What's going on?

Unilever � the Anglo-Dutch maker of consumer favorites like Ben & Jerry�s ice cream � announced on Tuesday that its half-baked sales growth would leave investors cold.

What does this mean?

As recently as October, Unilever had claimed it�d grow its sales this year by between 3% and 5%. But the company now believes they’ll fall short of even the low end of that forecast. That�d make this quarter�s sales just 1.5% higher than the same time a year ago � its slowest growth in over a decade.

Unilever thinks sales growth will languish below 3% until next summer, at which point it might finally start to pick up. That�d likely be thanks to an uplift in the company�s North American business, which has already shown early signs of improvement.

Why should I care?

For markets: Trade secrets.

Unilever blamed tough markets in West Africa and South Asia: those territories, combined with the Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, make up almost half its revenue. And while some analysts think there might be more to the company�s troubles than meets the eye (which might explain why its stock fell 7%), they�ll have to wait until its full earnings report at the end of January to know for sure. In the meantime, rival Nestl� will likely woo Unilever-less investors by selling off parts of its businesses that don�t cut the mustard.

The bigger picture: Death by 1,000 cuts.

The European stock market has risen about 25% this year, but Unilever might signal the beginning of the end. Some analysts believe current predictions of 9% profit growth for European companies next year are too high, not least because it�s the same growth rate expected from US companies. Given there�s higher economic growth Stateside � as well as ongoing share buybacks, which reduce the number of shares in circulation and therefore boost profit per share � America�s profit growth should exceed Europe�s.