Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) — CVS Health Corp. beat analyst's third-quarter estimates as prescription drug sales made up for the loss the company suffered after it quit selling tobacco products at its retail pharmacies.

Profit excluding one-time items of $1.15 a share beat by 2 cents the average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue at the front of the store, where CVS previously sold tobacco items, fell 4.5 percent, based on same-store sales.

CVS stopped selling tobacco products and changed its name to CVS Health in September to focus on the medical side of its operations at its 7,700 drugstores. None of its rivals have followed suit on cigarettes, a step the company has said will cost it about $2 billion a year in revenue.

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