diff --git a/src/common/compat.h b/src/common/compat.h
index 6e9ec38f01..e4430c6a51 100644
--- a/src/common/compat.h
+++ b/src/common/compat.h
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ extern INLINE double U64_TO_DBL(uint64_t x) {
 #define ATTR_PURE
 #define ATTR_MALLOC
 #define ATTR_NONNULL(x)
-#define PREDICT(exp, val)
+#define PREDICT(exp, val) (exp)
 #endif
 
 /* ===== String compatibility */