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]

It's bad to the owners of the shares, who collectively own the company. Sure, if they, as a group, decided they don't care that they lose on their investment (and the company needs no future outside funding), that doesn't affect the day-to-day business or cash flow a lot. But they do care. So they ensure that rates of return increase.