When Kohl’s Corp. on Monday announced it was getting a new chief executive next year, investors got suspicious. On Tuesday, the department-store chain confirmed those suspicions, reporting results that missed expectations and sending shares sharply lower.

Photo: Kohl’s surprise CEO departure announcement a day before its quarterly results will play on the minds of investors, who were looking out for a positive forecast from the struggling department store chain ahead of the key holiday shopping season.

Kohl's on Tuesday forecast a bigger drop in annual sales than previously expected, a sign the department-store chain is struggling to draw in shoppers as it navigates a CEO change ahead of a deal-heavy holiday shopping season.

KEY TAKEAWAYS Kohl's stock is plummeting 17% in premarket trading after it reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings Tuesday, the day after it announced that CEO Tom Kingsbury would stepping down after less than two years running the struggling retailer.