COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Intel announced its final financial results for 2024 last week, including updates to its Foundry division, the part of the tech company responsible for central Ohio’s $28 billion dollar semiconductor chip factories.

According to Intel’s financial results, the company was down 2% overall, making $53.1 billion in 2024 compared with its $54.2 billion revenue in 2023. Although the results were not positive, they did beat many fiscal analysts’ predictions for where Intel would land at the end of 2024. These were the first financial results reported since former CEO Pat Gelsinger‘s surprise retirement in early December.

Intel executives Michelle Johnson Holthaus and David Zinsner are serving as co-interim CEOs and said Thursday they did not have any updates in the ongoing search for a new CEO. In their interim roles, the pair said they know Intel Foundry will need to stabilize and improve, but they remain optimistic going forward that they will be able to complete projects like the New Albany plant.

Intel Foundry is the name for Intel’s semiconductor manufacturing business, and it encompasses Ohio’s Intel plant. When Intel’s Ohio project was first announced, company officials said the chip manufacturing facilities could be completed as early as 2025, which will not be met. The project’s timeline was adjusted to finish construction between 2026 and 2027, becoming operational between 2027 and 2028. See previous coverage of the delayed timeline in the video player above.

Holthaus also serves as CEO of Intel Product, which is separate from the Foundry division. She was less optimistic than Zinsner about the future of Intel in the semiconductor industry and said AI will be an attractive market for Intel, but she is not happy with where the company currently stands in the artificial intelligence market.

“Intel Foundry will need to earn my business every day, just as I need to earn the business of my customers,” Holthaus said. “Having said that, I am confident in the Intel Foundry team’s ability to support my current and future product roadmap. And I’m excited to do more business with them as their process technology continues to advance. A stronger Intel Products, combined with a more competitive Intel Foundry, is a recipe for success for Intel overall.”

Zinsner said he has met with Intel Foundry partners and possible customers, and left those conversations with clearer guidance and feeling encouraged. He said the Foundry will have to improve its financials and spend its money wisely. He said the Foundry division hopes to break even by the end of 2027.

“I remain very optimistic on our opportunity at Intel Foundry,” Zinsner said. “The pervasive growth of AI is driving accelerating and unprecedented demand for silicon and there continues to be an unmet need for greater choice and overall manufacturing capacity in the industry today.”

Part of Intel’s funding concerns was a delay in receiving CHIPS Act funding, a federal program providing funds to strengthen American semiconductor manufacturing. A coalition of advocacy groups and interested parties CHIPS Communities United (CCU) had a news conference on Thursday before the financial results debuted. CCU leaders and representatives from four states where Intel will invest CHIPS Act funding spoke out about Intel’s financial troubles, asking for protections to ensure taxpayers don’t end up paying for the difference.

“I am not a financial analyst, but I think it’s a sign your company is in trouble when the stock market reacts positively to reports of a $126 million loss and a third straight quarter of declining revenue,” CCU Coalition Director Judith Barish said. “Our message is the same: The federal government and the state of Ohio have committed billions to the company, despite its well-publicized financial woes. We expect Intel to live up to the commitments it made to taxpayers for those subsidies.”

Intel was first promised CHIPS Act funding in 2022 but was not approved until late 2024 when the U.S. Department of Commerce said it was giving Intel $7.8 billion. Zinsner did confirm Intel has already received $2.2 billion of its CHIPS Act funding, $1.1 billion in December and another $1.1 billion in January.

Eleonora Akopyan with Intel Foundry Communications said progress continues in Ohio, but said Intel has no new updates at this time.