July 23 (Reuters) - IBM ( IBM ) beat Wall Street

estimates for second-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday,

helped by renewed sales in its mainframe business as artificial

intelligence upgrades spurred demand for the systems, which are

capable of processing vast amounts of data.

Clients have focused on investing in AI infrastructure

expansion as macroeconomic uncertainty and ongoing trade

negotiations prompt businesses to prioritize spending on the

booming technology.

"All of us are still operating in a very dynamic

macroeconomic environment," finance chief Jim Kavanaugh told

Reuters.

Sales of IBM's ( IBM ) latest mainframe - powered by chips

specialized for AI applications - kicked off in June, boosting

second-quarter revenue following a three-year cycle for the

system's previous version.

The Big Blue reported revenue of $16.98 billion for the June

quarter, up nearly 8% from last year and beating the analysts'

average estimate of $16.59 billion, according to data compiled

by LSEG.

The infrastructure segment, which houses its mainframe,

reported revenue of $4.14 billion, beating estimates of $3.81

billion.

IBM ( IBM ) did not provide a forecast for the third quarter, after

it broke tradition in April and issued a one-off quarterly

outlook to give investors more clarity at a time when U.S.

President Donald Trump's global tariffs were first going into

effect.

"That quarterly guidance was really driven by the

unprecedented volatility of the foreign exchange markets and

what we were dealing with 90 days ago," Kavanaugh said.

"What is different over the past 90 days - the FX world is

kind of stabilized ... so we reverted back to our standard

practice."

Sales in the consulting business also grew 3% in the quarter

to $5.31 billion, ending five consecutive quarters of revenue

declines.

Businesses are increasingly turning to IBM's ( IBM ) consulting

business as they seek expertise on integrating AI products and

conducting operations in a rapidly evolving economic

environment.

Its "AI book of business," which combines bookings and

actual sales across various products, grew to $7.5 billion, up

$1.5 billion from the previous quarter.

Second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.80 per share also

beat estimates.