They don't, you're right.
But it's also in large part that people here just don't really support publicly traded companies that much. I personally am not a fan due to the nature of fiduciary interests and how counter it is to sustainable business practices. It's a huge contributor in my opinion to many if not most industry issues, wealth inequality and why while the "Economy" benefits or is healthy, it rarely translates to low or middle income health.
The reality is. Especially due to the importance/nature of earnings reports and such. That it's such a game that it creates so much instability at the expense of the workers and lay people. But who cares if maybe just maybe we can be millionaires too right!
Yeah I get that a significant part of the forum's user base would prefer to live in a Utopia, but that's a huge can of worms. Regardless, this is reality. You don't have to like it. (Edit: I mean you plural, not singling out just your post)
I just get frustrated b/c people often cry for polarized opposite positions.
-Want to support devs and ensure high quality games to play. Also want to buy from G2A or similar, or at very least Steam sales and Humble Bundles.
-Don't want to support companies they disagree with (whether due to a layoff, a CEO's politics, whatever). But also don't want (chosen) people to get laid off.
I also understand that many people are younger than I am, but eventually most will get to the point where they'd also like to see some investments produce returns so that they can retire someday.
Also the idea that companies are chasing "short term profit" is... ridiculous? Generally people are referring to big companies like EA or Activision or Ubisoft who have been around for decades, so they most definitely have proven, long-term plans. And surprise, part of what lets them stay viable is their own holistic vision of company strategy, which should unsurprisingly include restructuring and reprioritizing resources.
I've definitely experienced the short-term gain phenomenon in my career and it was very damaging to my employer in the end. They were on a constant quest to make the next quarter's numbers, to the degree that they put damaging financial rewards in place for their sales teams.
They were constantly trying to pull future business into the current quarter, often using greater and greater discount levels as incentive. Eventually they gave away enough of the future that the whole house of cards came down. Of course the people who made these decisions were out the door, but not before they popped their golden parachutes. That's where the discussion breaks down though. For the sub 1% it feels like the leaders get rewarded for making bad decisions.
I'm sure a proper argument could be made that all of this was a symptom rather than a cause of the collapse. This was all just a last gasp to keep the stock price propped up as long as possible.
