diff --git a/Makefile.pre.in b/Makefile.pre.in
index c9aa13a7a0d..f07c2828229 100644
--- a/Makefile.pre.in
+++ b/Makefile.pre.in
@@ -1595,7 +1595,7 @@ clean: pycremoval
 	-rm -f pybuilddir.txt
 	-rm -f Lib/lib2to3/*Grammar*.pickle
 	-rm -f Programs/_testembed Programs/_freeze_importlib
-	-rm -rf build
+	-find build -type f -a ! -name '*.gc??' -exec rm -f {} ';'
 
 profile-removal:
 	find . -name '*.gc??' -exec rm -f {} ';'
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 816e426bcbf..7c62a15bd83 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ Release date: TBA
 Core and Builtins
 -----------------
 
+- Issue #26307: The profile-opt build now applys PGO to the built-in modules.
+
 - Issue #27812: Properly clear out a generator's frame's backreference to the
   generator to prevent crashes in frame.clear().