Danone rattled food stocks and shares overseas when it lowered its guidance at its annual investor event -- signaling that even as the global recovery takes hold, optimism for a quick return to consumer spending may be misplaced. The company confirmed its target for sales growth of about 4% in the second half of this year but said it expected medium-term annual growth of at least 5%, down from its previous forecast of 8% to 10%. Danone spokeswoman Marie-Liesse Calmejane told Dow Jones Newswires that medium term is about three years.

Many were expecting management to guide to a range of 6% to 8% growth, so it s likely to be a disappointment for the market, Sanford Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood, who has an outperform on the stock, wrote. Shares fell more than 5%, marking the biggest decline on France s CAC 40.

Sure, less growth is clearly a bad thing, but Danone might be pointing at a larger trend in consumer behavior: In addition to cutting out bottled water, yogurt and the other products Danone sells, they may have also changed their behavior. Even as the economy recovers, these new habits will take time to undo. The world at large has gone, and is still going through, a profound transformational phase which will have a long-lasting impact on society and on consumer behavior in specific," Danone's co-chief operating officer Emmanuel Faber said.

This article is an excerpt from our Early Bird markets story, which was originally published the morning of Nov. 19.