Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 28, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 424,811	$ 548,352	$ 888,337	$ 1,048,492
Cost of sales	(274,871)	(343,280)	(567,896)	(656,564)
Gross profit	149,940	205,072	320,441	391,928
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(91,703)	(102,454)	(190,092)	(200,409)
Research and development expenses	(25,090)	(24,775)	(51,309)	(48,022)
Amortization of intangibles	(16,017)	(19,068)	(32,202)	(37,232)
Operating income	17,130	58,775	46,838	106,265
Interest expense, net	(14,257)	(13,961)	(27,581)	(27,949)
Non-operating pension benefit	700	537	1,399	1,140
Income from continuing operations before taxes	3,573	45,351	20,656	79,456
Income tax expense	(400)	(3,956)	(2,592)	(10,126)
Income from continuing operations	3,173	41,395	18,064	69,330
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	(71,054)	895	(97,164)	(1,862)
Net income (loss)	(67,881)	42,290	(79,100)	67,468
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest	24	90	(6)	66
Net income (loss) attributable to Belden	(67,905)	42,200	(79,094)	67,402
Less: Preferred stock dividends	0	8,733	0	17,466
Net income (loss) attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ (67,905)	$ 33,467	$ (79,094)	$ 49,936
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic	44,557	39,389	44,969	39,405
Diluted	44,665	39,611	45,097	39,635
Basic income (loss) per share attributable to Belden common stockholders:
Continuing operations attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ 0.07	$ 0.83	$ 0.40	$ 1.31
Discontinued operations attributable to Belden common stockholders	(1.59)	0.02	(2.16)	(0.05)
Net income (loss) per share attributable to Belden common stockholders	(1.52)	0.85	(1.76)	1.27
Diluted income (loss) per share attributable to Belden common stockholders:
Continuing operations attributable to Belden common stockholders	0.07	0.82	0.40	1.31
Discontinued operations attributable to Belden common stockholders	(1.59)	0.02	(2.16)	(0.05)
Net income (loss) per share attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ (1.52)	$ 0.84	$ (1.76)	$ 1.26
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Belden	$ (112,351)	$ 25,507	$ (101,217)	$ 79,718
Common stock dividends declared per share	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.10	$ 0.10