diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-sched.c b/tools/perf/builtin-sched.c
index 13b801496a01..36da451447b5 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-sched.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-sched.c
@@ -1213,13 +1213,15 @@ static int latency_runtime_event(struct perf_sched *sched,
 	const u32 pid	   = perf_sample__intval(sample, "pid");
 	const u64 runtime  = perf_sample__intval(sample, "runtime");
 	struct thread *thread = machine__findnew_thread(machine, -1, pid);
-	struct work_atoms *atoms = thread_atoms_search(&sched->atom_root, thread, &sched->cmp_pid);
+	struct work_atoms *atoms;
 	u64 timestamp = sample->time;
 	int cpu = sample->cpu, err = -1;
 
 	if (thread == NULL)
 		return -1;
 
+	atoms = thread_atoms_search(&sched->atom_root, thread, &sched->cmp_pid);
+
 	/* perf.data is untrusted input — CPU may be absent or corrupted */
 	if (cpu >= MAX_CPUS || cpu < 0) {
 		pr_warning("WARNING: at offset %#" PRIx64 ": out-of-bound sample CPU %d, skipping sample\n",