Research in Motion Ltd.'s (RIMM) surprisingly strong results Thursday may give a boost to a few chip makers such as Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL), though its doubtful that RIM's gains mean a stronger market for other suppliers.

Few see the better-than-expected performance of Research in Motion as a sign of a turnaround in handset demand or even a market bottom. Components used specifically in the higher-end smartphone market - RIM's primary customer base - will fare better as that part of the market grows, but analysts says its unclear to what extent RIM's growth is a sign of wider demand or simply increasing market share.

If Research in Motion's results reflect a growing smartphone market, then many suppliers will benefit; but if RIM is simply gaining market share, the benefits to many suppliers will be negligible.

"Let's not get too crazy," Jefferies & Co. analyst Adam Benjamin said about applying Research in Motion's results to a wide swath of wireless device suppliers.

On Thursday, RIM convincingly beat expectations for its fourth-quarter results. The maker of BlackBerry phones made gains by pushing further into the consumer market, and the company said nonbusiness users represented roughly 70% of new subscriptions. Shares were recently up 19% to $58.52.

Marvell has a significant presence across RIM's line of smartphones, and UBS analyst Stephen Chin called RIM's results "generally a positive" for Marvell.

FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger agreed and said the stock could reach $16 as the company benefits from low chip inventories in mobile and opportunities to gain market share in chips used in hard-disk drives.

Still, the stock reacted tepidly to the RIM news. Shares were recently up 1.2% to $9.99.

Even with a strong showing by RIM, investors likely remain hesitant to dive into Marvell and other suppliers based on the results because it's unclear to what extent the phone maker's gains represent the whole smart phone market. Many suppliers sell to a myriad of smart phone makers, so growth by one phone maker at the expense of others would reflect mostly negligible shifts.

For example, mobile chip giant Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) counts RIM as a customer, but also sells to competitors. And smaller niche suppliers, such as Synaptics Inc. (SYNA) provide components to several phone makers.

Qualcomm shares recently fell 25 cents to $41.06, while Synaptics gained 2% to $29.52.

To be sure, smart phones have held up better than the broader handset market, and while expectations have been tempered by the global recession, the market is still expected to grow in 2009.

Companies such as Qualcomm and Marvell will likely fare better than those with greater exposure to struggling phone makers, such as Motorola Inc. (MOT) or Sony Ericsson, the joint venture between Sony Corp. (6758.TO) and L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC).

"Some vendors are very successful because they are tied to a particular phone category or a particular region. And some semiconductor companies are very successful because they are tied to that success," said Jon Erenson, an analyst with research firm Gartner.

-By Jerry A. DiColo; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5670; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com