diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-help.c b/tools/perf/builtin-help.c
index 96c1a4cfbbbf6b1f639d91d562c55b09da5c7e6f..f4dd2b48f90fcd6d42fe7981c97de72a41bf6154 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-help.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-help.c
@@ -86,8 +86,7 @@ static int check_emacsclient_version(void)
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	strbuf_remove(&buffer, 0, strlen("emacsclient"));
-	version = atoi(buffer.buf);
+	version = atoi(buffer.buf + strlen("emacsclient"));
 
 	if (version < 22) {
 		fprintf(stderr,