diff --git a/esphome/core/time.cpp b/esphome/core/time.cpp
index b2f1493e2c..e3db2e3e8d 100644
--- a/esphome/core/time.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/time.cpp
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ void ESPTime::recalc_timestamp_local() {
   }
 
   // Try both interpretations to match libc mktime() with tm_isdst=-1
-  // For ambiguous times (fall-back repeated hour), libc prefers DST
+  // For ambiguous times (fall-back repeated hour), prefer standard time
   // For invalid times (spring-forward skipped hour), libc normalizes forward
   time_t utc_if_dst = this->timestamp + tz.dst_offset_seconds;
   time_t utc_if_std = this->timestamp + tz.std_offset_seconds;
@@ -284,8 +284,8 @@ void ESPTime::recalc_timestamp_local() {
   bool std_valid = !time::is_in_dst(utc_if_std, tz);
 
   if (dst_valid && std_valid) {
-    // Ambiguous time (repeated hour during fall-back) - prefer DST to match libc
-    this->timestamp = utc_if_dst;
+    // Ambiguous time (repeated hour during fall-back) - prefer standard time
+    this->timestamp = utc_if_std;
   } else if (dst_valid) {
     // Only DST interpretation is valid
     this->timestamp = utc_if_dst;
diff --git a/tests/components/time/posix_tz_parser.cpp b/tests/components/time/posix_tz_parser.cpp
index d491597e7d..6a1ca016cf 100644
--- a/tests/components/time/posix_tz_parser.cpp
+++ b/tests/components/time/posix_tz_parser.cpp
@@ -1098,10 +1098,11 @@ TEST(RecalcTimestampLocal, FallBackRepeatedHour) {
   EXPECT_EQ(esp_result, libc_result);
 
   // Test the repeated hour (1:30 AM occurs twice)
-  // Both implementations should resolve this the same way (typically standard time)
-  libc_result = libc_mktime(2026, 11, 1, 1, 30, 0);
+  // libc behavior varies by platform for this edge case, so we verify our
+  // consistent behavior: prefer standard time (later UTC timestamp)
   esp_result = esptime_recalc_local(2026, 11, 1, 1, 30, 0);
-  EXPECT_EQ(esp_result, libc_result);
+  time_t std_interpretation = esptime_recalc_local(2026, 11, 1, 2, 30, 0) - 3600;  // 2:30 CST - 1 hour
+  EXPECT_EQ(esp_result, std_interpretation);
 }
 
 TEST(RecalcTimestampLocal, SouthernHemisphereDST) {