diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/apm/public/components/shared/charts/transaction_distribution_chart/index.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/apm/public/components/shared/charts/transaction_distribution_chart/index.tsx
index 1a1ea13fa45ec0..dcf52cebaeedac 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/apm/public/components/shared/charts/transaction_distribution_chart/index.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/apm/public/components/shared/charts/transaction_distribution_chart/index.tsx
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ export function TransactionDistributionChart({
     Math.max(
       ...flatten(data.map((d) => d.histogram)).map((d) => d.doc_count)
     ) ?? 0;
-  const yTicks = Math.ceil(Math.log10(yMax));
+  const yTicks = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(Math.log10(yMax)));
   const yAxisDomain = {
     min: 0.5,
     max: Math.pow(10, yTicks),