Tech and chip stocks are falling even though almost all of them beat earnings — a warning sign that money is quietly leaving the group.

• Since July, 45 tech, hardware, and chip companies reported results, and most beat on both sales and profit.
• Despite the strong numbers, the group is down about 13% over the past month, and 36 of the 45 finished lower.
• When a company beats big and the stock still drops — like Intel did — that itself is a bad sign for the sector.
• Money is rotating out of chips and computer stocks and into health care and defense stocks.
• The broader market is still holding up and pointing higher, so this looks like a shift between sectors, not a broad selloff.

Outlook: Expect chip and hardware stocks to keep lagging while health care and defense pick up the money leaving them.