May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. drug distributor Cencora ( COR ) raised its annual profit

forecast on Wednesday, driven by robust demand for costly specialty medicines and weight-loss

drugs.

The company now expects its annual adjusted profit to be between $15.70 and $15.95 per

share, up from its previous expectation of $15.30 to $15.60 per share. Analysts, on average,

were expecting a profit of $15.46 per share, as per data compiled by LSEG.

The increasing U.S. demand for high-margin medicines that treat complex conditions, such

as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, has prompted Cencora ( COR ) and its peers Cardinal Health ( CAH )

and McKesson to expand their footprint in the sector.

Sales at Cencora's ( COR ) U.S. healthcare business, its largest revenue-generating unit, reached

$68.3 billion in the second quarter - an increase of 11.4% from a year earlier.

The company said the growth was driven by heightened sales of GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and

weight loss, along with strong sales of specialty medicines.

GLP-1 drugs, such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Zepbound,

boost sales for drug distributors but are less profitable for them due to higher storage and

transportation costs.

Cencora ( COR ) reported a second-quarter profit of $4.42 per share, beating analysts' estimates of

$4.11 per share. Total quarterly sales were $75.5 billion during the quarter, slightly below the

estimates of $75.68 billion.

Peer Cardinal Health ( CAH ) last week forecast double-digit growth in earnings for the

fiscal year 2026, despite expecting a hit of $200 million to $300 million due to "extreme tariff

rates."