Dive Brief:
- Sonos CEO Tom Conrad believes the company’s products can sit at the center of “AI personality” interactions as they grow in popularity, he said on a Q4 2025 earnings call Wednesday.
- The company has “restored the quality of our software” in the months since a disastrous app release in May 2024, and now Sonos can speak confidently about what’s in store for its future, Conrad said.
- “I think you'll see us be a platform for both third-party AI experiences as well as our own first-party experiences, in the same way that in the past we hosted Alexa and Google assistant and our own Sonos voice experience,” Conrad said during the call.
Dive Insight:
Sonos will make building relationships with customers one of the core elements of its strategy as it embraces voice-enabled devices.
The world has changed a lot in the two decades since Sonos was founded, according to Conrad. What was once a tool that simultaneously played MP3 files in multiple rooms at once has expanded to a network of hundreds of services, including voice controls.
The growing appeal of AIcould bring all of Sonos’ offerings together.
“We see a world where live natural conversations with AI personalities are as commonplace as smartphones are today, and we believe Sonos’ expertise in internet-connected, voice-enabled personal hardware products for the home can position us as the center of these interactions,” Conrad said.
Sonos plans to deliver new and traditional experiences to help it become more relevant to customers, according to Conrad. Software updates will continue to play an important role in the brand’s evolution, and the company wants to engage with customers to make Sonos a bigger part of their lives.
Higher quality software updates are already paying off for Sonos, contributing to strong financial results, Conrad said in a company earnings report. Revenue was up 13% year over year to $1.4 billion in fiscal 2025. However, the company still reported a net loss of $61.4 million for the fiscal year.
Going forward, Sonos’ strategy will require deepening relationships with its customers and improving storytelling in its marketing, according to Conrad. Sonos has 53 million devices in 17 million homes, and it can reach more consumers while increasing the number of devices each customer owns.
“We want households to keep upgrading, expanding and discovering new ways to enjoy Sonos for decades,” Conrad said. “We'll do that by keeping the system fresh through reliable software, excellent service and product updates that inspire people to reinvest in Sonos.”
