CVS Kicks the Habit

By Chris Hill – Feb 5, 2014 at 9:09PM

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CVS is giving up selling cigarettes. The move is progressive, but it leaves billions on the table in lost cigarette sales. Should shareholders be worried?

In this video from Wednesday's Investor Beat, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool analysts Jim Gillies and Bill Barker dig into the biggest business stories of the day for Foolish investors.

CVS (CVS -1.07%) has announced that as of Oct. 1, it will no longer sell cigarettes or related tobacco products. The second-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. does about $2 billion per year in tobacco revenue. While the media is applauding the move, the stock fell slightly today. In the lead story on today's Investor Beat, the guys discuss how big a deal it is that the company is leaving that $2 billion a year on the table from here on, and why they like the move in the long run.

Bill Barker, Chris Hill, Jim Gillies, and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.