This research examines the impact of three earnings management mechanisms (accrual, real, and classification shifting) on a company's profitability as a key accounting and financial indicator of company's performance. Additionally, this research attempts to explore the nature of earnings management mechanisms usage by classifying them into complementarily or substitutionally. Using a sample of 146 Egyptian listed firms in the Egyptian Stock Exchange and 89 Jordanian listed firms in the Amman Stock Exchange is used for a period of six years from 2014 to 2019. The results of Egyptian firms support the complementary usage of earnings management mechanisms. These findings indicate that companies may mix and match some earnings management mechanisms to attain the most effect on their profitability, that is evident among Egyptian companies. Alternatively, the results of Jordanian companies support the notion that managers may elect or employ the most profitable earnings mechanism, or mechanism with the highest preferable effect on the financial performance. Thus, managers should abridge their excessive usage of earnings mechanisms within the flexibility of the applicable accounting standards to avoid any future penalties. Besides, regulators should work on the accounting gaps that facilitate such excessive usage of earnings mechanisms, particularly in the countries that do not fully adopt IFRS.