, and SoundHound AI would only need just under six years of 50% growth to achieve that result.
Those are still lofty expectations, but if SoundHound AI can produce a product that's attractive to companies across multiple sectors, I could see the stock delivering market-crushing returns over the next decade.
