Isn’t that a prerequisite for enshitification? Publicly-traded companies are required (by law, I think) to maximize profits for their shareholders, even if that means utterly ruining their original product (Reddit, Boeing, etc.), yes? What do you think?
Short answer: No
Long answer: Look into the phrase “rot economy.” Basically, enshitification starts MUCH earlier in the process than an IPO or a major buy out. It happens because our financial markets value growth, not financial gain. We always here about how companies only worry about the bottom line, but they don’t, actually. They care about demonstrating growth. How do you make growth happen while not worrying about the bottom line? Easy! Operate at a loss on purpose! That way you can capture more of the market in a fiscal year, and then the next year adjust your prices a little bit and operate at slightly less loss and show investors you’ve grown. Those adjustments? That’s enshitification. It all happens from the very first moment when you decide, “We have to capture the market.” That’s not the IPO. That’s the very founding of a business.
We need to instead value sustainable businesses. Ones that have higher revenues than losses. And you’ll notice something VERY interesting about sustainable businesses: They don’t do MASSIVE 3rd quarter layoffs literally every year. Why? Because they don’t have to show the investors that they’ve made a profit, they just need to show they captured more market and then reduced costs