diff --git a/R/principal_components.R b/R/principal_components.R
index f07735929..ecacc0d89 100644
--- a/R/principal_components.R
+++ b/R/principal_components.R
@@ -422,6 +422,14 @@ principal_components.data.frame <- function(x,
   } else if (n < 1) {
     n <- 1
   }
+
+  ## TODO: the next if-statement was removed by Dom, but this breaks
+  ## performance code. Need to check, so we for now add this back
+
+  # sanity check - we need at least two factors
+  if (n < 2 && ncol(x) >= 2) {
+    n <- 2
+  }
   n
 }