Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,391	$ 2,812
Cost of sales	1,830	1,713
Gross margin	561	1,099
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expenses	395	401
Research, development and engineering expenses	261	249
Amortization of purchased intangibles	26	29
Operating (loss) income	(121)	420
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	14	25
Interest income	6	7
Interest expense	(64)	(52)
Translated earnings contract gain, net	68	184
Other expense, net	(11)	(9)
(Loss) income before income taxes	(108)	575
Benefit (provision) for income taxes (Note 5)	12	(76)
Net (loss) income attributable to Corning Incorporated	$ (96)	$ 499
(Loss) earnings per common share attributable to Corning Incorporated:
Basic (Note 6)	$ (0.16)	$ 0.61
Diluted (Note 6)	$ (0.16)	$ 0.55