diff --git a/src/json.hpp.re2c b/src/json.hpp.re2c
index 02cb2855..d6e2744a 100644
--- a/src/json.hpp.re2c
+++ b/src/json.hpp.re2c
@@ -1990,8 +1990,7 @@ class basic_json
     /// serialize to stream
     friend std::ostream& operator>>(const basic_json& j, std::ostream& o)
     {
-        o << j;
-        return o;
+        return o << j;
     }