diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-stat.c b/tools/perf/builtin-stat.c
index 80aea49e4dac..87eebf3f55ae 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-stat.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-stat.c
@@ -815,10 +815,8 @@ try_again_reset:
 			psignal(WTERMSIG(status), argv[0]);
 	} else {
 		enable_counters();
-		while (!done) {
+		while (!done && is_target_alive(&target, evsel_list->core.threads)) {
 			nanosleep(&ts, NULL);
-			if (!is_target_alive(&target, evsel_list->core.threads))
-				break;
 			if (timeout || handle_interval(interval, &times))
 				break;
 		}