This article deals with the stress analysis of the friction drive, which transmits the power via the rolling resistance on the contract area between the two rotating bodies. On the contact area, friction drives are normally involved with shear stress due to the transmitted force, as well as normal stress. Thus the stress analysis including the shear stress is necessary for the design of the friction drive. Hertzian results can be used to estimate the normal stress distribution and elastic deflection of the contact area, although the shear stress distribution is not well defined. In order to investigate the shear stress distribution and its effects in a friction drive, we have performed the stress analysis of the spherical continuously variable transmission(CVT) using finite element method. The spherical CVT is one of friction drives, which is used in small power applications. The numerical results show that the normal stress distribution is not affected by the transmitted shear force, and the maximal shear stress is increased in small amount along with the shear force.