Comparative Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands |
3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct. 31, 2016 |
Jul. 31, 2016 |
Apr. 30, 2016 |
Jan. 31, 2016 |
Oct. 31, 2015 |
Jul. 31, 2015 |
Apr. 30, 2015 |
Jan. 31, 2015 |
Oct. 31, 2016 |
Oct. 31, 2015 |
Oct. 31, 2014 |
|
| Quarterly Financial Data [Abstract] | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ 346,846 | $ 341,168 | $ 323,290 | $ 331,556 | $ 341,458 | $ 355,511 | $ 351,664 | $ 354,930 | $ 1,342,860 | $ 1,403,563 | $ 1,450,294 |
| Operating income | 111,150 | 106,725 | 95,768 | 100,625 | 110,933 | 116,733 | 122,221 | 50,560 | 414,268 | 400,447 | 519,857 |
| Net income | 66,296 | 65,774 | 69,455 | 63,232 | 60,815 | 68,974 | 75,893 | 32,509 | 264,757 | 238,191 | 321,164 |
| Net income attributable to Eaton Vance Corp. shareholders | $ 65,055 | $ 62,899 | $ 54,967 | $ 58,386 | $ 62,203 | $ 68,709 | $ 70,384 | $ 29,003 | $ 241,307 | $ 230,299 | $ 304,316 |
| Earnings per share | |||||||||||
| Basic | $ 0.59 | $ 0.57 | $ 0.50 | $ 0.52 | $ 0.55 | $ 0.60 | $ 0.61 | $ 0.25 | $ 2.20 | $ 2.00 | $ 2.55 |
| Diluted | $ 0.57 | $ 0.55 | $ 0.48 | $ 0.50 | $ 0.53 | $ 0.57 | $ 0.58 | $ 0.24 | $ 2.12 | $ 1.92 | $ 2.44 |