Poll Positions

Good morning! Holding out hop: Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, better known as Raygun, has announced her retirement from competitive breaking, following the viral response to her move-busting performance at the [Paris Olympics](. Today we’re exploring: - Poll positions: Early figures suggest turnout dropped this election. - Glammed up: e.l.f. continues to grow whilst the rest of the beauty world struggles. - Track record: “Greatest hits” album sales are declining in the streaming era. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you!   Despite a lot of talk on both sides about the magnitude of this election, it appears that some Americans didn’t feel quite as compelled to get out and vote on Tuesday… at least compared to the 2020 race between Trump and Biden. According to preliminary estimates from the University of Florida’s [Election Lab](, based on projections from state reports on election night, the turnout rate among eligible voters in the US looks to have dropped from the 100+ year high point of 66.4% in 2020 to 62.2% this year, at the time of writing. It’s important to note that votes are still being counted across the country, but if that figure holds true, it would still be the second-highest turnout rate in over 50 years, according to Election Lab data. Even after America’s turnout upturn in recent elections, it still lags behind other nations around the world: according to a study from Pew Research [in 2022](, the US’s voting-age population turnout ranked 31st out of the 50 countries that were analyzed. [Read this on the web instead](   e.l.f. Beauty, a makeup brand beloved by Gen Z and cost-conscious consumers alike, has now posted net sales growth for 23 quarters in a row, while revenues in the wider cosmetic industry — even at some of the biggest names in the game — [continue to slow](. In its most recent report, the Californian company revealed that net revenues soared 40% year-over-year to reach $301 million, and smashed Wall Street [expectations]( on earnings per share, too. Perhaps most interesting, however, was e.l.f.’s stunning 91% growth in international sales — a pain point for other beauty retailers, dragged down by waning demand, [particularly in China](. When compared to Estée Lauder, shares of which saw the biggest single-day drop on record [last week](, e.l.f.’s growth looks positively glowing. Estée Lauder’s sales fell 4% in the most recent quarter, as cheaper local competitors take a bigger slice of sales in China, once its biggest market. Dupe that Despite e.l.f being into its 20th year, the beauty brand has seen revenues really take off over the last 3 years, as their low-cost “dupes” and alternatives to some of the biggest products on the market work their way into young customers’ makeup bags. Though Gen Z’s penchant for all things e.l.f. is well known — the company routinely tops the cosmetic category of Piper Sandler’s [Taking Stock With Teens Survey]( — CEO Tarang Amin recently touted the company’s “multi-generational appeal”, revealing that it’s now also the most purchased brand amongst Gen Alpha and millennials. Ultimately, e.l.f.’s response to a shrinking beauty industry is simple: “[dupe that](” and make it affordable. It seems to be working. [Read this on the web instead](   There are hits; there are great hits; then there are, for prolific pop stars, Greatest Hits (see also: [greatest Greatest Hits](). However, in the streaming era, the algorithm’s intent to feed us what we want, when we want, might have made the whole concept feel a little off-beat for audiophiles. Per Luminate data cited in a recent [Bloomberg article](, sales of artist compilation albums — including chartbusting LPs like ABBA Gold (1992), The Beatles: 1 (2000), and the Eagles’ 1971-75 greatest hits collection, still America’s [best-selling album]( of all time — have plummeted in recent years, as streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have transformed the way we consume our favorite songs. Indeed, purchases of “greatest hits” compilation albums (of those that appeared in the top 200 list of albums sold each year) slumped to 1.34 million in the US in 2023. To put that into perspective, that’s a 54% sales decline from just two years ago, having slipped by 2.41 million units since 2011 — the post-2010 peak for artists’ choicest offerings. Greatest hits albums could be yet another victim of the algo-driven shift in the music industry. Thanks to streaming, listeners no longer have to buy physical versions to hear an artist’s best work all in one place (as they did in the CD or [vinyl days](), and they’re also presented with auto-generated playlists of a musician’s entire discography, often ordered by individual preferences. Today, buying an artist’s crème-de-la-crème collection is maybe more for die-hard fans than casual listeners. As such, the collector’s item prestige attached to greatest hits albums now comes with a premium price tag: for example, the latest [4-LP ABBA singles album](, released just last month, is currently retailing for almost $140. [Read this on the web instead](   More Data - Too hot to handle: This year is ‘virtually certain’ to be the [hottest on record](, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, with temperatures expected to be more than 1.5C (2.7F) warmer than pre-industrial levels. - Tourists visiting Rome’s [Trevi Fountain](, which generates about ~$1.6 million every year from coin-tossing, will have to make their wishes into a plywood box whilst the attraction is drained for maintenance. - “Hoary Potter”, a hoary bat from Oregon, is the third consecutive bat from the Beaver State to win the [annual bat beauty pageant]( put on by the Bureau of Land Management. - Missouri loves (betting) companies… Gambling on [sports games]( and fixtures will soon be legal in the state, and is expected to bring up to $28.9 million in tax revenue each year. - The Australian government has proposed a [ban]( on social media, including Instagram and TikTok, for children under 16.   Hi-Viz - Have we reached peak music stardom? [Stat Significant]( sifts through data to see if we are going to have another ABBA moment anytime soon. Off the charts: Which Netflix smash hit will return for its [fifth and final season]( next year? [Answer below]. [Answer here.](   Thanks for stopping by! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi, I like the newsletters, but I had a thought for you...) or want to [sponsor this newsletter](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com?subject=I’m interested in advertising with Sherwood Media)?   Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe](   [X]( [Instagram]( [Chartr Logo]( Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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