Acquisitions (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares		Sep. 28, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares		Jun. 29, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares		Mar. 30, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares		Sep. 29, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares		Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares		Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) Acquisitions $ / shares		Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) Acquisitions $ / shares
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 2,061,322	[1]							$ 2,624,690	[2]							$ 2,061,322	[1]	$ 2,624,690	[2]	$ 2,470,047	[2]
Payments to acquire businesses, net of cash acquired																	0		331,563		3,628
Sales	7,338,190		$ 7,078,118		$ 7,344,548		$ 7,155,991		7,918,182		$ 7,490,445		$ 7,392,528		$ 6,875,613		28,916,847	[3]	29,676,768	[3]	26,554,563	[3]
Net income (loss) attributable to shareholders	$ 112,013	[4]	$ 92,131	[5]	$ (548,966)	[6]	$ 140,735		$ 230,653	[4]	$ 176,533		$ 169,915		$ 139,094		$ (204,087)		$ 716,195		$ 402,176
Earnings Per Share, Basic | $ / shares	$ 1.37	[7]	$ 1.11	[7]	$ (6.48)	[7]	$ 1.65	[7]	$ 2.66	[7]	$ 2.02	[7]	$ 1.94	[7]	$ 1.58	[7]	$ (2.44)		$ 8.19		$ 4.54
Earnings Per Share, Diluted | $ / shares	$ 1.36	[7]	$ 1.10	[7]	$ (6.48)	[7]	$ 1.63	[7]	$ 2.63	[7]	$ 1.99	[7]	$ 1.92	[7]	$ 1.56	[7]	$ (2.44)	[8]	$ 8.10	[8]	$ 4.48	[8]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Revenue																					$ 26,712,335
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Net Income (Loss)																					$ 405,966
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Earnings Per Share, Diluted | $ / shares																					$ 4.52
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Earnings Per Share, Basic | $ / shares																					$ 4.58
e-Infochips [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																			$ 327,628
Cash Acquired from Acquisition																			14,769
Business Combination, Pro Forma Information, Revenue of Acquiree since Acquisition Date, Actual																			89,139
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets, Receivables									$ 13,670										13,670
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Inventory									1,512										1,512
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Property, Plant, and Equipment									3,485										3,485
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Assets, Other									46,488										46,488
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets									128,000										128,000
Goodwill									197,126										197,126
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities, Accounts Payable									(520)										(520)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Current Liabilities, Other									(33,836)										(33,836)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Deferred Tax Liabilities									(41,474)										(41,474)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities									(1,592)										(1,592)
Payments to acquire businesses, net of cash acquired																			312,859
Series of Individually Immaterial Business Acquisitions [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payments to acquire businesses, net of cash acquired																			$ 18,704		$ 3,628
Number of Businesses Acquired | Acquisitions																			1		2
Data Modul AG [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired																					69.20%
Additional Percentage Interest Acquired of Subsidiary Shares from Noncontrolling Interest																					11.90%
Payments to Acquire Additional Interest in Subsidiaries																					$ 23,350
Trade Names [Member] | e-Infochips [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets									19,000										$ 19,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life																			10 years
Customer Relationships [Member] | e-Infochips [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets									$ 109,000										$ 109,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life																			15 years

[1] The total carrying value of goodwill of companies acquired as of December 31, 2019 in the table above is reflected net of $1,588,955 of accumulated impairment charges, of which $1,287,100 was recorded in the global components business segment and $301,855 was recorded in the global ECS business segment.

[2] The total carrying value of goodwill of companies acquired as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 in the table above is reflected net of $1,018,780 of accumulated impairment charges, of which $716,925 was recorded in the global components business segment and $301,855 was recorded in the global ECS business segment.

[3] Includes sales related to the United States of $11,511,611, $12,157,306, and $11,038,930 for 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively.

[4] Net income attributable to shareholders includes a U.S. Tax Act benefit of $28,323 during the fourth quarter of 2018. Net income attributable to shareholders includes a pension settlement of $20,111 and loss on disposition of businesses, net of $5,813, and tax expense of $18,193 during the fourth quarter of 2019 related to the repatriation of foreign earnings and the wind down of the personal computer and mobility asset disposition business.

[5] Net income attributable to shareholders includes a loss on disposition of businesses, net, of $14,573 and personnel charges of $30,906 related to the operating expense reduction program, previously disclosed in July 2019, during the third quarter of 2019.

[6] Net income attributable to shareholders includes impairments of $697,993, a charge of $20,114 related to a subset of inventory held by its digital business, and a charge of $15,851 related to the receivables and inventory of its financing solutions business during the second quarter of 2019.

[7] Quarterly net income per share is calculated using the weighted-average shares outstanding during each quarterly period, while net income per share for the full year is calculated using the weighted-average shares outstanding during the year. Therefore, the sum of the net income per share for each of the four quarters may not equal the net income per share for the full year. As the company reported a net loss attributable to shareholders for the second quarter of 2019, basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to shareholders are the same.

[8] As the company reported a net loss attributable to shareholders for 2019, basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to shareholders are the same and stock-based compensation awards for the issuance of 1,614 shares were excluded from the computation of net income per share on a diluted basis as their effect was anti-dilutive. Stock-based compensation awards for the issuance of 651 shares, and 380 shares for the years ended December 31, 2018, and 2017, respectively, were excluded from the computation of net income per share on a diluted basis as their effect was anti-dilutive.