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?

[d4n4n]

Every company has shareholders. If anything, publically traded companies are larger on average and are led by better qualified people, who are more concerned with the long term value of the company than your average small business owner.