A computer system may recognize a busy-wait loop in program instructions at compile time and/or may recognize busy-wait looping behavior during execution of program instructions. The system may recognize that an exit condition for a busy-wait loop is specified by a conditional branch type instruction in the program instructions. In response to identifying the loop and the conditional branch type instruction that specifies its exit condition, the system may influence or override a prediction made by a dynamic branch predictor, resulting in a prediction that the exit condition will be met and that the loop will be exited regardless of any observed branch behavior for the conditional branch type instruction. The looping instructions may implement waiting for an inter-thread communication event to occur or for a lock to become available. When the exit condition is met, the loop may be exited without incurring a misprediction delay.