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The people "who have nothing to do with the company" are the ones who buy or sell the stock, and end up dictating what the price action would be post earnings call.

So you're technically correct, but it doesn't change the fact that the estimates done by analysts materially influence stock performance.

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In the United States, the research arm of banks are explicitly forbidden from working with the investment arms. So they are not the same people.

That makes no sense

The idea is aligning profit motive of investment with profit motive of selling analysis makes it too tempting to engage in price manipulation.

Sure - but the point is that it is an indication of their sentiment, rather than anything to do with the running of the company.

I.e. it’s a reflection of their position, not Apple’s.

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