Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Consolidated Statements of Income [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,934	$ 3,008	$ 8,686	$ 8,255
Cost of sales	1,917	1,776	5,505	4,996
Gross margin	1,017	1,232	3,181	3,259
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expenses	369	439	1,184	1,352
Research, development and engineering expenses	255	244	753	728
Amortization of purchased intangibles	28	27	85	68
Operating income	365	522	1,159	1,111
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	23	32	81	102
Interest income	4	7	16	29
Interest expense	(55)	(45)	(161)	(140)
Translated earnings contract gain, net (Note 11)	86	230	163	66
Other (expense) income, net	(15)	12	(59)	(11)
Income before income taxes	408	758	1,199	1,157
Provision for income taxes (Note 5)	(71)	(133)	(271)	(383)
Net income attributable to Corning Incorporated	$ 337	$ 625	$ 928	$ 774
Earnings per common share attributable to Corning Incorporated:
Basic (Note 6)	$ 0.40	$ 0.75	$ 1.10	$ 0.85
Diluted (Note 6)	$ 0.38	$ 0.67	$ 1.03	$ 0.82