diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractor.java b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractor.java
index 52b6d404a1469..990b441a1df57 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractor.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractor.java
@@ -168,20 +168,24 @@ private InputStream processAggs(Aggregations aggs) throws IOException {
         ));
         aggregationToJsonProcessor.process(aggs);
         ByteArrayOutputStream outputStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
-        final boolean hasAfterKey = afterKey != null && (afterKey.get(context.compositeAggDateHistogramGroupSourceName) instanceof Long);
+        final Long afterKeyTimeBucket = afterKey != null ? (Long)afterKey.get(context.compositeAggDateHistogramGroupSourceName) : null ;
         boolean cancellable = aggregationToJsonProcessor.writeAllDocsCancellable(
             timestamp -> {
                 if (isCancelled) {
                     // If we have not processed a single composite agg page yet and we are cancelled
                     // We should not process anything
-                    if (hasAfterKey == false) {
+                    if (afterKeyTimeBucket == null) {
                         return true;
                     }
+                    // We want to stop processing once a timestamp enters the next time bucket.
+                    // This could occur in any page. One benefit we have is that even though the paging order is not sorted
+                    // by max timestamp, our iteration of the page results is. So, once we cross over to the next bucket within
+                    // a given page, we know the previous bucket has been exhausted.
                     if (nextBucketOnCancel == 0L) {
-                        // If we have been cancelled, record the bucket above our latest timestamp
-                        // This indicates when we have completed the current bucket of this timestamp and thus will move to the next
-                        // date_histogram bucket
-                        nextBucketOnCancel = Intervals.alignToCeil(timestamp, interval);
+                        // This simple equation handles two unique scenarios:
+                        //   If the timestamp is the current floor, this means we need to keep processing until the next timebucket
+                        //   If we are not matching the current bucket floor, then this simply aligns to the next bucket
+                        nextBucketOnCancel = Intervals.alignToFloor(timestamp + interval, interval);
                         LOGGER.debug(() -> new ParameterizedMessage(
                             "[{}] set future timestamp cancel to [{}] via timestamp [{}]",
                             context.jobId,
@@ -200,7 +204,7 @@ private InputStream processAggs(Aggregations aggs) throws IOException {
                     "[{}] cancelled before bucket [{}] on date_histogram page [{}]",
                     context.jobId,
                     nextBucketOnCancel,
-                    hasAfterKey ? afterKey.get(context.compositeAggDateHistogramGroupSourceName) : "__null__"
+                    afterKeyTimeBucket != null ? afterKeyTimeBucket : "__null__"
                 )
             );
             hasNext = false;
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractorTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractorTests.java
index a260466dc199e..910bce059cb77 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractorTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/ml/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/datafeed/extractor/aggregation/CompositeAggregationDataExtractorTests.java
@@ -267,7 +267,6 @@ public void testExtractionCancelOnFirstPage() throws IOException {
         assertThat(extractor.hasNext(), is(false));
     }
 
-    @AwaitsFix(bugUrl = "https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/71212")
     public void testExtractionGivenCancelHalfWay() throws IOException {
         int numBuckets = 10;
         List<CompositeAggregation.Bucket> buckets = new ArrayList<>(numBuckets);