Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 03, 2016	Nov. 28, 2015	Nov. 29, 2014
Net revenue	$ 2,094,605	$ 2,083,660	$ 2,104,454
Cost of sales	(1,484,802)	(1,515,617)	(1,571,164)
Gross profit	609,803	568,043	533,290
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(407,638)	(397,558)	(383,449)
Special charges, net	168	(4,654)	(51,501)
Other (expense) income, net	7,549	2,465	(716)
Interest expense	(27,359)	(25,021)	(19,744)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and income from equity method investments	167,425	138,345	79,312
Income taxes	(50,436)	(55,855)	(34,348)
Income from equity method investments	7,393	5,907	5,187
Income from continuing operations	124,382	88,397	50,151
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent		(1,300)
Net income including non-controlling interests	124,382	87,097	50,151
Net income attributable to non-controlling interests	(254)	(417)	(378)
Net income attributable to H.B. Fuller	$ 124,128	$ 86,680	$ 49,773
Earnings per share attributable to H.B. Fuller common stockholders:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 2.48	$ 1.75	$ 1
Loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)		(0.03)
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	2.48	1.72	1
Diluted Income per share (in dollars per share)	2.42	1.71	0.97
Loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)		(0.03)
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 2.42	$ 1.69	$ 0.97
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	50,136	50,274	50,006
Diluted (in shares)	51,270	51,393	51,255
Dividends declared per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.55	$ 0.51	$ 0.46