diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@
 AC_ARG_ENABLE([lcov],
   [AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-lcov],
   [enable lcov testing (default is no)])],
-  [use_lcov=yes],
+  [use_lcov=$enableval],
   [use_lcov=no])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE([glibc-back-compat],