Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said Friday that social and political turmoil in the United States and beyond is creating a challenging operating environment for the world's largest coffee chain.

Still, he said he could not say those issues were causing Americans to make fewer stops at their local Starbucks.

Schultz first addressed the issue during the company's earnings conference call on Thursday, citing anxiety stemming from the U.S. presidential campaign, domestic racial tensions and terror attacks.

"There is no doubt that we are navigating through a very unusual time of a confluence of social and political turmoil at home, weakening consumer confidence, and clearly increasing global uncertainty," he told "Squawk Box" on Friday.



"All of that, I think, has created pressure on the consumer," he said.

Shares of Starbucks came under pressure after the company on Thursday reported its global same-store sales increased less than Wall Street analysts expected.

Share prices were up slightly on Friday.