The chip shortage is a buzzkill for Big Tech — but what about chip companies?

Seeing the chip bowl half empty… Tesla reported record profit and deliveries for last quarter. Apple posted its best third quarter in its entire 45-year history. Despite these killer earnings, investors weren’t impressed: Tesla shares have fallen 3% since earnings, and Apple has dipped 1.5%. Why investors are feeling salty:

• Apple and Tesla are the latest victims of the global chip shortage, which has been affecting the supply of everything from smartphones to washing machines and cars.
• Apple warned that supply shortages will affect iPhone production this quarter, slowing overall sales growth. Technoking Elon raised concerns that Cybertruck production could be dinged by the chip shortage.

Chip-outta-luck... The WFH life ate up all the chips, which are crucial ingredients in everything from Chromebooks, to PlayStations, and cloud servers. When the economy rebounded faster than expected, the chip shortage got shorter — Ford and GM even had to shut down car-making plants. But for chip-makers, it’s more of a “bowl half-full” situation:

• Intel reported expectation-beating earnings thanks to growing sales of PC chips, and raised its forecast for the year. Its CEO warned the shortage could last till 2023.
• AMD, another chip giant, saw its quarterly profit more than quadruple compared to last year, and it also boosted its full-year forecast.