diff --git a/meta/conf/machine/include/arm/arch-arm.inc b/meta/conf/machine/include/arm/arch-arm.inc
index f1e92e19c61..ae661b1ab4f 100644
--- a/meta/conf/machine/include/arm/arch-arm.inc
+++ b/meta/conf/machine/include/arm/arch-arm.inc
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@ TARGET_FPU = "${@d.getVar('TUNE_CCARGS_MFLOAT') or 'soft'}"
 
 # Some -march settings need a +X option passed in.  Since we cannot guarantee that any specified TUNE_CCARGS option is set in any order, we must hard code the order here to allow for it.
 TUNE_CCARGS_MARCH_OPTS ??= ""
-TUNE_CCARGS .= "${TUNE_CCARGS_MARCH}${TUNE_CCARGS_MARCH_OPTS}"
+TUNE_CCARGS .= "${@'${TUNE_CCARGS_MARCH}${TUNE_CCARGS_MARCH_OPTS}' if d.getVar('TUNE_CCARGS_MARCH') else ''}"