🆕 Newsmakers — 4:30p ET, 2026-07-29 — new since last alert

📰 NEW MARKET THEMES: • KraneShares: China's AI 'picks and shovels' companies are overlooked Brendan Ahern, CIO of KraneShares, says investors are "not really thinking about China's role as the world's factory" or its role in the AI supply chain and the broader AI investment theme. — youtube.com · 07/29 4:00p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wFkjBvxeJA • Fed Chairman Warsh: Not going to fix inflation with a magic wand Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh discusses the FOMC's decision to leave the target range for Federal Funds Rate unchanged monthly. — youtube.com · 07/29 3:42p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSzvk1gMH8w • Expand Energy: Twin Eagle Acquisition Unlocks Missing Piece Of Gas Marketing Puzzle Expand Energy is rated Strong Buy with a $161/share target, driven by the transformative Twin Eagle merger and robust marketing expansion. The Twin Eagle deal brings $200mm EBITDA, $750mm free cash flow, a 3 Bcf/d pipeline, and 44 Bcf storage, enabling EXE to exploit regional ga… — seekingalpha.com · 07/29 3:41p https://seekingalpha.com/article/4927168-expand-energy-twin-eagle-acquisition-unlocks-missing-piece-of-gas-marketing-puzzle • 4 Takeaways From the Federal Reserve Meeting Fed officials held interest rates steady, but they have splintered over how to fight inflation. — nytimes.com · 07/29 3:41p https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/business/economy/fed-meeting-interest-rates-takeaways.html

📈 NEW GAINERS:

1. VRRM +22% $5.10 (775M cap) VRRM DEADLINE: ROSEN, A RANKED AND LEADING LAW FIRM, Encourages Verra Mobility Corporation Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important August 4 Deadline in Securities Class Action - VRRM New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 29, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Verra Mobility Corporation (NASDAQ: VRRM) between February 24, 2026 and May 26, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the impor… — newsfilecorp.com · 07/29 3:37p https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/307170/VRRM-DEADLINE-ROSEN-A-RANKED-AND-LEADING-LAW-FIRM-Encourages-Verra-Mobility-Corporation-Investors-to-Secure-Counsel-Before-Important-August-4-Deadline-in-Securities-Class-Action-VRRM

2. LAD +19% $427.48 (9.7B cap) Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript — seekingalpha.com · 07/29 4:03p https://seekingalpha.com/article/4927055-lithia-motors-inc-lad-q2-2026-earnings-call-transcript

3. BLKB +17% $42.18 (1.9B cap) Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript — seekingalpha.com · 07/29 4:03p https://seekingalpha.com/article/4927224-blackbaud-inc-blkb-q2-2026-earnings-call-transcript

4. EDU +15% $58.58 (9.3B cap) New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript — seekingalpha.com · 07/29 1:33p https://seekingalpha.com/article/4927124-new-oriental-education-and-technology-group-inc-edu-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript

5. SCL +14% $66.14 (1.5B cap) Stepan Co. (SCL) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates Stepan Co. (SCL) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.18 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.61 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.52 per share a year ago. — zacks.com · 07/29 9:31a https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2962821/stepan-co-scl-surpasses-q2-earnings-and-revenue-estimates?cid=CS-STOCKNEWSAPI-FT-tale_of_the_tape|yseop_template_4-2962821

— new items only (already-sent headlines filtered). Full list in the 10am/3pm digest.