diff --git a/usr.bin/tail/tail.c b/usr.bin/tail/tail.c
index 874557f105ec..2ed41586d9e9 100644
--- a/usr.bin/tail/tail.c
+++ b/usr.bin/tail/tail.c
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		} else if (fflag) {
 			file.file_name = fn;
 			file.fp = stdin;
+			file.st = sb;
 			follow(&file, style, off);
 		} else {
 			forward(stdin, fn, style, off, &sb);