diff --git a/scripts/ci-run-timings.mjs b/scripts/ci-run-timings.mjs
index 10b9af30455..eb701665150 100644
--- a/scripts/ci-run-timings.mjs
+++ b/scripts/ci-run-timings.mjs
@@ -127,6 +127,9 @@ function collectRunTimingContext(run) {
  */
 export function summarizeRunTimings(run, limit = 15) {
   const { created, jobs, updated } = collectRunTimingContext(run);
+  if (jobs.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error("CI run timing summary requires at least one job");
+  }
   const byDuration = [...jobs]
     .filter((job) => job.durationSeconds !== null)
     .toSorted((left, right) => right.durationSeconds - left.durationSeconds)
@@ -312,6 +315,9 @@ function loadRun(runId) {
 
 function summarizeJobs(run) {
   const { created, jobs, updated } = collectRunTimingContext(run);
+  if (jobs.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error("CI run timing summary requires at least one job");
+  }
   const completedJobs = jobs.filter((job) => job.started !== null && job.completed !== null);
   const successfulDurations = jobs
     .filter((job) => job.status === "completed" && job.conclusion === "success")
diff --git a/test/scripts/ci-run-timings.test.ts b/test/scripts/ci-run-timings.test.ts
index deca4f99f2f..5d4942f801f 100644
--- a/test/scripts/ci-run-timings.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/ci-run-timings.test.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,18 @@ describe("scripts/ci-run-timings.mjs", () => {
     ]);
   });
 
+  it("rejects empty CI job payloads instead of printing empty timing evidence", () => {
+    expect(() =>
+      summarizeRunTimings({
+        conclusion: "success",
+        createdAt: "2026-04-22T10:00:00Z",
+        jobs: [],
+        status: "completed",
+        updatedAt: "2026-04-22T10:01:30Z",
+      }),
+    ).toThrow("CI run timing summary requires at least one job");
+  });
+
   it("selects the push CI run for the current main SHA", () => {
     expect(
       selectLatestMainPushCiRun(