diff --git a/common/xbps-src/shutils/bulk.sh b/common/xbps-src/shutils/bulk.sh
index ff02d555a13..0e0e5b88308 100644
--- a/common/xbps-src/shutils/bulk.sh
+++ b/common/xbps-src/shutils/bulk.sh
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ bulk_update() {
     local args="$1" pkgs f
 
     pkgs="$(bulk_build ${args})"
+    if [ -z "$pkgs" ]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
     msg_normal "xbps-src: the following packages must be rebuilt and updated:\n"
     for f in ${pkgs}; do
         echo "   $f"