diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f94531b3..193798f8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
     - set_up_before_script
     - tear_down_after_script
 - Fix false negative from `assert_have_been_called_with` with pipes
+- Fix preservation of trailing whitespace in final argument to `data_set`
 
 ## [0.24.0](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/compare/0.23.0...0.24.0) - 2025-09-14
 
diff --git a/src/globals.sh b/src/globals.sh
index d1105b24..67fb23d8 100644
--- a/src/globals.sh
+++ b/src/globals.sh
@@ -128,5 +128,5 @@ function data_set() {
       printf ' %q' "$arg"
     fi
   done
-  printf '\n'
+  printf ' %q\n' ""
 }
diff --git a/src/runner.sh b/src/runner.sh
index 3544e382..2d7cdec1 100755
--- a/src/runner.sh
+++ b/src/runner.sh
@@ -114,7 +114,29 @@ function runner::parse_data_provider_args() {
   local arg
   local encoded_arg
   local -a args=()
-  # Parse args from the input string into an array, respecting quotes and escapes
+
+  # Check for shell metacharacters that would break eval or cause globbing
+  local has_metachar=false
+  if [[ "$input" =~ [^\\][\|\&\;\*] ]] || [[ "$input" =~ ^[\|\&\;\*] ]]; then
+    has_metachar=true
+  fi
+
+  # Try eval first (needed for $'...' from printf '%q'), unless metacharacters present
+  if [[ "$has_metachar" == false ]] && eval "args=($input)" 2>/dev/null && [[ ${#args[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+    # Successfully parsed - remove sentinel if present
+    local last_idx=$((${#args[@]} - 1))
+    if [[ -z "${args[$last_idx]}" ]]; then
+      unset 'args[$last_idx]'
+    fi
+    # Print args and return early
+    for arg in "${args[@]}"; do
+      encoded_arg="$(helper::encode_base64 "${arg}")"
+      printf '%s\n' "$encoded_arg"
+    done
+    return
+  fi
+
+  # Fallback: parse args from the input string into an array, respecting quotes and escapes
   for ((i=0; i<${#input}; i++)); do
     local char="${input:$i:1}"
     if [ "$escaped" = true ]; then
diff --git a/tests/functional/provider_test.sh b/tests/functional/provider_test.sh
index badcf1b4..b80cccc2 100644
--- a/tests/functional/provider_test.sh
+++ b/tests/functional/provider_test.sh
@@ -103,6 +103,20 @@ function provide_value_with_whitespace() {
   data_set "first value" "second value"
 }
 
+# @data_provider provide_value_with_trailing_whitespace
+function test_trailing_whitespace_in_last_value_from_data_provider() {
+  local expected="$1"
+  local actual="$2"
+
+  assert_same "${expected}" "${actual}"
+}
+
+function provide_value_with_trailing_whitespace() {
+  # Each data_set is passed the same value twice (expected, actual) to verify preservation
+  data_set "value " "value "
+  data_set "value    " "value    "
+}
+
 # @data_provider provide_eval_gotchas
 function test_eval_gotchas_from_data_provider() {
   input=$1
diff --git a/tests/unit/helpers_test.sh b/tests/unit/helpers_test.sh
index e836c238..35fa7fb8 100644
--- a/tests/unit/helpers_test.sh
+++ b/tests/unit/helpers_test.sh
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ function test_get_provider_data_array() {
   }
 
   assert_same \
-    "one two three" \
+    "one two three ''" \
     "$(helper::get_provider_data "fake_function_get_provider_data_array" "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")"
 }