ExxonMobil (XOM) posted second quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations on Friday despite oil prices (CL=F, BZ=F) falling to a new seven-month low. ExxonMobil Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells joins Market Domination to break down the oil and gas company's performance amid the current economic backdrop.

While coming off record highs last year, Mikells notes that this year, price and margins have fallen back to the 10-year range, which she describes as "consistent with a still pretty constructive market overall."

"The work the company has done to improve our underlying earnings power, that's put us in a really good place in terms of just the resiliency of that earnings power through any market environment," she adds. In its second quarter, ExxonMobil saw its earnings increase by nearly $1 billion from its last quarter, which Mikells believes "reflects the decisions that we're making around our portfolio and investments and continuing to drive efficiency across our business."

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods announced that energy demand should rise 15% between 2024 and 2050, and Mikells expects 2024's demand to top the record-high demand seen in 2023. She notes that the demand is driven largely by countries addressing energy poverty, saying, "having low-cost, reliable energy is one of the things that really drives economic growth and pulls people out of poverty." As that demand continues, she anticipates ExxonMobil's refining business to get a boost and the overall industry to address production capacities.

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