Here's a thing: the shareholders may very well know not to expect gains in perpetuity, but surely something could be done to boost growth just this last time? Given how much money is at stake, plenty of extreme things can be done before the particular growth source is exhausted. And we all have to suffer the collateral damage.
I think the issue is that shareholders want to see significant year-over-year growth, something that isn't sustainable in the long-term. We're merely being seen as an untapped market than can keep the needle moving for a few more years.
I like capitalism, but I think it's entirely unreasonable for shareholders to expect such gains in perpetuity. After all, there's a finite amount of money that can be extracted from any user. The trendline will inevitably start to level off after a period of time, and I'm frustrated by the fact that this eventuality has negative connotations associated with it.