UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-Q QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY Investment Company Act file number 811-04700 --------- The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. ----------------------------------------- (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) One Corporate Center Rye, New York 10580-1422 ----------------------------------------- (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) Bruce N. Alpert Gabelli Funds, LLC One Corporate Center Rye, New York 10580-1422 ----------------------------------------- (Name and address of agent for service) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 1-800-422-3554 ---------------- Date of fiscal year end: December 31 ------------ Date of reporting period: September 30, 2005 ------------------ Form N-Q is to be used by management investment companies, other than small business investment companies registered on Form N-5 (ss.ss. 239.24 and 274.5 of this chapter), to file reports with the Commission, not later than 60 days after the close of the first and third fiscal quarters, pursuant to rule 30b1-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30b1-5). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-Q in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles. A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-Q, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-Q unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. ss. 3507. ITEM 1. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS. The Schedule(s) of Investments is attached herewith. THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ COMMON STOCKS -- 94.1% ENERGY AND UTILITIES -- 8.6% 70,000 AES Corp.+ .....................$ 1,150,100 10,000 AGL Resources Inc. ............. 371,100 120,000 Allegheny Energy Inc.+ ......... 3,686,400 70,000 Apache Corp. ................... 5,265,400 247,000 BP plc, ADR .................... 17,499,950 275,000 Burlington Resources Inc. ...... 22,363,000 115,000 CH Energy Group Inc. ........... 5,460,200 40,000 Cinergy Corp. .................. 1,776,400 91,200 CMS Energy Corp.+ .............. 1,500,240 204,000 ConocoPhillips ................. 14,261,640 8,000 Constellation Energy Group ..... 492,800 30,000 DPL Inc. ....................... 834,000 14,000 DTE Energy Co. ................. 642,040 250,000 Duke Energy Corp. .............. 7,292,500 110,000 Duquesne Light Holdings Inc. ... 1,893,100 210,000 El Paso Corp. .................. 2,919,000 370,000 El Paso Electric Co.+ .......... 7,714,500 50,000 Energy East Corp. .............. 1,259,500 80,000 Eni SpA ........................ 2,375,819 80,000 Exxon Mobil Corp. .............. 5,083,200 20,000 FPL Group Inc. ................. 952,000 70,000 Halliburton Co. ................ 4,796,400 19,999 Kerr-McGee Corp. ............... 1,942,103 10,000 Marathon Oil Corp. ............. 689,300 140,000 Mirant Corp.+ .................. 199,500 10,000 NiSource Inc. .................. 242,500 300,000 Northeast Utilities ............ 5,985,000 1,000 PetroChina Co. Ltd., ADR ....... 83,370 23,000 Petroleo Brasileiro SA, ADR .... 1,644,270 100,000 Progress Energy Inc., CVO+ ..... 9,000 30,000 Saipem SpA ..................... 505,859 30,000 SJW Corp. ...................... 1,448,400 20,000 Southwest Gas Corp. ............ 547,800 75,000 Spinnaker Exploration Co.+ ..... 4,851,750 8,657 Total SA ....................... 2,362,844 54,000 TXU Corp. ...................... 6,095,520 200 Vectren Corp. .................. 5,670 255,000 Westar Energy Inc. ............. 6,153,150 -------------- 142,355,325 -------------- FOOD AND BEVERAGE -- 8.2% 85,000 Ajinomoto Co. Inc. ............. 894,027 8,000 Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. .. 344,320 83,000 Cadbury Schweppes plc .......... 837,378 40,000 Cadbury Schweppes plc, ADR ..... 1,629,200 90,000 Campbell Soup Co. .............. 2,677,500 60,000 Coca-Cola Co. .................. 2,591,400 5,000 Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. ..... 97,500 40,000 Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. SA .............. 1,159,546 100,000 Corn Products International Inc. ........... 2,017,000 MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ 60,000 Del Monte Foods Co.+ ...........$ 643,800 10,108 Denny's Corp.+ ................. 41,948 100,000 Diageo plc ..................... 1,437,490 224,000 Diageo plc, ADR ................ 12,994,240 250,000 Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings Inc., Cl. A ......... 20,522,500 90,000 Flowers Foods Inc. ............. 2,455,200 35,641 Fomento Economico Mexicano SA de CV, ADR ....... 2,492,019 175,000 General Mills Inc. ............. 8,435,000 40,000 Groupe Danone .................. 4,309,837 500,000 Grupo Bimbo SA de CV, Cl. A .... 1,627,312 20,000 Hain Celestial Group Inc.+ ..... 388,000 130,000 Heinz (H.J.) Co. ............... 4,750,200 25,000 Hershey Co. .................... 1,407,750 160,000 Kellogg Co. .................... 7,380,800 75,000 Kerry Group plc, Cl. A ......... 1,744,448 12,100 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA ............. 997,608 2,500 Nestle SA ...................... 731,915 480,000 PepsiAmericas Inc. ............. 10,910,400 350,000 PepsiCo Inc. ................... 19,848,500 6,750 Pernod-Ricard SA ............... 1,191,725 68,200 Ralcorp Holdings Inc. .......... 2,858,944 90,000 Sara Lee Corp. ................. 1,705,500 2,000 Smucker (J.M.) Co. ............. 97,080 112,270 Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. ... 3,564,573 170,000 Wrigley (Wm.) Jr. Co. .......... 12,219,600 -------------- 137,004,260 -------------- FINANCIAL SERVICES -- 7.9% 7,000 Allianz AG ..................... 945,111 5,000 Allstate Corp. ................. 276,450 550,000 American Express Co. ........... 31,592,000 32,000 Argonaut Group Inc.+ ........... 864,320 95,000 Aviva plc ...................... 1,043,063 90,000 Banco Santander Central Hispano SA, ADR .............. 1,185,300 100,000 Bank of Ireland ................ 1,580,434 75,000 Bank of New York Co. Inc. ...... 2,205,750 275,000 Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG+ .... 988,222 260 Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Cl. A+ ....................... 21,320,000 7,500 Calamos Asset Management Inc., Cl. A .................. 185,100 45,000 Citigroup Inc. ................. 2,048,400 185,000 Commerzbank AG, ADR ............ 5,080,951 19,000 Credit Suisse Group ............ 840,987 152,000 Deutsche Bank AG, ADR .......... 14,215,040 20,000 Dun and Bradstreet Corp.+ ...... 1,317,400 20,000 H&R Block Inc. ................. 479,600 75,000 Irish Life & Permanent plc ..... 1,365,603 200,000 Janus Capital Group Inc. ....... 2,890,000 4 THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED) FINANCIAL SERVICES (CONTINUED) 55,000 JPMorgan Chase & Co. ...........$ 1,866,150 78,000 Leucadia National Corp. ........ 3,361,800 100,000 MBNA Corp. ..................... 2,464,000 100,000 Mellon Financial Corp. ......... 3,197,000 189,000 Midland Co. .................... 6,809,670 60,000 Moody's Corp. .................. 3,064,800 128,750 Nikko Cordial Corp. ............ 1,489,154 145,000 Phoenix Companies Inc. ......... 1,769,000 2,500 Prudential Financial Inc. ...... 168,900 45,000 Schwab (Charles) Corp. ......... 649,350 3,000 St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc. ............... 134,610 50,000 Standard Chartered plc ......... 1,078,559 80,000 State Street Corp. ............. 3,913,600 20,000 SunTrust Banks Inc. ............ 1,389,000 78,500 T. Rowe Price Group Inc. ....... 5,126,050 20,000 UBS AG ......................... 1,699,432 70,000 Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., Cl. A .................. 1,355,200 53,000 Westpac Banking Corp. .......... 852,818 -------------- 130,812,824 -------------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- 7.4% 5,000 ALLTEL Corp. ................... 325,550 585,000 AT&T Corp. ..................... 11,583,000 90,540 ATX Communications Inc.+ ....... 1,032 265,000 BCE Inc. ....................... 7,271,600 30,000 Brasil Telecom Participacoes SA, ADR ...................... 1,275,900 1,760,000 BT Group plc ................... 6,899,249 4,440,836 Cable & Wireless Jamaica Ltd.+ . 92,332 930,000 Cincinnati Bell Inc.+ .......... 4,101,300 80,000 Citizens Communications Co. .... 1,084,000 170,000 Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises Inc. ............. 6,409,000 110,000 Compania de Telecomunicaciones de Chile SA, ADR ................ 1,193,500 170,000 Deutsche Telekom AG, ADR ....... 3,100,800 15,000 Embratel Participacoes SA, ADR+ ..................... 174,750 5,000 France Telecom SA, ADR ......... 143,750 233 KDDI Corp. ..................... 1,313,601 100,000 KPN NV ......................... 896,581 1,000,000 Qwest Communications International Inc.+ .......... 4,100,000 130,000 SBC Communications Inc. ........ 3,116,100 532,387 Sprint Nextel Corp. ............ 12,660,163 186,554 Tele Norte Leste Participacoes SA, ADR ........ 3,083,738 50,000 Telecom Argentina SA, Cl. B, ADR+ .................. 645,500 1,788,075 Telecom Italia SpA ............. 5,813,043 254,800 Telefonica SA, ADR ............. 12,566,736 18,298 Telefonica SA, BDR ............. 299,470 MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ 64,000 Telefonos de Mexico SA de CV, Cl. L, ADR ............$ 1,361,280 310,000 Telephone & Data Systems Inc. .. 12,090,000 390,000 Telephone & Data Systems Inc., Special ...................... 14,644,500 2,500 TELUS Corp. .................... 104,323 47,500 TELUS Corp., ADR ............... 1,985,374 140,060 Verizon Communications Inc. .... 4,578,561 -------------- 122,914,733 -------------- ENTERTAINMENT -- 6.7% 160,000 Canal Plus, ADR+ ............... 296,000 220,000 Discovery Holding Co., Cl. A+ .. 3,176,800 1,600 DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., Cl. A+ ....................... 44,256 110,000 EMI Group plc .................. 470,491 80,000 EMI Group plc, ADR ............. 686,408 50,000 GC Companies Inc.+ (a) ......... 43,000 650,000 Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.+ .......... 1,924,000 173,000 Grupo Televisa SA, ADR ......... 12,405,830 2,200,000 Liberty Media Corp., Cl. A+ .... 17,710,000 17,500 Oriental Land Co. Ltd. ......... 1,000,484 160,000 Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. . 2,010,829 1,629,500 Rank Group plc ................. 8,579,186 12,000 Regal Entertainment Group, Cl. A ........................ 240,480 153,500 Six Flags Inc.+ ................ 1,103,665 260,000 The Walt Disney Co. ............ 6,273,800 810,000 Time Warner Inc. ............... 14,669,100 842,000 Viacom Inc., Cl. A ............. 27,971,240 43,900 Vivendi Universal SA ........... 1,432,996 330,000 Vivendi Universal SA, ADR ...... 10,800,900 -------------- 110,839,465 -------------- DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIAL -- 5.7% 170,000 Acuity Brands Inc. ............. 5,043,900 195,000 Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. ......... 3,022,500 25,000 Bouygues SA .................... 1,161,889 160,000 Cooper Industries Ltd., Cl. A .. 11,062,400 250,000 Crane Co. ...................... 7,435,000 100,500 CRH plc ........................ 2,723,725 110,000 GATX Corp. ..................... 4,350,500 233,000 Greif Inc., Cl. A .............. 14,003,300 5,000 Greif Inc., Cl. B .............. 287,850 415,500 Honeywell International Inc. ... 15,581,250 130,000 ITT Industries Inc. ............ 14,768,000 390,000 Lamson & Sessions Co.+ ......... 7,144,800 98,000 Park-Ohio Holdings Corp.+ ...... 1,720,880 4,000 Sulzer AG ...................... 2,026,959 30,000 Technip SA ..................... 1,775,374 50,000 Trinity Industries Inc. ........ 2,024,500 -------------- 94,132,827 -------------- 5 THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED) PUBLISHING -- 5.5% 18,000 Dow Jones & Co. Inc. ...........$ 687,420 348,266 Independent News & Media plc ... 1,017,110 20,000 Knight-Ridder Inc. ............. 1,173,600 5,000 McClatchy Co., Cl. A ........... 326,150 200,000 McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. ..... 9,608,000 330,000 Media General Inc., Cl. A ...... 19,143,300 124,000 Meredith Corp. ................. 6,186,360 80,000 New York Times Co., Cl. A ...... 2,380,000 1,744,800 News Corp., Cl. A .............. 27,201,432 20,000 News Corp., Cl. B .............. 330,000 200,000 Penton Media Inc.+ ............. 100,000 400,000 PRIMEDIA Inc.+ ................. 1,636,000 175,000 Reader's Digest Association Inc. ............. 2,794,750 261,319 SCMP Group Ltd. ................ 97,691 150,000 Scripps (E.W.) Co., Cl. A ...... 7,495,500 66,585 Seat Pagine Gialle SpA+ ........ 32,810 80,000 Thomas Nelson Inc. ............. 1,500,800 300,800 Tribune Co. .................... 10,194,112 4,000 VNU NV ......................... 125,714 -------------- 92,030,749 -------------- CABLE AND SATELLITE -- 5.3% 1,500,000 Cablevision Systems Corp., Cl. A+ ....................... 46,005,000 330,000 Comcast Corp., Cl. A+ .......... 9,695,400 85,000 Comcast Corp., Cl. A, Special+ . 2,446,300 153,444 DIRECTV Group Inc.+ ............ 2,298,591 55,000 EchoStar Communications Corp., Cl. A ................. 1,626,350 156,770 Liberty Global Inc., Cl. A+ .... 4,245,332 156,770 Liberty Global Inc., Cl. C+ .... 4,036,827 50,000 Loral Space & Communications Ltd.+ ......... 3,500 407,845 Rogers Communications Inc., Cl. B, New York ........ 16,089,485 9,655 Rogers Communications Inc., Cl. B, Toronto ........ 380,054 80,000 Shaw Communications Inc., Cl. B, New York ........ 1,677,600 20,000 Shaw Communications Inc., Cl. B, Toronto ......... 418,065 -------------- 88,922,504 -------------- CONSUMER PRODUCTS -- 4.3% 60,000 Altadis SA ..................... 2,687,579 50,000 Avon Products Inc. ............. 1,350,000 43,000 Christian Dior SA .............. 3,547,804 15,000 Church & Dwight Co. Inc. ....... 554,100 33,000 Clorox Co. ..................... 1,832,820 10,000 Colgate-Palmolive Co. .......... 527,900 MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ 90,000 Compagnie Financiere Richemont AG, Cl. A ..........$ 3,563,014 50,000 Department 56 Inc.+ ............ 625,000 30,000 Energizer Holdings Inc.+ ....... 1,701,000 30,000 Fortune Brands Inc. ............ 2,439,900 30,000 Gallaher Group plc ............. 465,641 234,000 Gallaher Group plc, ADR ........ 14,529,060 110,000 Gillette Co. ................... 6,402,000 2,000 Givaudan SA .................... 1,280,754 42,000 Harley-Davidson Inc. ........... 2,034,480 15,000 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., ADR ..... 256,650 60,000 Mattel Inc. .................... 1,000,800 75,000 Maytag Corp. ................... 1,369,500 35,000 National Presto Industries Inc. .............. 1,498,350 180,000 Procter & Gamble Co. ........... 10,702,800 50,000 Reckitt Benckiser plc .......... 1,523,034 10,000 Swatch Group AG, Cl. B ......... 1,377,313 890,000 Swedish Match AB ............... 10,616,895 -------------- 71,886,394 -------------- HEALTH CARE -- 3.6% 10,000 Abbott Laboratories ............ 424,000 52,000 Amgen Inc.+ .................... 4,142,840 19,146 AstraZeneca plc ................ 891,356 27,000 Biogen Idec Inc.+ .............. 1,065,960 135,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ....... 3,248,100 65,036 GlaxoSmithKline plc ............ 1,654,118 4,000 GlaxoSmithKline plc, ADR ....... 205,120 30,000 Henry Schein Inc.+ ............. 1,278,600 10,000 Hospira Inc.+ .................. 409,700 15,000 INAMED Corp.+ .................. 1,135,200 40,000 Invitrogen Corp.+ .............. 3,009,200 10,000 IVAX Corp.+ .................... 263,600 100,000 Merck & Co. Inc. ............... 2,721,000 2,000 Nobel Biocare Holding AG ....... 471,206 41,000 Novartis AG .................... 2,079,217 105,000 Novartis AG, ADR ............... 5,355,000 283,000 Pfizer Inc. .................... 7,066,510 35,000 Renal Care Group Inc.+ ......... 1,656,200 18,100 Roche Holding AG ............... 2,513,908 26,808 Sanofi-Aventis ................. 2,215,071 100,000 Schering-Plough Corp. .......... 2,105,000 80,000 Smith & Nephew plc ............. 671,652 4,250 Straumann Holding AG ........... 1,138,378 60,000 Sybron Dental Specialties Inc.+ ............ 2,494,800 10,000 Synthes Inc. ................... 1,169,518 23,000 Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. . 1,369,627 82,000 William Demant Holding A/S+ .... 3,842,976 100,000 Wyeth .......................... 4,627,000 -------------- 59,224,857 -------------- 6 THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED) HOTELS AND GAMING -- 3.2% 115,000 Aztar Corp.+ ...................$ 3,543,150 200,000 Gaylord Entertainment Co.+ ..... 9,530,000 55,000 Greek Organization of Football Prognostics SA ...... 1,708,070 16,000 GTECH Holdings Corp. ........... 512,960 8,000 Harrah's Entertainment Inc. .... 521,520 2,875,000 Hilton Group plc ............... 15,947,987 600,000 Hilton Hotels Corp. ............ 13,392,000 10,200 Kerzner International Ltd.+ .... 566,610 5,000 Las Vegas Sands Corp.+ ......... 164,550 118,000 MGM Mirage+ .................... 5,164,860 38,000 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. ............... 2,172,460 -------------- 53,224,167 -------------- AUTOMOTIVE: PARTS AND ACCESSORIES -- 3.1% 60,000 BorgWarner Inc. ................ 3,387,600 200,000 CLARCOR Inc. ................... 5,744,000 390,000 Dana Corp. ..................... 3,669,900 300,000 Genuine Parts Co. .............. 12,870,000 120,000 Johnson Controls Inc. .......... 7,446,000 116,000 Midas Inc.+ .................... 2,306,080 330,000 Modine Manufacturing Co. ....... 12,104,400 182,774 Proliance International Inc.+ .. 1,001,602 80,500 Scheib (Earl) Inc.+ ............ 301,875 160,000 Standard Motor Products Inc. ... 1,297,600 30,000 Superior Industries International Inc. ........... 645,600 27,000 TI Automotive Ltd.+ (a) ........ 0 30,000 TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.+ . 880,200 -------------- 51,654,857 -------------- EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES -- 2.9% 205,000 AMETEK Inc. .................... 8,808,850 2,000 Amphenol Corp., Cl. A .......... 80,680 94,000 CIRCOR International Inc. ...... 2,580,300 213,000 Donaldson Co. Inc. ............. 6,502,890 70,000 Fedders Corp. .................. 149,800 115,000 Flowserve Corp.+ ............... 4,180,250 24,000 Franklin Electric Co. Inc. ..... 993,360 100,000 Gerber Scientific Inc.+ ........ 784,000 70,000 GrafTech International Ltd.+ ... 380,100 250,000 IDEX Corp. ..................... 10,637,500 40,000 Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., Cl. A . 1,529,200 107,000 Lufkin Industries Inc. ......... 4,659,850 1,000 Manitowoc Co. Inc. ............. 50,250 11,000 Mueller Industries Inc. ........ 305,470 1,000 Sealed Air Corp.+ .............. 47,460 230,000 Watts Water Technologies Inc., Cl. A .................. 6,635,500 100,000 Weir Group plc ................. 675,532 -------------- 49,000,992 -------------- MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ RETAIL -- 2.9% 260,000 Albertson's Inc. ...............$ 6,669,000 230,000 AutoNation Inc.+ ............... 4,593,100 40,000 Coldwater Creek Inc.+ .......... 1,008,800 20,000 Costco Wholesale Corp. ......... 861,800 38,000 Matsumotokiyoshi Co. Ltd. ...... 1,235,201 320,000 Neiman Marcus Group Inc., Cl. B ........................ 31,945,600 30,000 Next plc ....................... 736,559 44,800 Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd.+ ... 1,483,862 -------------- 48,533,922 -------------- AVIATION: PARTS AND SERVICES -- 2.1% 200,000 Curtiss-Wright Corp. ........... 12,342,000 129,600 Fairchild Corp., Cl. A+ ........ 300,672 220,000 GenCorp Inc.+ .................. 4,103,000 180,000 Precision Castparts Corp. ...... 9,558,000 84,000 Sequa Corp., Cl. A+ ............ 4,956,000 74,600 Sequa Corp., Cl. B+ ............ 4,485,698 -------------- 35,745,370 -------------- WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS -- 1.7% 234,000 America Movil SA de CV, Cl. L, ADR ................... 6,158,880 1,500 NTT DoCoMo Inc. ................ 2,669,133 2,760,000 O2 plc ......................... 7,679,374 24,787 Tele Centro Oeste Celular Participacoes SA, ADR ........ 224,570 1,920 Tele Leste Celular Participacoes SA, ADR+ ....... 12,749 3,340 Tele Norte Celular Participacoes SA, ADR+ ....... 25,217 90,000 Telefonica Moviles SA .......... 998,378 8,350 Telemig Celular Participacoes SA, ADR ...................... 282,230 270 Telesp Celular Participacoes SA+ ............ 943 90,217 Telesp Celular Participacoes SA, ADR ...................... 352,748 5,845 Telesp Celular Participacoes SA, Pfd.+ .................... 23,247 32,165 Tim Participacoes SA, ADR ...... 597,626 100,000 United States Cellular Corp.+ .. 5,342,000 553,888 Vodafone Group plc ............. 1,440,991 90,000 Vodafone Group plc, ADR ........ 2,337,300 -------------- 28,145,386 -------------- COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT -- 1.6% 50,000 Agere Systems Inc.+ ............ 520,500 45,000 Andrew Corp.+ .................. 501,750 515,000 Corning Inc.+ .................. 9,954,950 180,000 Lucent Technologies Inc.+ ...... 585,000 110,000 Motorola Inc. .................. 2,429,900 150,000 Nortel Networks Corp.+ ......... 489,000 44,000 Scientific-Atlanta Inc. ........ 1,650,440 300,000 Thomas & Betts Corp.+ .......... 10,323,000 -------------- 26,454,540 -------------- 7 THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED) AGRICULTURE -- 1.5% 1,000,000 Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. .....$ 24,660,000 5,000 Delta & Pine Land Co. .......... 132,050 10,000 Mosaic Co.+ .................... 160,200 -------------- 24,952,250 -------------- CONSUMER SERVICES -- 1.5% 110,000 Expedia Inc.+ .................. 2,179,100 230,000 IAC/InterActiveCorp+ ........... 5,830,500 840,000 Rollins Inc. ................... 16,396,800 -------------- 24,406,400 -------------- MACHINERY -- 1.2% 20,000 Caterpillar Inc. ............... 1,175,000 320,000 Deere & Co. .................... 19,584,000 -------------- 20,759,000 -------------- AEROSPACE -- 1.2% 110,000 Boeing Co. ..................... 7,474,500 30,000 Lockheed Martin Corp. .......... 1,831,200 180,000 Northrop Grumman Corp. ......... 9,783,000 80,000 Rolls-Royce Group plc+ ......... 527,021 -------------- 19,615,721 -------------- BROADCASTING -- 1.1% 2,000 Cogeco Inc. .................... 46,882 16,666 Corus Entertainment Inc., Cl. B ........................ 482,275 120,000 Gray Television Inc. ........... 1,270,800 27,500 Gray Television Inc., Cl. A .... 272,250 199,000 Liberty Corp. .................. 9,331,110 50,000 Lin TV Corp., Cl. A+ ........... 697,500 165,000 Mediaset SpA ................... 1,952,316 30,000 Modern Times Group, Cl. B+ ..... 1,129,718 7,800 Nippon Television Network Corp. ................ 1,200,370 110,000 Paxson Communications Corp.+ ... 49,500 100,000 Television Broadcasts Ltd. ..... 611,678 130,000 Young Broadcasting Inc., Cl. A+ ....................... 453,700 -------------- 17,498,099 -------------- REAL ESTATE -- 1.0% 70,000 Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. .... 790,476 98,000 Florida East Coast Industries Inc. .............. 4,438,420 55,000 Griffin Land & Nurseries Inc.+ . 1,347,500 167,000 St. Joe Co. .................... 10,429,150 -------------- 17,005,546 -------------- ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES -- 1.0% 65,000 Republic Services Inc. ......... 2,293,850 500,000 Waste Management Inc. .......... 14,305,000 -------------- 16,598,850 -------------- MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ SPECIALTY CHEMICALS -- 1.0% 5,400 Ciba Specialty Chemicals AG, ADR ......................$ 158,220 20,000 E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. ...................... 783,400 325,000 Ferro Corp. .................... 5,954,000 39,000 Fuller (H.B.) Co. .............. 1,212,120 120,000 Hercules Inc.+ ................. 1,466,400 232,300 Omnova Solutions Inc.+ ......... 1,015,151 300,000 Sensient Technologies Corp. .... 5,685,000 10,000 Syngenta AG, ADR ............... 210,000 -------------- 16,484,291 -------------- ELECTRONICS -- 0.8% 10,000 Advanced Micro Devices Inc.+ ... 252,000 3,000 Hitachi Ltd., ADR .............. 190,170 5,200 Keyence Corp. .................. 1,307,329 20,000 Molex Inc., Cl. A .............. 514,200 7,500 NEC Corp., ADR ................. 40,650 9,500 Rohm Co. Ltd. .................. 824,304 38,000 Royal Philips Electronics NV, ADR ...................... 1,013,840 265,000 Texas Instruments Inc. ......... 8,983,500 17,000 Tokyo Electron Ltd. ............ 903,013 -------------- 14,029,006 -------------- AUTOMOTIVE -- 0.8% 335,000 Navistar International Corp.+ .. 10,864,050 43,000 PACCAR Inc. .................... 2,919,270 -------------- 13,783,320 -------------- METALS AND MINING -- 0.6% 72,500 Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd.+ .. 814,735 35,000 Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd., ADR+ ............... 382,900 55,000 Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.+ ............ 459,800 125,000 Newmont Mining Corp. ........... 5,896,250 40,000 Novelis Inc. ................... 857,600 50,000 Placer Dome Inc. ............... 857,500 45,000 Xstrata plc .................... 1,165,955 -------------- 10,434,740 -------------- BUSINESS SERVICES -- 0.6% 7,050 Acco Brands Corp.+ ............. 198,951 60,000 ANC Rental Corp.+ .............. 303 140,000 Cendant Corp. .................. 2,889,600 1,000 CheckFree Corp.+ ............... 37,820 186,554 Contax Participacoes SA, ADR+ .. 115,887 212,500 Group 4 Securicor plc .......... 566,894 95,000 Landauer Inc. .................. 4,655,000 72,500 Nashua Corp.+ .................. 449,500 25,000 Secom Co. Ltd. ................. 1,202,431 -------------- 10,116,386 -------------- 8 THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ COMMON STOCKS (CONTINUED) CLOSED-END FUNDS -- 0.3% 75,000 Central Europe and Russia Fund Inc. .............$ 3,682,500 70,000 New Germany Fund Inc. .......... 732,900 31,500 Royce Value Trust Inc. ......... 626,220 -------------- 5,041,620 -------------- MANUFACTURED HOUSING AND RECREATIONAL VEHICLES -- 0.3% 70,000 Champion Enterprises Inc.+ ..... 1,034,600 50,000 Fleetwood Enterprises Inc.+ .... 615,000 32,222 Huttig Building Products Inc.+ . 291,609 13,000 Martin Marietta Materials Inc. . 1,019,980 10,000 Nobility Homes Inc. ............ 261,000 80,000 Sekisui House Ltd. ............. 980,268 20,000 Skyline Corp. .................. 812,800 1,000 Southern Energy Homes Inc.+ .... 7,050 -------------- 5,022,307 -------------- COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND SERVICES -- 0.2% 10,000 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.+ ........... 243,200 146 Computer Associates International Inc. ........... 4,060 25,256 Telecom Italia Media SpA+ ...... 16,543 80,000 Yahoo! Inc.+ ................... 2,707,200 -------------- 2,971,003 -------------- PAPER AND FOREST PRODUCTS -- 0.1% 120,000 Pactiv Corp.+ .................. 2,102,400 -------------- REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS -- 0.1% 1,500 Amli Residential Properties Trust ............. 48,105 6,000 Camden Property Trust .......... 334,500 2,000 Equity Residential ............. 75,700 16,656 Rayonier Inc. .................. 959,719 -------------- 1,418,024 -------------- TRANSPORTATION -- 0.1% 100,000 AMR Corp.+ ..................... 1,118,000 15,000 Grupo TMM SA, Cl. A, ADR+ ...... 61,500 -------------- 1,179,500 -------------- TOTAL COMMON STOCKS ............ 1,566,301,635 -------------- CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS -- 0.3% AEROSPACE -- 0.1% 13,500 Northrop Grumman Corp., 7.000% Cv. Pfd., Ser. B ...... 1,633,500 -------------- TELECOMMUNICATIONS -- 0.1% 26,000 Cincinnati Bell Inc., 6.750% Cv. Pfd., Ser. B ...... 1,136,200 -------------- MARKET SHARES VALUE* ------ ------ BROADCASTING -- 0.1% 90 Gray Television Inc., 8.000% Cv. Pfd., Ser. C (a)(c)(d) .............$ 909,000 -------------- AVIATION: PARTS AND SERVICES -- 0.0% 3,200 Sequa Corp., $5.00 Cv. Pfd. ............... 312,000 -------------- TOTAL CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS ............. 3,990,700 -------------- PRINCIPAL AMOUNT -------- CONVERTIBLE CORPORATE BONDS -- 0.1% AUTOMOTIVE: PARTS AND ACCESSORIES -- 0.1% $ 500,000 Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack, Cv., 4.250%, 06/01/07 ............. 487,500 1,000,000 Standard Motor Products Inc., Sub. Deb. Cv., 6.750%, 07/15/09 ............. 890,000 -------------- 1,377,500 -------------- AEROSPACE -- 0.0% 736,000 Kaman Corp., Sub. Deb. Cv., 6.000%, 03/15/12 ............. 704,720 -------------- CABLE AND SATELLITE -- 0.0% 500,000 Charter Communications Inc., Cv., 4.750%, 06/01/06 ............. 493,750 -------------- TOTAL CONVERTIBLE CORPORATE BONDS .............. 2,575,970 -------------- U.S. GOVERNMENT & AGENCY OBLIGATIONS -- 0.1% FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK -- 0.0% 500,000 3.060%, 04/13/06 ............. 496,923 -------------- U.S. TREASURY NOTES -- 0.1% 1,000,000 5.750%, 11/15/05 ............. 1,009,914 500,000 5.625%, 02/15/06 ............. 503,301 300,000 4.625%, 05/15/06 ............. 301,137 300,000 3.500%, 11/15/06 ............. 298,020 -------------- 2,112,372 -------------- TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT & AGENCY OBLIGATIONS ........... 2,609,295 -------------- 9 THE GABELLI EQUITY TRUST INC. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 (UNAUDITED) PRINCIPAL MARKET AMOUNT VALUE* --------- ------ SHORT-TERM OBLIGATIONS -- 5.4% REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS -- 5.1% $84,445,000 Barclays Capital Inc., 3.200%, dated 09/30/05, due 10/03/05, proceeds at maturity, $84,467,519 (b) ..............$ 84,445,000 -------------- U.S. GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS -- 0.3% 5,000,000 U.S. Treasury Bills, 3.498%++, 11/17/05 ..................... 4,977,675 -------------- TOTAL SHORT-TERM OBLIGATIONS .................. 89,422,675 -------------- NUMBER OF EXPIRATION DATE/ CONTRACTS EXERCISE PRICE --------- -------------- PUT OPTIONS PURCHASED+ -- 0.0% 1,000 SPDR Trust Series 1 ....... Oct. 05/120 40,000 -------------- TOTAL INVESTMENTS -- 100.0% (Cost $1,289,926,526) ....................$1,664,940,275 ============== -------------- For Federal tax purposes: Aggregate cost ....................$1,289,926,526 ============== Gross unrealized appreciation .....$ 446,167,567 Gross unrealized depreciation ..... (71,153,818) -------------- Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) .................$ 375,013,749 ============== -------------- (a) Security fair valued under procedures established by the Board of Directors. At September 30, 2005, the market value of fair valued securities amounted to $952,000 or 0.06% of total investments. (b) Collateralized by U.S. Treasury Bonds, 8.125% and 6.125%, due 08/15/19 and 11/15/27, market value $85,734,060 and $399,840. (c) Security exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At September 30, 2005, the market value of Rule 144A securities amounted to $909,000 or 0.05% of total investments. (d) At September 30, 2005, the Fund held restricted and illiquid securities amounting to $909,000 or 0.05% of net assets, which were valued under methods approved by the Board, as follows: 09/30/2005 ACQUISITION ACQUISITION ACQUISITION CARRYING VALUE SHARES ISSUER DATE COST PER UNIT ------ ------ ---- ---- -------- 90 Gray Television Inc., 8.000% Cv. Pfd., Ser. C ..... 04/23/02 $900,000 $10,100.0000 + Non-income producing security. ++ Represents annualized yield at date of purchase. ADR American Depository Receipt BDR Brazilian Depository Receipt CVO Contingent Value Obligation * Portfolio securities are valued at the last quoted sale price or closing values. If these are unavailable, then the average of the closing bid and asked prices is used. If there is no asked price, the security is valued at the closing bid price on that day. Debt instruments are valued at the average of the closing bid and asked prices. If the security matures in 60 days or less and is not credit-impaired, it is valued at amortized cost. All securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available or any security that the Board determines does not reflect its fair market value are valued in good faith under procedures established by the Board. % OF MARKET MARKET VALUE VALUE ------ ------- GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSIFICATION North America ................. 81.3% $1,353,172,200 Europe ........................ 14.4 240,713,065 Latin America ................. 2.8 47,010,239 Japan ......................... 1.1 18,360,274 Asia/Pacific .................. 0.3 4,446,862 South Africa .................. 0.1 1,197,635 ------ -------------- Total Investments ............. 100.0% $1,664,900,275 ====== ============== 10 ITEM 2. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES. (a) The registrant's principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act") (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)). (b) There were no changes in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the registrant's last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting. ITEM 3. EXHIBITS. Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. (Registrant) The Gabelli Equity Trust Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------- By (Signature and Title)* /s/ Bruce N. Alpert ------------------------------------------------------- Bruce N. Alpert, Principal Executive Officer Date November 28, 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. By (Signature and Title)* /s/ Bruce N. Alpert ------------------------------------------------------- Bruce N. Alpert, Principal Executive Officer & Principal Financial Officer Date November 28, 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.