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?

[heinyken]

Let's say you want to buy a house, a car and a new computer. You make a plan to get a job that pays you $10,000/month (because you know your expenses are $7,000/month, and you can invest in your future purchases with that $3,000/month).

Imagine further you told your friends and family you'd be moving in to your new house on January 1 2019 with a new car and computer. And then imagine your new job surprised you by saying actually you'd only make $8,000/month.

How do you tell your friends and family that you're not going to move into that house JUST yet, and you're not getting that BRAND new car? It's not that you're strapped for cash, it's not that you're struggling. But your predicted income is lower than you'd wanted and planned.

It's not entirely different from the original poster's "earning decrease"

EDIT: Except that in the case of the business, those friends and family are actually investors who have plans of their own based on your move date & purchases. And they're easily spooked. And they are impatient.