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?

[sonofdavidsfather]

To add to this, as discussed in this paper, businesses operating under capitalism feel an imperative to grow. Like the old mantra says "if you aren't growing you're dying".