Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,561	$ 2,940	$ 4,952	$ 5,752
Cost of sales	1,805	1,875	3,635	3,588
Gross margin	756	1,065	1,317	2,164
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative expenses	401	414	796	815
Research, development and engineering expenses	430	249	691	498
Amortization of purchased intangibles	28	28	54	57
Operating (loss) income	(103)	374	(224)	794
Equity in earnings of affiliated companies	79	33	93	58
Interest income	3	5	9	12
Interest expense	(67)	(54)	(131)	(106)
Translated earnings contract gain (loss), net	37	(107)	105	77
Other income (expense), net	2	(35)	(9)	(44)
(Loss) income before income taxes	(49)	216	(157)	791
Provision for income taxes (Note 6)	(22)	(124)	(10)	(200)
Net (loss) income attributable to Corning Incorporated	$ (71)	$ 92	$ (167)	$ 591
(Loss) earnings per common share attributable to Corning Incorporated:
Basic (Note 8)	$ (0.13)	$ 0.09	$ (0.28)	$ 0.69
Diluted (Note 8)	$ (0.13)	$ 0.09	$ (0.28)	$ 0.65