Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands, shares in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2017	Jan. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 499,100	$ 449,600
Cost of sales	186,700	187,600
Gross profit	312,400	262,000
Selling, general and administrative expense	188,600	173,600
Research and development expense	16,300	14,800
Amortization of intangibles	16,800	16,200
Operating income	90,700	57,400
Interest expense	7,300	5,300
Other expense, net	3,300	1,400
Income before income taxes	80,100	50,700
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	4,300	(1,000)
Net income	75,800	51,700
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	300
Net income attributable to Cooper stockholders	$ 75,800	$ 51,400
Earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.55	$ 1.06
Earnings per share attributable to Cooper stockholders - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.53	$ 1.05
Number of shares used to compute earnings per share:
Basic (shares)	48.8	48.3
Diluted (shares)	49.4	48.8