diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
index f01fa6f736ef..da1183fa105a 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
@@ -343,5 +343,8 @@ int cmd_trace(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix __maybe_unused)
 		return err;
 	}
 
+	if (perf_target__none(&trace.opts.target))
+		trace.opts.target.system_wide = true;
+
 	return trace__run(&trace);
 }