diff --git a/Source/cmNinjaTargetGenerator.cxx b/Source/cmNinjaTargetGenerator.cxx
index 1f7aaafbd1..016705e1cf 100644
--- a/Source/cmNinjaTargetGenerator.cxx
+++ b/Source/cmNinjaTargetGenerator.cxx
@@ -1023,6 +1023,15 @@ void cmNinjaTargetGenerator::WriteObjectBuildStatements(
     }
   }
 
+  {
+    // Ensure that the object directory exists. If there are no objects in the
+    // target (e.g., an empty `OBJECT` library), the directory is still listed
+    // as an order-only depends in the build files. Alternate `ninja`
+    // implementations may not allow this (such as `samu`). See #25526.
+    auto const objectDir = this->GetObjectFileDir(config);
+    this->EnsureDirectoryExists(objectDir);
+  }
+
   {
     cmNinjaBuild build("phony");
     build.Comment =