Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 2,213,242	$ 1,969,058	$ 1,775,423
Cost of Revenue:
Total cost of revenue	971,700	871,676	799,987
Gross profit	1,241,542	1,097,382	975,436
Expenses:
Sales and marketing	387,406	354,294	317,058
General and administrative	244,938	220,878	207,017
Research and development	117,863	109,182	101,122
Income from operations	491,335	413,028	350,239
Interest expense	(34,744)	(37,225)	(32,049)
Interest income	1,151	5,254	3,656
Income before provision for income taxes	457,742	381,057	321,846
Provision for income taxes	80,695	117,788	99,792
Net income	377,047	263,269	222,054
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	16	125	9
Net income attributable to IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. stockholders	$ 377,031	$ 263,144	$ 222,045
Earnings per Share:
Basic (in USD per share)	$ 4.34	$ 3.00	$ 2.47
Diluted (in USD per share)	$ 4.26	$ 2.94	$ 2.44
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	86,864	87,769	89,732
Diluted (in shares)	88,470	89,567	90,884
Product revenue
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 1,322,683	$ 1,176,115	$ 1,070,973
Cost of Revenue:
Total cost of revenue	494,889	446,449	416,810
Service revenue
Revenue:
Total revenue	890,559	792,943	704,450
Cost of Revenue:
Total cost of revenue	$ 476,811	$ 425,227	$ 383,177