Feb 4 (Reuters) - Cencora COR.N on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit, as the drug distributor rode the wave of sustained demand for specialty medicines and GLP-1 therapies.

Cencora is capitalizing on surging demand for high-cost specialty drugs treating rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, which are generating strong margins.

The company in November said it would invest $1 billion to expand its U.S. network, responding to the Trump administration's onshoring push to encourage localized operations and reduce dependence on overseas hubs.

Cencora said it completed its $5 billion acquisition of OneOncology, which it bought from private investment firm TPG TPG.O in December, deepening its presence in cancer care networks.

The company updated its fiscal 2026 forecast to reflect the completion of its acquisition of OneOncology, raising adjusted operating income growth expectations to 11.5% to 13.5% from a previous range of 8% to 10%.

It recorded quarterly revenue of $85.93 billion, falling short of expectations of $86.03 billion. The company's shares were down 5% in premarket trading.

Cencora also reaffirmed its full-year adjusted profit forecast of $17.45 to $17.75 per share. Analysts were expecting $17.61, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Sales at Cencora's U.S. healthcare solutions unit, its biggest revenue driver, rose 5% year-over-year to $76.2 billion, in the quarter ended December 31, buoyed by strong prescription volumes of GLP-1 class weight-loss and diabetes drugs, as well as higher sales of specialty medicines.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $4.08 per share for the quarter, narrowly beating analysts' estimate of $4.04 per share.

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com;))