diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-kmem.c b/tools/perf/builtin-kmem.c
index e628bf1..fe3fcb7 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-kmem.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-kmem.c
@@ -906,6 +906,7 @@
 				struct perf_evsel *evsel,
 				struct machine *machine)
 {
+	int err = 0;
 	struct thread *thread = machine__findnew_thread(machine, sample->pid,
 							sample->tid);
 
@@ -919,10 +920,12 @@
 
 	if (evsel->handler != NULL) {
 		tracepoint_handler f = evsel->handler;
-		return f(evsel, sample);
+		err = f(evsel, sample);
 	}
 
-	return 0;
+	thread__put(thread);
+
+	return err;
 }
 
 static struct perf_tool perf_kmem = {