Earnings Per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net income attributable to Corning Incorporated	$ 337	$ 625	$ 928	$ 774
Series A convertible preferred stock dividend	24	24	73	73
Net income available to common stockholders – basic	313	601	855	701
Net income available to common stockholders – diluted	$ 337	$ 625	$ 928	$ 774
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	775	805	780	824
Effect of dilutive securities:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	897	930	903	948
Basic earnings per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.40	$ 0.75	$ 1.10	$ 0.85
Diluted earnings per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38	$ 0.67	$ 1.03	$ 0.82
Antidilutive potential shares excluded from diluted earnings per common share:
Total	2	1	2	2
Stock Compensation Plan [Member]
Effect of dilutive securities:
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	7	10	8	9
Antidilutive potential shares excluded from diluted earnings per common share:
Total	2	1	2	2
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]
Effect of dilutive securities:
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	115	115	115	115