Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 2,706,655	$ 2,406,908	$ 2,213,242
Cost of Revenue:
Total cost of revenue	1,135,615	1,041,359	971,700
Gross profit	1,571,040	1,365,549	1,241,542
Expenses:
Sales and marketing	434,435	418,193	387,406
General and administrative	300,832	261,317	244,938
Research and development	141,249	133,193	117,863
Income from operations	694,524	552,846	491,335
Interest expense	(33,125)	(31,055)	(34,744)
Interest income	586	427	1,151
Income before provision for income taxes	661,985	522,218	457,742
Provision for income taxes	79,854	94,426	80,695
Net income	582,131	427,792	377,047
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	355	72	16
Net income attributable to IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. stockholders	$ 581,776	$ 427,720	$ 377,031
Earnings per Share:
Basic (in USD per share)	$ 6.82	$ 4.97	$ 4.34
Diluted (in USD per share)	$ 6.71	$ 4.89	$ 4.26
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	85,342	86,115	86,864
Diluted (in shares)	86,722	87,542	88,470
Product revenue
Revenue:
Total revenue	$ 1,586,809	$ 1,423,144	$ 1,322,683
Cost of Revenue:
Total cost of revenue	557,795	506,202	494,889
Service revenue
Revenue:
Total revenue	1,119,846	983,764	890,559
Cost of Revenue:
Total cost of revenue	$ 577,820	$ 535,157	$ 476,811