Business Overview and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Business	Business Covetrus, Inc. (“Covetrus,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or “ourselves”) is a global animal health technology and services company dedicated to empowering veterinary practice partners to drive improved health and financial outcomes supporting the companion, equine, and large animal veterinary markets. On February 7, 2019, Henry Schein, Inc. (“Henry Schein”) completed the spin-off of its animal health business (the “Animal Health Business”) to us, transferring applicable assets, liabilities, and ownership interests (the “Separation”). Concurrently, we liquidated the investment of our sole shareholder, paying a cash dividend of $1.2 billion from loan proceeds and a $361 million share sale to institutional accredited investors (the “Share Sale”). The proceeds from the Share Sale were paid to us and distributed to Henry Schein (the “Distribution”). Subsequent to the Share Sale, Henry Schein distributed, on a pro rata basis, all of the shares of our common stock held by Henry Schein to its stockholders of record as of the close of business on January 17, 2019. We then acquired Direct Vet Marketing, Inc. (d/b/a Vets First Choice) (“Vets First Choice”) in an all-stock transaction (the “Acquisition”). Immediately following the Share Sale, Distribution, and Acquisition, on a fully diluted basis, (i) approximately 63% of our outstanding common stock was (a) owned by shareholders of Henry Schein and the Share Sale investors, and (b) in respect of certain equity awards held by certain employees of the Animal Health Business, and (ii) approximately 37% was (a) owned by shareholders of Vets First Choice, and (b) in respect of certain equity awards held by certain employees of Vets First Choice. On February 8, 2019, our common stock began regular-way trading under the symbol “CVET” on the Nasdaq Global Select Stock Market.
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated and combined financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The accompanying consolidated and combined financial statements include all adjustments, which consist of normal recurring adjustments and transactions or events discretely impacting the interim periods, considered necessary by management to fairly state our results of operations, financial positions, and cash flows. The operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any other interim period or for the full year. These consolidated and combined financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited combined financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2018.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported and disclosed in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Changes in circumstances could cause actual results to differ materially from these estimates. The most significant estimates include our evaluation of doubtful accounts receivable, inventory reserves, customer returns, goodwill impairment, self-insurance reserves, supplier rebates, fair value of redeemable non-controlling interests, share-based compensation expense, purchase price allocations, and intangible assets acquired.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation The accompanying unaudited consolidated and combined financial statements include the operations of the Company, as well as those of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries from their respective dates of inception or acquisition. All significant intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation. Investments in unconsolidated affiliates, which are greater than or equal to 20% and less than or equal to 50% owned or investments in unconsolidated affiliates of less than 20% in which we have the ability to influence the operating or financial decisions, are accounted for under the equity method. All 2018 information is presented on a combined basis. The unaudited combined financial statements have been derived from the consolidated financial statements and accounting records of Henry Schein.The unaudited combined financial statements reflect the combined historical results of operations, financial position, and cash flows of the Animal Health Business as they were historically accounted for in conformity with GAAP. The unaudited combined financial statements include the accounts of the Animal Health Business and its controlled subsidiaries. Investments in unconsolidated affiliates, which are greater than or equal to 20% and less than or equal to 50% owned or investments in unconsolidated affiliates of less than 20% in which the Animal Health Business had the ability to influence the operating or financial decisions, were accounted for under the equity method. All intracompany transactions have been eliminated. All intercompany transactions between the Animal Health Business and Henry Schein have been eliminated in these unaudited combined financial statements as such transactions were deemed to not have occurred between us and Henry Schein. The unaudited combined financial statements include expense allocations for: (i) certain corporate functions historically provided by Henry Schein, including accounting, legal, information services, planning, compliance, investor relations, administration and communication, and similar costs; (ii) employee benefits and incentives; and (iii) share-based compensation. These expenses have been allocated to the Animal Health Business on the basis of direct usage when identifiable, with the remainder allocated on a pro rata basis of net sales, headcount, or other measures of the Animal Health Business and Henry Schein. The Animal Health Business believes the bases on which the expenses have been allocated are a reasonable reflection of the utilization of services provided to, or the benefit received by, the Animal Health Business during the periods presented. The allocations may not, however, reflect the actual expenses that the Animal Health Business would have incurred as a stand-alone company for the periods presented. Actual costs that may have been incurred if the Animal Health Business had been a stand-alone company would depend on a number of factors, including the chosen organizational structure, what functions were outsourced or performed by employees, and strategic decisions made in areas such as information technology and infrastructure. Following the Separation, these functions have been performed using our own resources or third-party service providers. For an interim period, however, some of these functions will continue to be provided by Henry Schein under transition services agreements, which are planned to extend for a period of up to 24 months following the closing of the Share Sale and Distribution.
Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year During fiscal year 2018, we operated on a 52-53 week basis ending on the last Saturday of December. For fiscal year 2019, we adopted a last day of the calendar year accounting and operating cycle. We made this change on a prospective basis and did not adjust operating results for periods prior to 2019 as the result was not material.
Accounting Pronouncements Adopted and Recently Issued Accounting Standards	Accounting Pronouncements Adopted On January 1, 2019, we adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)”, which introduces the balance sheet recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous guidance. We adopted the new lease standard using the new transition option issued under the amendments in ASU No. 2018-11, “Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements”, which allowed us to continue to apply the legacy guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 840, “Leases”, in the comparative periods presented in the year of adoption. We elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, which among other things, allowed us to carry forward the historical lease classification. We made an accounting policy election to keep leases with an initial term of 12 months or less off of the balance sheet. We will recognize those lease payments in the Consolidated Statements of Operations on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The impact of the adoption was an increase to our operating lease assets and liabilities on January 1, 2019 of $67 million. The initial recognition of the right-of-use asset and lease liability represented a non-cash activity. See Note 12 - Leases for further information. On January 1, 2019, we adopted FASB ASU No. 2017-04, “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350)” (“ASU 2017-04”). ASU 2017-04 eliminates step two from the goodwill impairment test, thereby eliminating the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of a reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 will require us to perform an annual goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of the reporting units to the carrying value of those units. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, we will be required to recognize an impairment charge; however, the impairment charge should not exceed the amount of goodwill allocated to such reporting unit. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. On January 1, 2019, we adopted FASB ASU No. 2018-02, “Treatment of Stranded Tax Effects in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Resulting From the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017”, which allows the reclassification from accumulated comprehensive income to retained earnings of the income tax effects resulting from the Tax Act. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. On January 1, 2019, we adopted FASB ASU No. 2018-07, “Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (“ASU 2018-07”), which expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. ASU 2018-07 simplifies the accounting for share-based payments to nonemployees by aligning it with the accounting for share-based payments to employees. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. Recently Issued Accounting Standards In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract” (“ASU 2018-15”), which aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). The accounting for the service element of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract is not affected by the amendments in this ASU. ASU 2018-15 is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact of this pronouncement on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Contract Balances	Contract Balances Contract balances represent amounts presented in the consolidated and combined balance sheets when either we have transferred goods or services to the customer or the customer has paid consideration to us under the contract. These contract balances include accounts receivable, contract assets, and contract liabilities. Accounts Receivable The carrying amount of accounts receivable is reduced by an allowance that reflects our best estimate of the amounts that will not be collected. In addition to reviewing delinquent accounts receivable, we consider many factors in estimating our allowance for doubtful accounts including historical data, experience, customer types, credit-worthiness, and economic trends. From time to time, we adjust our assumptions for anticipated changes in any of these or other factors expected to affect collectability. Contract Assets Contract assets include amounts related to any conditional right to consideration for work completed but not billed as of the reporting date and generally represent amounts owed to us by customers, but not yet billed. Contract assets are transferred to Accounts receivable when the right becomes unconditional. Current contract assets are included in Prepaid expenses and other; and non-current contract assets are included in Investments and other within the consolidated and combined balance sheets. The contract assets primarily relate to the bundled arrangements for the sale of equipment and consumables and sales of term software licenses. Current and non-current contract asset balances as of June 30, 2019 and December 29, 2018 were not material. Contract Liabilities Contract liabilities are comprised of advance payments and deferred revenue amounts. Contract liabilities are transferred to revenue once the performance obligation has been satisfied. Current contract liabilities are included in Accrued expenses-other and non-current contract liabilities are included in Other liabilities within the consolidated and combined balance sheets. The contract liabilities primarily relate to advance payments from customers and upfront payments for service arrangements provided over time. At June 30, 2019 and December 29, 2018, the current portion of contract liabilities of $17 million and $18 million, respectively, was reported in Accrued expenses-other. Amounts related to non-current contract liabilities were not material.
Fair Value	The following section describes the valuation methodologies that we used to measure different financial instruments at fair value: Financial assets and liabilities The carrying amounts reported on the consolidated and combined balance sheets for Cash and cash equivalents, Accounts receivable, Other receivables, Accounts payable, and other current liabilities approximate their fair value due to the short maturity of those instruments. Investments in affiliates There are no quoted market prices available for investments in affiliates; however, we believe the carrying amounts are a reasonable estimate of fair value. Long-term debt Our long-term debt is classified as a Level 2 instrument. The carrying amount of the term loan (see Note 11 - Debt) approximates fair value given its recent issuance and the underlying interest rate applied to such amounts outstanding is currently reset to market rate on a monthly basis. Derivative contracts As of June 30, 2019, we had no outstanding derivative contracts. For the year ended December 29, 2018, we had derivative contracts which were deemed to be immaterial. See Note 15 - Subsequent Events for further details on derivatives. Redeemable non-controlling interests Some minority equity owners in certain of our subsidiaries have the right, at certain times, to require us to acquire their ownership interest in those entities at fair value based on third-party valuations. The primary factor affecting the fair value of redeemable non-controlling interests is expected earnings. If such earnings are not achieved, the value of the redeemable non-controlling interests might be impacted. The non-controlling interests subject to put options are adjusted to their estimated redemption amounts each reporting period with a corresponding adjustment to Additional paid-in capital. Reductions in the carrying amounts are subject to a “floor” amount that is equal to the fair value of the redeemable non-controlling interests at the time they were originally recorded. The recorded value of the redeemable non-controlling interests cannot go below the floor level. Redeemable non-controlling interests are classified as Level 3 instruments.