PPCCTRLoops transform loops using mtctr/bdnz instructions if loop trip count is known and big enough to compensate for the cost of mtctr.
But if there is a loop exit edge which is known to be frequently taken (by builtin_expect or by PGO), we should not transform the loop to avoid the cost of mtctr instruction. Here is an example of a loop with hot exit edge:
for (unsigned i = 0; i < TripCount; i++) { // do something if (__builtin_expect(check(), 1)) break; // do something }