Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Consolidated Statements of Income [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,940	$ 2,747	$ 5,752	$ 5,247
Cost of sales	1,875	1,675	3,588	3,220
Gross margin	1,065	1,072	2,164	2,027
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expenses	414	412	815	913
Research, development and engineering expenses	249	243	498	484
Amortization of purchased intangibles	28	22	57	41
Operating income	374	395	794	589
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	33	31	58	70
Interest income	5	9	12	22
Interest expense	(54)	(43)	(106)	(95)
Translated earnings contract (loss) gain, net (Note 10)	(107)	458	77	(164)
Other (expense) income, net	(35)	14	(44)	(23)
Income before income taxes	216	864	791	399
Provision for income taxes (Note 5)	(124)	(126)	(200)	(250)
Net income attributable to Corning Incorporated	$ 92	$ 738	$ 591	$ 149
Earnings per common share attributable to Corning Incorporated:
Basic (Note 6)	$ 0.09	$ 0.87	$ 0.69	$ 0.12
Diluted (Note 6)	$ 0.09	$ 0.78	$ 0.65	$ 0.12