diff --git a/src/Cli/Microsoft.DotNet.Cli.Utils/Command.cs b/src/Cli/Microsoft.DotNet.Cli.Utils/Command.cs
index 37906b1dcc1b..d364a769789e 100644
--- a/src/Cli/Microsoft.DotNet.Cli.Utils/Command.cs
+++ b/src/Cli/Microsoft.DotNet.Cli.Utils/Command.cs
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ public CommandResult Execute(Action<Process>? processStarted)
 
             _process.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
 
-            Stopwatch sw = null;
+            Stopwatch sw = new Stopwatch();
             if (CommandLoggingContext.IsVerbose)
             {
                 sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();