Qualcomm supports “targeted and rule-based export controls” as one of several long-term federal policy recommendations for curing the semiconductor shortage, it said in comments posted Wednesday in docket BIS-2021-0036. Submissions were due Nov. 8 in the Bureau of Industry and Security's request for information to help the secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security prepare a report to the White House on the chip crunch by the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order (see 2109230038).

The “perfect storm” of components shortages, strong consumer demand and supply-chain bottlenecks is impeding growth in home audio, said Futuresource analyst Chris Bull on the company’s virtual Audio Collaborative 2021 event Thursday. No relief is in sight before at least 2023, he said.

The digital component of CES will extend beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, said Jean Foster, CTA senior vice president-marketing and communications, at the CES Unveiled New York event Wednesday at the Rainbow Room. “When you actually allow people to join digitally, we can reach many, many more people, so that will be an ongoing part of the show.”

Summit Wireless lowered 2021 profit guidance in its Q3 report Wednesday from the outlook it gave in August, citing component shortages that required some customer product redesigns, in turn causing disruption associated with about $500 million of revenue. CEO Brett Moyer said revenue would have been significantly higher without the component shortages. The stock closed 16.5% lower Wednesday at $2.40.

Sports-based virtual MVPD fuboTV topped 1 million subscribers, it said in its Q3 shareholder letter. It announced two international acquisitions as part of a global expansion. Year-over-year total Q3 revenue grew 156% to $156.7 million, ad revenue 147% to $18.6 million, accounting for 12% of total Q3 revenue in the quarter, and subscription revenue jumped 158% to $138.1 million. Net loss in Q3 fell to $105.9 million from $274.1 million in the year-earlier quarter. Shares closed 23.2% lower Wednesday at $25.47.

The supply chain and logistical issues impacting all companies forced Vizio into nearly depleted TV inventories as recently as July. But the vendor now enters the peak holiday selling period fending off suggestions, as on a Q3 earnings call Tuesday (see 2111090081), of positioning itself as the loss leader in the holiday TV space in a grab for retail “shelf share” through aggressive promotional pricing at “razor-thin” margins.

U.S. importers sourced 35.86 million laptops and tablets from all countries in Q3, 5.1% fewer than in the 2020 quarter, and down 4.7% sequentially from Q2, according to Census Bureau data accessed Tuesday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Laptop and tablet imports for 2021's first nine months grew 24.7% from a year earlier to 102.51 million, largely on trends earlier in 2021, when COVID-19 restrictions were still fueling sustained demand for remote work and learning connectivity tools.

Xperi posted better-than-expected revenue and earnings in Q3, but the company shaved full-year top-end revenue guidance by $10 million to $890 million as supply chain constraints continue to affect product shipments, management said on the company’s Monday earnings call.

“Inventory/buffer stock” in semiconductor products across the board “has been all depleted” amid shortages of wafers, raw materials and packaging materials, commented Philips in docket BIS-2021-0036 in response to the Commerce Department’s request for information about the global semiconductor crunch. COVID-19 factory closures, labor shortages, inflation and the “strong demand increase” in the automotive, consumer electronics, computing and communications sectors are exacerbating the crisis, it said.

Governments worldwide are generally failing at making more spectrum available for 5G, former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said Tuesday at the virtual 5G Manufacturing Forum. “Not enough attention is being placed and not enough spectrum is being cleared … given the transformational nature” of 5G, O’Rielly said. Other speakers said challenges remain to broader use of 5G by manufacturers.