On Wednesday, teen apparel retailer Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) reported a huge rise in third-quarter net profits. The company said it earned $62.6 million, or 92 cents per share, in the third quarter. That is 47% better than the third quarter one year ago. The quarterly profit also bested consensus Wall Street estimates for earnings of 91 cents per share.

Now, with a quarterly beat like the one Aeropostale delivered, Wall Street should be stepping up and buying the stock, right? Unfortunately for ARO shareholders, the opposite was true because when it comes to retailers, it’s not about what you did last quarter, but what you’re going to do next quarter.

The company said it expects earnings in the all-important holiday fourth quarter to range from $1.20 to $1.24 per share. That wasn’t a very fashionable move in traders’ eyes, especially considering they were hoping numbers would come in at a minimum of $1.22 in the fourth quarter. The potential for a big earnings miss caused traders to head for the proverbial hills in Wednesday’s after-hours session, as ARO shares sank nearly 8% following the downbeat outlook.

Traders are a fickle bunch, but here they probably have good reason to be. Nobody wants to own shares of a retailer who is going to miss estimates in the most important quarter of the year. Moreover, ARO shares have soared over the past 12 months, and any hint of negative news is going to spark the flames of profit taking.

Expect to see more profit taking in the shares going forward, and if you’re thinking about ARO shares here, you might want to shop at another store.

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