What's going on?

Toyota had plenty on its plate last quarter, sure, but the Japanese carmaker still reported expectation-beating quarterly profits on Wednesday.

What does this mean?

Toyota�s come through this pandemic with far fewer dents than most of its rivals, partly thanks to its strength in markets that have coped relatively well with the coronavirus outbreak � namely those in Asia. And boy is it back swinging: the company announced last month it had regained the top spot as the world�s best-selling carmaker. Toyota�s now feeling so good about its future, in fact, that it decided to up its forecasts for its full-year profit by as much as 50%.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: The chips are down � way, way down.

General Motors beat analysts� expectations on Wednesday too, but the American carmaker warned that the microchip shortage could eat into its earnings by $2 billion this year (tweet this). That�s not a unique concern among carmakers: many of them didn�t stock up while they had the chance, and now they�re faced with a rebound in car demand. And given that they can�t necessarily pay as much as cash-rich tech companies can, chipmakers are more likely to drop them to the bottom of the priority list. Not that this affects everyone equally, mind you: Toyota � like most Japanese carmakers � has a bigger-than-average inventory left over.

For you personally: Here comes the next Tesla�?

You can�t talk cars without mentioning electric vehicles (EVs) in the same breath these days. So here�s one of the highest-profile EV startups you might be able to invest in soon: Rivian � which is aiming to put its electric pick-up truck and SUV into production this year � is reportedly thinking about listing on the stock market as soon as September, in what could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year. Better watch your back, Tesla�