diff --git a/drivers/cpuidle/dt_idle_states.c b/drivers/cpuidle/dt_idle_states.c
index 252f2a9686a6..448bc796b0b4 100644
--- a/drivers/cpuidle/dt_idle_states.c
+++ b/drivers/cpuidle/dt_idle_states.c
@@ -223,6 +223,6 @@ int dt_init_idle_driver(struct cpuidle_driver *drv,
 	 * also be 0 on platforms with missing DT idle states or legacy DT
 	 * configuration predating the DT idle states bindings.
 	 */
-	return i;
+	return state_idx - start_idx;
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(dt_init_idle_driver);