diff --git a/qom/object.c b/qom/object.c
index 9f7a33139d..a27532a6ba 100644
--- a/qom/object.c
+++ b/qom/object.c
@@ -1167,10 +1167,14 @@ GSList *object_class_get_list_sorted(const char *implements_type,
 Object *object_ref(void *objptr)
 {
     Object *obj = OBJECT(objptr);
+    uint32_t ref;
+
     if (!obj) {
         return NULL;
     }
-    qatomic_inc(&obj->ref);
+    ref = qatomic_fetch_inc(&obj->ref);
+    /* Assert waaay before the integer overflows */
+    g_assert(ref < INT_MAX);
     return obj;
 }