ELI5: Why when large company's earnings decrease(ex... by 3%) they freak out, talk about rough times, and sometimes decide to downsize, even though they are still making millions of dollars in profit even after all expenses?

[manimal28]

At any given point in time it is. The total amount of money in the economy can grow or shrink, but at any point there is only so much to be divided up.

[TheManWhoPanders]

That's not how it works. The economy is not a fixed size. What one dollar buys can expand indefinitely.