The S&P Retail Select Industry Index rose more than 1% Thursday morning as shares of Kohl's, Best Buy, and Dollar Tree surged on better-than-expected earnings results. Results suggest the U.S. consumer was stronger than feared in the prior quarter, even as households were battered by a fuel-price shock at the pump, persistent inflation, and softening confidence, which has led to them draining what little savings they have left.As Bloomberg notes, the three chains operate in very different parts of the retail sector, yet all surprised investors to the upside in a sign of strength by US consumers who are facing multiple hurdles. Here are the earnings highlights from this morning:Kohl's comparable sales declined 1.1%, beating the estimated decline of 1.71%Best Buy reported first-quarter sales of $8.9 billion, beating analyst estimates, with comparable sales rising 2%Dollar Tree boosted comparable sales 3.5% in the first quarter, topping estimates, driven by a 4.5% gain in average transactionThe result was a surge in their respective stock prices: With gas prices soaring since the start of the war in Iran, and workers worried about the impact of artificial intelligence amid still elevated inflation, consumer confidence has collapsed. And yet, Americans are still opening their wallets. US data released Thursday showed that consumer spending edged up in April despite accelerated price increases. In fact, spending growth is now drastically outpacing income growth, in a trend that is certainly unsustainable and the only buffer - personal savings - is rapidly being depleted.This is unsustainable: personal spending growth is surging while income growth is collapsing, resulting in an extremely rapid drain of personal savings https://t.co/uXTN4wOKNp pic.twitter.com/d0uujZknU0