diff --git a/src/sysctl.c b/src/sysctl.c
index 09c0a6a6152..76ce9d86406 100644
--- a/src/sysctl.c
+++ b/src/sysctl.c
@@ -138,7 +138,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         else {
                 char **files, **f;
 
-                apply_file("/etc/sysctl.conf", true);
 
                 r = conf_files_list(&files, ".conf",
                                     "/run/sysctl.d",
@@ -160,6 +159,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                                 r = k;
                 }
 
+                apply_file("/etc/sysctl.conf", true);
+
                 strv_free(files);
         }
 finish: