diff --git a/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/stream/JsonReader.java b/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/stream/JsonReader.java
index 5a213efc18..83186a1a42 100644
--- a/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/stream/JsonReader.java
+++ b/gson/src/main/java/com/google/gson/stream/JsonReader.java
@@ -1177,7 +1177,7 @@ private String nextUnquotedValue() throws IOException {
     }
 
     String result =
-        (null == builder) ? new String(buffer, pos, i) : builder.append(buffer, pos, i).toString();
+        (builder == null) ? new String(buffer, pos, i) : builder.append(buffer, pos, i).toString();
     pos += i;
     return result;
   }