diff --git a/src/modules-load/modules-load.c b/src/modules-load/modules-load.c
index 06e1a8cc84..0e4dca4997 100644
--- a/src/modules-load/modules-load.c
+++ b/src/modules-load/modules-load.c
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ static int load_module(struct kmod_ctx *ctx, const char *m) {
 
         if (!modlist) {
                 log_error("Failed to find module '%s'", m);
-                return r;
+                return -ENOENT;
         }
 
         kmod_list_foreach(itr, modlist) {