diff --git a/ghost/email-service/lib/BatchSendingService.js b/ghost/email-service/lib/BatchSendingService.js
index ad65785625..c2c8618776 100644
--- a/ghost/email-service/lib/BatchSendingService.js
+++ b/ghost/email-service/lib/BatchSendingService.js
@@ -380,7 +380,8 @@ class BatchSendingService {
                     // Calculate the target delivery time for the batch
                     const timeRemaining = deadline.getTime() - lastDeliveryTime.getTime();
                     const targetDeliveryDelay = Math.abs(timeRemaining / (queue.length + 1));
-                    const targetDeliveryTime = new Date(Math.min(lastDeliveryTime.getTime() + targetDeliveryDelay, deadline.getTime()));
+                    const calculatedDeliveryTime = lastDeliveryTime.getTime() + targetDeliveryDelay;
+                    const targetDeliveryTime = new Date(Math.min(calculatedDeliveryTime, deadline.getTime()));
                     batchData.deliveryTime = targetDeliveryTime;
                     lastDeliveryTime = targetDeliveryTime;
                 }