March 19 (Reuters) - Accenture beat quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday on strong ​demand for services that help businesses adopt artificial intelligence and ‌move to the cloud, lifting the IT consulting firm's shares more than 3%.

Global consulting firms such as Accenture and Cognizant are seeing robust demand from companies seeking external technology partners to automate complex tasks. ​Cognizant forecast annual revenue above estimates last month.

Acquisitions of fast-growing firms and AI-focused ​assets will account for roughly $5 billion in spending this year, Accenture CEO ⁠Julie Sweet said, as the company leverages its strong finances to scale up.

Accenture has also made the use ​of AI tools and employee contributions to AI‑driven work a formal part of ​performance evaluations, Sweet added.

Investors have been closely watching Accenture's ability to translate the AI boom into profitable growth. In the second quarter, the company reported $22.1 billion in bookings.

“Record bookings ​show that Accenture is being sought out by companies to help them navigate ​the complex new world that puts AI at its heart but there are huge question ‌marks ⁠about how that spend might ebb and flow over the coming year," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

Revenue rose 8.3% to $18.04 billion in the quarter ended February 28, beating estimates of $17.84 billion, according to data ​compiled by LSEG. Profit ​came in at $2.93 ⁠per share, compared with $2.82 per share in the same quarter last year.

The company expects a 1% revenue hit in ​fiscal 2026 from reduced federal spending, though CFO Angie Park ​said the ⁠business should return to growth in the fourth quarter.

Accenture also raised the lower end of its annual revenue growth forecast to 3% from 2%, while keeping the ⁠upper end ​at 5%. But the new forecast was ​below analysts' expectations of 6.1%.

The company said its forecast reflects its best view of the potential impact of the conflict ​in the Middle East.