diff --git a/Project.toml b/Project.toml
index ffd0ef9..a7a81f1 100644
--- a/Project.toml
+++ b/Project.toml
@@ -8,4 +8,4 @@ Printf = "de0858da-6303-5e67-8744-51eddeeeb8d7"
 
 [compat]
 PrettyTables = "2"
-julia = "1"
+julia = "1.8"
diff --git a/src/LinuxPerf.jl b/src/LinuxPerf.jl
index 3f37499..af9f044 100644
--- a/src/LinuxPerf.jl
+++ b/src/LinuxPerf.jl
@@ -1139,11 +1139,10 @@ macro pstats(args...)
             bench = make_bench_threaded(groups, threads = $(opts.threads))
             try
                 enable_all!()
-                val = $(esc(expr))
+                Base.donotdelete($(esc(expr)))
                 disable_all!()
                 # trick the compiler not to eliminate the code
-                stats = rand() < 0 ? val : Stats(bench)
-                return stats::Stats
+                return Stats(bench)::Stats
             catch
                 rethrow()
             finally