diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
index f6e847529073..0b30297b4ecb 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
@@ -5449,6 +5449,10 @@ int cmd_trace(int argc, const char **argv)
 	if (trace.summary_only)
 		trace.summary = trace.summary_only;
 
+	/* Keep exited threads, otherwise information might be lost for summary */
+	if (trace.summary)
+		symbol_conf.keep_exited_threads = true;
+
 	if (output_name != NULL) {
 		err = trace__open_output(&trace, output_name);
 		if (err < 0) {