diff --git a/src/lisp.h b/src/lisp.h
index 370c8effa48..babfe3ee4a5 100644
--- a/src/lisp.h
+++ b/src/lisp.h
@@ -1316,7 +1316,7 @@ EQ (Lisp_Object x, Lisp_Object y)
 {
   if (BASE_EQ (x, y))
     return true;
-  else if (!__builtin_expect (symbols_with_pos_enabled, false))
+  else if (likely (symbols_with_pos_enabled == false))
     return false;
   else
     return slow_eq (x, y);