Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015	Oct. 31, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,966,814	$ 1,797,060	$ 1,717,776
Cost of sales	793,735	726,798	626,206
Gross profit	1,173,079	1,070,262	1,091,570
Selling, general and administrative expense	722,798	712,543	683,115
Research and development expense	65,411	69,589	66,259
Amortization of intangibles	60,790	51,459	35,710
Operating income	324,080	236,671	306,486
Interest expense	26,190	18,103	7,965
Other expense, net	2,257	3,083	1,987
Income before income taxes	295,633	215,485	296,534
Provision for income taxes	20,699	10,341	24,705
Net income	274,934	205,144	271,829
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,017	1,621	1,973
Net income attributable to Cooper stockholders	$ 273,917	$ 203,523	$ 269,856
Earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders - basic	$ 5.65	$ 4.20	$ 5.61
Earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders - diluted	$ 5.59	$ 4.14	$ 5.51
Number of shares used to compute earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders:
Basic	48,520	48,452	48,061
Diluted	49,026	49,179	48,960