Walmart just lost $20 billion of market value in under 20 minutes

Shares dropped as much as 9.9 percent to $60.12, hitting a three-year low, and putting the stock on course for its worst trading day in roughly 15 years.

The company’s chief financial officer, Charles Holley, who announced plans last week to retire at the end of December, said the company’s program to raise hourly wages accounted for 75 per cent of the lowered earnings target.

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Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, issued a profits warning on Tuesday and cut its sales outlook for 2015 as it works to fend off intensifying competition and perk up stores with better customer service.

Wal-Mart suffered billions of dollars erosion in market value following the lower forecast in earnings pulling the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 157 points or one percent drop. Ahead of Wednesday’s plunge, shares were down 22 percent for the year.

The retail sector and broader markets were also dropping. “Our investments in our people, our stores and our digital capabilities and e-commerce business are the right ones”, said Doug McMillon, Walmart president and CEO.

But the biggest headlines that came out of the investor day were about the shares tumble of more than $6, which was its largest single-day price decline. The company said it retired the rest of the $8.6 billion reaming for its repurchase authorization for 2013. For a comparison to past guidance, Wal-Mart indicated earlier this year that net sales growth would likely be between 1% and 2%.

Wal-Mart has been investing in its workforce and e-commerce business to reignite stagnant sales growth. Previously, the company predicted sales growth of 1% to 2%. However, the group is slowing down the rate of physical store openings, saying it plans to open just 85-95 Neighborhood Markets outlets in the year ending January 2017, compared to the 160-170 stores planned for the current fiscal year.

McMillon also said that he was willing to close stores that were underperforming, as well as sell assets, prompting speculation over a potential sale of businesses, like Sam’s Club, whose performance has lagged. What will be profitability of Wal-Mart, if its revenues don’t grow at four percent? The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company also authorized $20 billion in stock buybacks over the next two years.