Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund (GABSX) N-CSR Certified annual shareholder report (management investment company)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT

INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number          811-06367                

                                             Gabelli Equity Series Funds, 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: September 30

Date of reporting period: September 30, 2017

Form N-CSR is to be used by management investment companies to file reports with the Commission not later than 10 days after the transmission to stockholders of any report that is required to be transmitted to stockholders under Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30e-1). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-CSR in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policymaking roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-CSR, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-CSR 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 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. § 3507.

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund   Annual Report — September 30, 2017  

To Our Shareholders,

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the net asset value (“NAV”) per Class AAA Share of The Gabelli Equity Income Fund increased 13.9% compared with an increase of 18.6% for the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index. See page 3 for additional performance information.

Enclosed are the financial statements, including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2017.

Performance Discussion (Unaudited)

Our stock selection process is based on the investment principles of Graham and Dodd, the first investors to articulate the fundamentals of value investing. Their work provided the framework for value investing, and we contributed to this framework with the discipline of Private Market Value with a CatalystTM. This proprietary research and valuation method identifies companies whose shares are selling at a discount to intrinsic value, with an identifiable path to realizing, or surfacing, that private market value. We define private market value as the price an informed acquirer would pay for an entire enterprise. The catalyst comprises identifiable events or circumstances that might reasonably result in the narrowing of the difference between the public market price of the stock and our estimate of the private market value. This realization of value can take place gradually or suddenly, with company specific changes such as management changes or restructurings, sale of assets or of the business as a whole, or industry changes such as changes in regulation or changes in competition.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, as the U.S. election dominated the national consciousness, the S&P 500 rose 5% between November 8 and December 31. U.S. companies continued to increase their dividends, and at the end of the quarter, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 was about 2%. Of the 500 stocks that are represented in the S&P 500, 418 of them were paying a dividend.

The Federal Reserve’s mandate is to maximize employment and manage inflation. In the first quarter of 2017 unemployment fell to 4.5% in March and inflation rose to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. In March, the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate range for the second time in three months.

The second quarter of 2017 represented the first full quarter of President Trump’s new administration. Since the November 2016 election, the market had been on an upswing and the second quarter continued that trend, as it rose to new all time highs. The Trump administration struggled to have new health care legislation passed by Congress. On the global front, France reaffirmed its desire to stay within the European Union (EU) while Britain was still in the process of determining how to withdraw from the EU (“Brexit”).

The third quarter of 2017 was full of newsworthy events. Three hurricanes impacted the United States, causing tens of billions of dollars in damages and impacting over one million people. The Federal government agreed to pay billions of dollars in emergency funds to help the affected areas. On the geopolitical front, Britain continued to move forward with Brexit and the Catalonian region of Spain was exploring whether it would like

to break away from Spain. Currently, Catalonia accounts for almost 20% of Spain’s economy and leads all other regions in the country’s exports. Taking into consideration all the uncertainty on the geopolitical front, the stock market still continued its upward trend and the average daily change in volatility was 0.3%, its lowest since 1968.

Among our better performing stocks for the fiscal year were Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (0.2% of net assets as of September 30, 2017), a leading technology based designer, developer, and manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems for the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense and NASA. Navistar International Corp. (0.6%), a manufacturer and marketer of medium and heavy trucks and mid range diesel engines, closed a deal on March 1 in which Volkswagen Truck & Bus purchased a $256 million stake in the American holding company. FMC Corp. (0.1%) also performed well. All three holdings returned over 85% for the year.

Some of our weaker performers were Dundee Corp. (0.01%), a real estate investment management company, and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (0.1%) and Macy’s Inc. (0.6%). Two of America’s largest department store chains saw negative returns in the last year, although they have tried to come up with new tactics to attract customers and give them a reason to visit their stores. The two have started to integrate store-within-a-store concepts and unite online and real world shopping experiences.

We appreciate your confidence and trust.

2

Comparative Results

Average Annual Returns through September 30, 2017 (a)(b) (Unaudited)													Since
	1 Year			5 Year			10 Year			15 Year			Inception (01/02/92)
Class AAA (GABEX)		13.91	%		10.40	%		6.07	%		9.71	%		9.99	%
S&P 500 Index		18.61			14.22			7.44			10.04			9.43	(c)
Nasdaq Composite Index		23.85			17.36			10.46			13.32			9.78	(c)
Lipper Equity Income Fund Average		15.90			11.92			5.93			9.07			8.52
Class A (GCAEX)		13.92			10.40			6.07			9.71			9.99
With sales charge (d)		7.37			9.10			5.45			9.27			9.74
Class C (GCCEX)		13.04			9.58			5.28			8.97			9.56
With contingent deferred sales charge (e)		12.04			9.58			5.28			8.97			9.56
Class I (GCIEX)		14.19			10.68			6.34			9.90			10.10
Class T (GCTEX)		13.90			10.40			6.07			9.71			9.99
With sales charge (f)		11.06			9.84			5.80			9.53			9.82

In the current prospectuses dated January 27, 2017, as amended July 5, 2017, the expense ratios for Class AAA, A, C, I, and T Shares are 1.39%, 1.39%, 2.14%, 1.14%, and 1.39%, respectively. See page 14 for the expense ratios for the year ended September 30, 2017. Class AAA and Class I Shares do not have a sales charge. The maximum sales charge for Class A, C, and T Shares is 5.75%, 1.00%, and 2.50%, respectively.

(a) Returns represent past performance and do not guarantee future results. Total returns and average annual returns reflect changes in share price, reinvestment of distributions, and are net of expenses. Investment returns and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate. When shares are redeemed, they may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data presented. Visit www.gabelli.com for performance information as of the most recent month end. The Fund imposes a 2% redemption fee on shares sold or exchanged within seven days after the date of purchase. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fund before investing. The prospectuses contain information about these and other matters and should be read carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus please visit www.gabelli.com. The Class AAA Share NAVs are used to calculate performance for the periods prior to the issuance of Class A Shares and Class C Shares on December 31, 2003, Class I Shares on January 11, 2008, and Class T Shares on July 5, 2017. The actual performance of the Class A Shares, Class C Shares, and Class T Shares would have been lower due to the additional fees and expenses associated with these classes of shares. The actual performance of the Class I Shares would have been higher due to lower expenses related to this class of shares. The S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization weighted index of 500 large capitalization stocks commonly used to represent the U.S. equity market. The Nasdaq Composite Index is an unmanaged indicator of stock market performance. The Lipper Equity Income Fund Average includes the 30 largest equity funds in this category tracked by Lipper, Inc. Dividends are considered reinvested, except for the Nasdaq Composite Index. You cannot invest directly in an index.

(b) The Fund’s fiscal year ends September 30.

(c) S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index since inception performance is as of December 31, 1991.

(d) Performance results include the effect of the maximum 5.75% sales charge at the beginning of the period.

(e) Assuming payment of the 1% maximum contingent deferred sales charge imposed on redemptions made within one year of purchase.

(f) Performance results include the effect of the maximum 2.50% sales charge at the beginning of the period.

3

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT IN

THE GABELLI EQUITY INCOME FUND CLASS AAA SHARES AND S&P 500 INDEX (Unaudited)

* Past performance is not predictive of future results. The performance tables and graph do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.

4

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Disclosure of Fund Expenses (Unaudited)

For the Six Month Period from April 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017 Expense Table

We believe it is important for you to understand the impact of fees and expenses regarding your investment. All mutual funds have operating expenses. As a shareholder of a fund, you incur ongoing costs, which include costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports (like this one), among others. Operating expenses, which are deducted from a fund’s gross income, directly reduce the investment return of a fund. When a fund’s expenses are expressed as a percentage of its average net assets, this figure is known as the expense ratio. The following examples are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your Fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period shown and held for the entire period.

The Expense Table below illustrates your Fund’s costs in two ways:

Actual Fund Return: This section provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use this section to help you to estimate the actual expenses that you paid over the period after any fee waivers and expense reimbursements. The “Ending Account Value” shown is derived from the Fund’s actual return during the past six months, and the “Expenses Paid During Period” shows the dollar amount that would have been paid by an investor who started with $1,000 in the Fund. You may use this information, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period.

To do so, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number given for your Fund under the heading “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid during this period.

Hypothetical 5% Return: This section provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio. It assumes a hypothetical annualized return of 5% before expenses during the period shown. In this

case – because the hypothetical return used is not the Fund’s actual return – the results do not apply to your investment and you cannot use the hypothetical account value and expense to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. This example is useful in making comparisons of the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs such as sales charges (loads), redemption fees, or exchange fees, if any, which are described in the Prospectus. If these costs were applied to your account, your costs would be higher. Therefore, the 5% hypothetical return is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. The “Annualized Expense Ratio” represents the actual expenses for the last six months and may be different from the expense ratio in the Financial Highlights which is for the year ended September 30, 2017.

	Beginning Account Value 04/01/17	Ending Account Value 09/30/17	Annualized Expense Ratio	Expenses Paid During Period*
The Gabelli Equity Income Fund
Actual Fund Return
Class AAA	$1,000.00	$1,059.80	1.38%	$  7.13
Class A	$1,000.00	$1,059.70	1.37%	$  7.07
Class C	$1,000.00	$1,055.60	2.13%	$10.98
Class I	$1,000.00	$1,061.00	1.13%	$  5.84
Class T**	$1,000.00	$1,030.80	1.39%	$  3.40
Hypothetical 5% Return
Class AAA	$1,000.00	$1,018.15	1.38%	$  6.98
Class A	$1,000.00	$1,018.20	1.37%	$  6.93
Class C	$1,000.00	$1,014.39	2.13%	$10.76
Class I	$1,000.00	$1,019.40	1.13%	$  5.72
Class T	$1,000.00	$1,018.10	1.39%	$  7.03

* Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for the last six months multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half year (183 days), then divided by 365.

** Class T Shares use a beginning account value date of 07/05/17, and Class T Share expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for the period since inception multiplied by the number of days since inception (88 days), then divided by 365.

5

Summary of Portfolio Holdings (Unaudited)

The following table presents portfolio holdings as a percent of net assets as of September 30, 2017:

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Financial Services	23.4	%
Food and Beverage	15.5	%
Health Care	10.4	%
Retail	6.3	%
Consumer Products	5.1	%
Diversified Industrial	4.9	%
Telecommunications	3.5	%
Energy and Utilities: Oil	3.0	%
Automotive: Parts and Accessories	2.7	%
Aerospace	2.0	%
Broadcasting	1.9	%
Equipment and Supplies	1.8	%
Business Services	1.8	%
Electronics	1.7	%
Building and Construction	1.6	%
Specialty Chemicals	1.4	%
Energy and Utilities: Services	1.3	%
Entertainment	1.3	%
Computer Software and Services	1.3	%
Energy and Utilities: Natural Gas	1.3	%
Real Estate Investment Trusts	1.1	%
Cable and Satellite	1.1	%
Machinery	1.1	%

Computer Hardware	1.0	%
Environmental Services	0.9	%
Metals and Mining	0.8	%
Automotive	0.8	%
Wireless Communications	0.7	%
Energy and Utilities: Integrated	0.6	%
Closed-End Funds	0.6	%
Transportation	0.6	%
Agriculture	0.6	%
Hotels and Gaming	0.4	%
Communications Equipment	0.4	%
Energy and Utilities: Electric	0.4	%
Aviation: Parts and Services	0.3	%
Energy and Utilities: Water	0.2	%
Consumer Services	0.2	%
Paper and Forest Products	0.1	%
Real Estate	0.0	%*
Purchased Options	0.0	%*
Publishing	0.0	%*
Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)	(4.1	)%
	100.0%

* Amount represents less than 0.05%.

The Fund files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. Shareholders may obtain this information at www.gabelli.com or by calling the Fund at 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554). The Fund’s Form N-Q is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 800-SEC-0330.

Proxy Voting

The Fund files Form N-PX with its complete proxy voting record for the twelve months ended June 30, no later than August 31 of each year. A description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies, procedures, and how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities is available without charge, upon request, by (i) calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554); (ii) writing to The Gabelli Funds at One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422; or (iii) visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

6

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Schedule of Investments — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS — 103.4%
		Aerospace — 2.0%
	64,000	Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.†	$	359,828	$	2,240,640
	2,000	Lockheed Martin Corp.		47,350		620,580
	10,000	Raytheon Co.		279,200		1,865,800
	74,000	Rockwell Automation Inc.		2,622,505		13,187,540
	2,000	Rockwell Collins Inc.		15,844		261,420
	925,000	Rolls-Royce Holdings plc		6,341,969		10,994,345
				9,666,696		29,170,325
		Agriculture — 0.6%
	90,000	Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.		2,386,667		3,825,900
	34,500	Monsanto Co.		277,006		4,133,790
	12,000	The Mosaic Co.		186,246		259,080
				2,849,919		8,218,770
		Automotive — 0.8%
	205,000	Navistar International Corp.†		3,959,446		9,034,350
	30,000	PACCAR Inc.		1,348,822		2,170,200
				5,308,268		11,204,550
		Automotive: Parts and Accessories — 2.7%
	164,000	Dana Inc.		2,605,637		4,585,440
	350,000	Genuine Parts Co.		14,525,249		33,477,500
	26,000	Modine Manufacturing Co.†		132,587		500,500
	1,200	O’Reilly Automotive Inc.†		30,096		258,444
	16,000	Tenneco Inc.		239,237		970,720
				17,532,806		39,792,604
		Aviation: Parts and Services — 0.3%
	50,000	Arconic Inc.		894,681		1,244,000
	29,000	United Technologies Corp.		1,453,950		3,366,320
				2,348,631		4,610,320
		Broadcasting — 1.9%
	347,000	CBS Corp., Cl. A, Voting		8,241,275		20,268,270
	65,575	Liberty Global plc, Cl. A†		1,481,226		2,223,648
	150,000	Liberty Global plc, Cl. C†		3,341,084		4,905,000
	36,000	MSG Networks Inc., Cl. A†		134,967		763,200
				13,198,552		28,160,118
		Building and Construction — 1.6%
	196,000	Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc.		1,908,965		13,177,080
	49,000	Herc Holdings Inc.†		1,576,954		2,407,370
	200,000	Johnson Controls International plc		4,019,530		8,058,000
				7,505,449		23,642,450
		Business Services — 1.8%
	37,000	Automatic Data Processing Inc.		1,358,159		4,044,840
	24,000	Diebold Nixdorf Inc.		641,520		548,400
	100,000	Mastercard Inc., Cl. A		864,079		14,120,000

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	2,000	MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc., Cl. A	$	132,352	$	151,140
	40,000	Pentair plc		1,223,885		2,718,400
	30,000	S&P Global Inc.		1,225,693		4,689,300
	4,000	Vectrus Inc.†		61,245		123,360
				5,506,933		26,395,440
		Cable and Satellite — 1.1%
	10,000	AMC Networks Inc., Cl. A†		389,742		584,700
	165,000	DISH Network Corp., Cl. A†		3,263,481		8,947,950
	16,000	EchoStar Corp., Cl. A†		478,840		915,680
	6,000	Liberty Global plc LiLAC, Cl. A†		142,271		142,560
	13,692	Liberty Global plc LiLAC, Cl. C†		340,172		319,024
	56,000	Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., Cl. A		2,353,169		4,809,840
				6,967,675		15,719,754
		Communications Equipment — 0.4%
	185,000	Corning Inc.		2,274,029		5,535,200
		Computer Hardware — 1.0%
	22,000	Apple Inc.		1,611,288		3,390,640
	76,000	International Business Machines Corp.		6,037,775		11,026,080
				7,649,063		14,416,720
		Computer Software and Services — 1.3%
	10,000	CDK Global Inc.		151,748		630,900
	95,000	Fidelity National Information Services Inc.		1,523,088		8,872,050
	277,600	Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.		1,893,375		4,083,496
	38,451	Micro Focus International plc, ADR†		539,397		1,226,587
	50,000	Microsoft Corp.		1,397,000		3,724,500
	23,000	NetScout Systems Inc.†		371,369		744,050
				5,875,977		19,281,583
		Consumer Products — 5.1%
	44,000	Altria Group Inc.		517,039		2,790,480
	80,000	Edgewell Personal Care Co.†		3,318,645		5,821,600
	60,000	Energizer Holdings Inc.		744,798		2,763,000
	25,000	Essity AB, Cl. A†		383,569		677,111
	2,000	National Presto Industries Inc.		60,046		212,900
	50,000	Philip Morris International Inc.		1,501,172		5,550,500
	86,000	Reckitt Benckiser Group plc		2,642,415		7,851,287
	25,000	Svenska Cellulosa AB, Cl. A		101,961		220,230
	1,000,000	Swedish Match AB		12,530,354		35,077,165
	111,500	The Procter & Gamble Co.		6,106,112		10,144,270
	77,000	Unilever NV - NY Shares		1,521,528		4,546,080
				29,427,639		75,654,623

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

7

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Consumer Services — 0.2%
	3,500	Allegion plc	$	50,080	$	302,645
	50,000	Rollins Inc.		110,102		2,307,000
				160,182		2,609,645
		Diversified Industrial — 4.9%
	92,000	Crane Co.		3,022,292		7,359,080
	80,000	Eaton Corp. plc		3,587,148		6,143,200
	600,000	General Electric Co.		9,865,434		14,508,000
	136,000	Honeywell International Inc.		3,823,744		19,276,640
	50,000	ITT Inc.		1,004,526		2,213,500
	50,000	Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd.		2,372,853		3,168,000
	180,000	Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd.		4,227,653		7,776,000
	120,000	Textron Inc.		763,372		6,465,600
	340,000	Toray Industries Inc.		2,318,732		3,298,023
	37,000	Trinity Industries Inc.		622,753		1,180,300
				31,608,507		71,388,343
		Electronics — 1.7%
	45,000	Sony Corp.		1,174,377		1,674,028
	85,000	Sony Corp., ADR		2,025,391		3,173,900
	74,000	TE Connectivity Ltd.		2,500,525		6,146,440
	160,000	Texas Instruments Inc.		4,058,668		14,342,400
				9,758,961		25,336,768
		Energy and Utilities: Electric — 0.4%
	10,000	American Electric Power Co. Inc.		343,190		702,400
	7,000	Avangrid Inc.		137,482		331,940
	45,000	El Paso Electric Co.		351,450		2,486,250
	50,000	Korea Electric Power Corp., ADR		650,030		838,000
	200,000	Texas Competitive Electric Holdings Co. LLC, (Escrow Shares)†(a)		0		0
	105,000	The AES Corp.		472,508		1,157,100
				1,954,660		5,515,690
		Energy and Utilities: Integrated — 0.6%
	180,000	Energy Transfer Equity LP		952,826		3,128,400
	29,000	Eni SpA		304,221		479,849
	13,000	Eversource Energy		195,779		785,720
	6,500	Iberdrola SA, ADR		98,020		201,565
	64,000	OGE Energy Corp.		853,373		2,305,920
	59,000	PNM Resources Inc.		607,016		2,377,700
				3,011,235		9,279,154
		Energy and Utilities: Natural Gas — 1.3%
	2,000	Atmos Energy Corp.		52,608		167,680
	200,000	National Fuel Gas Co.		8,744,249		11,322,000
	15,000	ONE Gas Inc.		62,574		1,104,600
	98,000	ONEOK Inc.		926,154		5,430,180

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	12,000	Southwest Gas Holdings Inc.	$	246,965	$	931,440
				10,032,550		18,955,900
		Energy and Utilities: Oil — 3.0%
	127,000	Anadarko Petroleum Corp.		5,883,615		6,203,950
	100,000	Chevron Corp.		3,963,114		11,750,000
	75,000	ConocoPhillips		1,420,391		3,753,750
	39,000	Devon Energy Corp.		1,150,716		1,431,690
	73,000	Exxon Mobil Corp.		1,767,408		5,984,540
	96,000	Hess Corp.		4,740,381		4,501,440
	22,000	Marathon Petroleum Corp.		305,868		1,233,760
	44,000	Occidental Petroleum Corp.		1,545,094		2,825,240
	2,000	PetroChina Co. Ltd., ADR		153,111		128,220
	90,000	Royal Dutch Shell plc, Cl. A, ADR		3,907,614		5,452,200
	17,000	Total SA, ADR		282,789		909,840
				25,120,101		44,174,630
		Energy and Utilities: Services — 1.3%
	345,000	Halliburton Co.		10,163,305		15,880,350
	93,000	Oceaneering International Inc.		2,001,490		2,443,110
	20,000	Schlumberger Ltd.		443,108		1,395,200
				12,607,903		19,718,660
		Energy and Utilities: Water — 0.2%
	17,000	Aqua America Inc.		125,376		564,230
	80,000	Severn Trent plc		2,133,400		2,329,452
				2,258,776		2,893,682
		Entertainment — 1.3%
	120,000	Grupo Televisa SAB, ADR		2,683,653		2,960,400
	12,000	The Madison Square Garden Co, Cl. A†		347,057		2,569,200
	127,000	Twenty-First Century Fox Inc., Cl. B		3,878,256		3,275,330
	294,000	Viacom Inc., Cl. A		11,552,581		10,789,800
				18,461,547		19,594,730
		Environmental Services — 0.9%
	50,000	Republic Services Inc.		1,684,307		3,303,000
	130,000	Waste Management Inc.		4,205,362		10,175,100
				5,889,669		13,478,100
		Equipment and Supplies — 1.8%
	51,500	A.O. Smith Corp.		176,195		3,060,645
	16,346	Danaher Corp.		476,946		1,402,160
	179,000	Flowserve Corp.		2,258,602		7,623,610
	22,500	Graco Inc.		1,195,065		2,783,025
	11,000	Ingersoll-Rand plc		222,627		980,870
	22,000	Minerals Technologies Inc.		757,033		1,554,300
	186,500	Mueller Industries Inc.		3,696,433		6,518,175
	16,000	Parker-Hannifin Corp.		835,168		2,800,320
	15,000	Tenaris SA, ADR		306,100		424,650
				9,924,169		27,147,755

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

8

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Financial Services — 23.4%
	6,500	Alleghany Corp.†	$	1,001,491	$	3,601,065
	165,000	AllianceBernstein Holding LP		1,857,666		4,009,500
	228,000	American Express Co.(b)		8,059,434		20,624,880
	128,000	American International Group Inc.		2,922,701		7,857,920
	25,000	Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.		558,372		1,537,500
	5,195	Banco Santander Chile, ADR		29,250		154,343
	93,000	Banco Santander SA, ADR		699,738		645,420
	335,000	Bank of America Corp.		3,395,384		8,488,900
	13,056	BNP Paribas SA		580,935		1,053,152
	376,000	Citigroup Inc.		13,876,628		27,350,240
	30,000	Dundee Corp., Cl. A†		140,046		76,938
	39,000	Eaton Vance Corp.		1,127,731		1,925,430
	100,000	Federated Investors Inc., Cl. B		2,388,985		2,970,000
	34,000	Fidelity Southern Corp.		281,974		803,760
	80,000	H&R Block Inc.		1,157,369		2,118,400
	54,000	Interactive Brokers Group Inc., Cl. A		820,617		2,432,160
	227,000	JPMorgan Chase & Co.		7,594,247		21,680,770
	70,000	Julius Baer Group Ltd.		2,299,124		4,142,097
	30,000	Kemper Corp.		795,002		1,590,000
	90,100	Kinnevik AB, Cl. A		1,682,511		3,185,895
	19,000	Kinnevik AB, Cl. B		278,394		619,578
	216,000	Legg Mason Inc.		3,808,973		8,490,960
	15,000	Leucadia National Corp.		263,160		378,750
	105,000	Loews Corp.		4,004,302		5,025,300
	131,000	M&T Bank Corp.		9,256,188		21,096,240
	308,000	Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc.		9,219,628		25,813,480
	224,000	Morgan Stanley		4,886,199		10,790,080
	185,000	Navient Corp.		1,413,230		2,778,700
	8,000	Northern Trust Corp.		307,964		735,440
	60,000	Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, Cl. A		283,390		193,200
	38,000	Oritani Financial Corp.		380,000		638,400
	40,000	Popular Inc.		1,006,510		1,437,600
	265,000	SLM Corp.†		1,202,498		3,039,550
	170,000	State Street Corp.		7,766,302		16,241,800
	284,000	Sterling Bancorp.		3,091,639		7,000,600
	12,000	SunTrust Banks Inc.		251,737		717,240
	74,000	T. Rowe Price Group Inc.		3,133,821		6,708,100
	100,000	TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.		1,692,686		4,880,000
	935,000	The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.		25,900,843		49,573,700
	3,000	The Dun & Bradstreet Corp.		105,969		349,230
	18,500	The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.		2,239,746		4,388,015
	105,000	The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.		3,296,163		5,820,150

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	104,000	The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.	$	5,508,822	$	14,016,080
	16,000	The Travelers Companies Inc.		636,771		1,960,320
	40,000	W. R. Berkley Corp.		1,434,915		2,669,600
	93,000	Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., Cl. A		1,799,875		1,866,510
	550,000	Wells Fargo & Co.		16,823,489		30,332,500
				161,262,419		343,809,493
		Food and Beverage — 15.5%
	1,000	Ajinomoto Co. Inc.		15,519		19,516
	1,000	Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV		15,876		119,726
	355,500	Brown-Forman Corp., Cl. A		6,715,709		19,797,795
	172,000	Campbell Soup Co.		5,408,870		8,053,040
	80,000	Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd., ADR		246,845		486,400
	20,000	Coca-Cola European Partners plc		450,000		832,400
	14,500	Coca-Cola Femsa SAB de CV, ADR		590,410		1,118,385
	7,700	Constellation Brands Inc., Cl. A		95,506		1,535,765
	128,000	Danone SA		6,385,759		10,040,610
	1,000,000	Davide Campari-Milano SpA		3,435,422		7,256,825
	94,000	Diageo plc, ADR		5,250,233		12,420,220
	47,000	Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.		839,537		4,158,090
	124,000	Fomento Economico Mexicano
		SAB de CV, ADR		2,851,381		11,845,720
	202,000	General Mills Inc.		5,203,484		10,455,520
	2,700,000	Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, Cl. A		2,163,067		6,534,267
	140,000	Heineken NV		6,437,001		13,841,153
	17,000	Heineken NV, ADR		430,190		843,710
	210,000	ITO EN Ltd.		4,214,522		7,082,426
	35,500	Kellogg Co.		1,826,705		2,214,135
	2,000	McCormick & Co. Inc., Cl. V		137,120		204,060
	28,000	McCormick & Co. Inc.,
		Non-Voting		1,282,199		2,873,920
	740,000	Mondelēz International Inc., Cl. A		13,641,799		30,088,400
	115,000	Nestlé SA		3,174,203		9,631,332
	65,000	Nestlé SA, ADR		3,829,280		5,460,650
	95,000	Nissin Foods Holdings Co. Ltd.		3,080,973		5,774,717
	3,000,000	Parmalat SpA		8,174,367		10,991,609
	100,000	PepsiCo Inc.		6,444,340		11,143,000
	45,000	Pernod Ricard SA		3,674,041		6,225,328
	58,000	Remy Cointreau SA		3,534,133		6,868,692
	36,000	Sapporo Holdings Ltd.		810,532		970,984
	68,000	The Kraft Heinz Co.		1,902,589		5,273,400
	90,000	The Coca-Cola Co.		1,902,337		4,050,900
	1,000	The Hershey Co.		36,300		109,170
	76,500	Tootsie Roll Industries Inc.		1,454,178		2,907,000
	2,000	Tyson Foods Inc., Cl. A		15,981		140,900
	90,000	Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd.		2,253,446		6,486,558
				107,923,854		227,856,323

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

9

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Health Care — 10.4%
	10,000	Abbott Laboratories	$	227,205	$	533,600
	10,000	AbbVie Inc.		248,353		888,600
	33,000	Aetna Inc.		1,246,747		5,247,330
	4,000	Allergan plc		576,000		819,800
	78,000	Baxter International Inc.		1,729,585		4,894,500
	18,000	Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Cl. A†		1,818,425		3,999,960
	50,000	Boston Scientific Corp.†		290,046		1,458,500
	400,000	Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.		9,798,032		25,496,000
	165,000	Eli Lilly & Co.		5,765,515		14,114,100
	16,000	Express Scripts Holding Co.†		713,282		1,013,120
	13,000	GlaxoSmithKline plc, ADR		574,785		527,800
	40,000	Henry Schein Inc.†		501,982		3,279,600
	110,000	Johnson & Johnson		6,572,571		14,301,100
	310,000	Merck & Co. Inc.		8,638,276		19,849,300
	205,000	Novartis AG, ADR		11,171,782		17,599,250
	210,000	Patterson Cos., Inc.		7,354,890		8,116,500
	280,000	Pfizer Inc.		4,758,441		9,996,000
	60,000	Roche Holding AG, ADR		1,096,740		1,920,000
	23,000	Roche Holding AG,
		Genusschein		3,328,528		5,871,431
	87,500	William Demant Holding A/S†		854,734		2,309,708
	61,854	Wright Medical Group NV†		1,273,574		1,600,163
	50,000	Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc.		2,907,785		5,854,500
	60,000	Zoetis Inc.		1,731,705		3,825,600
				73,178,983		153,516,462
		Hotels and Gaming — 0.4%
	7,500	Las Vegas Sands Corp.		18,435		481,200
	78,000	MGM Resorts International		799,235		2,542,020
	17,000	Wynn Resorts Ltd.		738,179		2,531,640
				1,555,849		5,554,860
		Machinery — 1.1%
	6,000	Caterpillar Inc.		35,181		748,260
	89,000	Deere & Co.		3,864,530		11,177,510
	57,000	Xylem Inc.		1,425,388		3,569,910
				5,325,099		15,495,680
		Metals and Mining — 0.8%
	205,000	Freeport-McMoRan Inc.†		2,212,255		2,878,200
	233,000	Newmont Mining Corp.		6,872,575		8,739,830
				9,084,830		11,618,030
		Paper and Forest Products — 0.1%
	15,000	International Paper Co.		469,570		852,300
		Publishing — 0.0%
	3,000	Value Line Inc.		41,976		52,860
		Real Estate — 0.0%
	10,049	Griffin Industrial Realty Inc.		224,724		365,281

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		Real Estate Investment Trusts — 1.1%
	45,600	Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc.	$	1,742,930	$	2,849,544
	385,000	Weyerhaeuser Co.		6,996,482		13,101,550
				8,739,412		15,951,094
		Retail — 6.3%
	16,000	Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA		540,728		1,462,281
	49,124	Copart Inc.†		433,098		1,688,392
	68,000	Costco Wholesale Corp.		3,341,832		11,171,720
	350,000	CVS Health Corp.		12,021,116		28,462,000
	97,200	Ingles Markets Inc., Cl. A		1,718,799		2,498,040
	312,000	J.C. Penney Co. Inc.†		2,838,767		1,188,720
	420,000	Macy’s Inc.		5,922,317		9,164,400
	90,000	Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd.		2,692,986		3,475,228
	114,000	The Home Depot Inc.		3,170,526		18,645,840
	28,000	Tractor Supply Co.		339,939		1,772,120
	115,000	Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.		3,580,660		8,880,300
	41,000	Wal-Mart Stores Inc.		1,841,970		3,203,740
	10,000	Weis Markets Inc.		300,480		435,000
				38,743,218		92,047,781
		Specialty Chemicals — 1.4%
	11,000	Albemarle Corp.		112,797		1,499,410
	5,000	Ashland Global Holdings Inc.		109,663		326,950
	135,000	Ferro Corp.†		346,859		3,010,500
	8,000	FMC Corp.		186,076		714,480
	46,000	H.B. Fuller Co.		950,216		2,670,760
	64,000	International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.		2,816,870		9,146,240
	2,400	NewMarket Corp.		9,263		1,021,800
	1,000	Quaker Chemical Corp.		10,797		147,950
	3,000	Sensient Technologies Corp.		55,184		230,760
	20,000	The Chemours Co.		210,932		1,012,200
	15,000	Valvoline Inc.		126,264		351,750
				4,934,921		20,132,800
		Telecommunications — 3.4%
	2,000	AT&T Inc.		47,800		78,340
	300,000	BCE Inc.		5,861,989		14,049,000
	32,000	BT Group plc, ADR		469,025		615,680
	20,000	Cincinnati Bell Inc.†		268,000		397,000
	265,000	Deutsche Telekom AG, ADR		3,861,139		4,944,900
	10,000	Harris Corp.		790,012		1,316,800
	33,000	Loral Space & Communications Inc.†		1,317,447		1,633,500
	20,000	Orange SA, ADR		299,004		328,400
	47,000	Proximus SA		1,462,751		1,619,531
	45,010	Telefonica SA, ADR		428,921		485,658
	292,400	Telephone & Data Systems Inc.		8,299,947		8,155,036
	24,000	TELUS Corp.		185,454		863,250
	25,000	TELUS Corp., New York		561,870		899,250

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

10

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Telecommunications (Continued)
	290,000	Verizon Communications Inc.	$	9,863,827	$	14,352,100
				33,717,186		49,738,445
		Transportation — 0.6%
	142,500	GATX Corp.		4,719,293		8,772,300
		Wireless Communications — 0.7%
	6,000	Millicom International Cellular SA		291,776		394,920
	28,000	Millicom International Cellular SA, SDR		1,812,254		1,847,782
	228,000	NTT DoCoMo Inc.		3,309,462		5,208,389
	45,000	Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A/S, ADR		608,237		396,900
	39,846	United States Cellular Corp.†		1,586,062		1,410,548
	35,000	Vodafone Group plc, ADR		991,750		996,100
				8,599,541		10,254,639
		TOTAL COMMON STOCKS		705,420,772		1,517,913,862
		CLOSED-END FUNDS — 0.6%
	133,000	Altaba Inc.†		2,151,294		8,809,920
		CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS — 0.1%
		Telecommunications — 0.1%
	29,200	Cincinnati Bell Inc., 6.750%, Ser. B		607,686		1,471,388
		RIGHTS — 0.0%
		Retail — 0.0%
	250,017	Safeway Casa Ley, CVR†		27,343		133,759
	250,017	Safeway PDC, CVR†		0		3,750
		TOTAL RIGHTS		27,343		137,509

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		WARRANTS — 0.0%
		Retail — 0.0%
	105	Sears Holdings Corp., expire 12/15/19†	$	522	$	227
		PURCHASED OPTIONS — 0.0%		364,052		254,375
		TOTAL INVESTMENTS — 104.1%	$	708,571,669		1,528,587,281
		Other Assets and Liabilities (Net) — (4.1)%				(59,586,169	)
		NET ASSETS — 100.0%			$	1,469,001,112

(a) Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(b) Securities, or a portion thereof, with a value of $2,261,500 were deposited with Pershing LLC as collateral.

† Non-income producing security.

ADR American Depositary Receipt

CVR Contingent Value Right

SDR Swedish Depositary Receipt

As of September 30, 2017, exchange traded options purchased outstanding were as follows:

	Number of		Notional		Exercise		Expiration		Market
Description	contracts		amount		price		date		Value
Exchange Traded Put Options Purchased — 0.0%
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.		1,250	$	6,627,500	$	55.00		10/06/17	$	254,375
TOTAL EXCHANGE TRADED PUT OPTIONS PURCHASED									$	254,375

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

11

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

September 30, 2017

Assets:
Investments, at value (cost $708,571,669)	$	1,528,587,281
Cash		110
Receivable for Fund shares sold		636,668
Dividends receivable		3,335,160
Prepaid expenses		39,003
Total Assets		1,532,598,222
Liabilities:
Line of credit payable		57,813,000
Payable to broker		363,995
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		3,447,029
Payable for investment advisory fees		1,212,286
Payable for distribution fees		365,283
Payable for accounting fees		11,250
Other accrued expenses		384,267
Total Liabilities		63,597,110
Net Assets (applicable to 65,660,565 shares outstanding)	$	1,469,001,112
Net Assets Consist of:
Paid-in capital	$	656,860,470
Undistributed net investment income		1,622,448
Distributions in excess of realized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions		(9,494,749	)
Net unrealized appreciation on investments		820,015,612
Net unrealized depreciation on foreign currency translations		(2,669	)
Net Assets	$	1,469,001,112

Shares of Capital Stock, each at $0.001 par value:
Class AAA:
Net Asset Value, offering, and redemption price per share ($662,696,298 ÷ 29,012,749 shares outstanding; 150,000,000 shares authorized)	$	22.84
Class A:
Net Asset Value and redemption price per share ($115,702,395 ÷ 5,090,490 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$	22.73
Maximum offering price per share (NAV ÷ 0.9425, based on maximum sales charge of 5.75% of the offering price)	$	24.12
Class C:
Net Asset Value and offering price per share ($246,689,725 ÷ 12,867,277 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$	19.17	(a)
Class I:
Net Asset Value, offering, and redemption price per share ($443,911,667 ÷ 18,690,004 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$	23.75
Class T:
Net Asset Value and redemption price per share ($1,027.23 ÷ 44.97 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$	22.84
Maximum offering price per share (NAV ÷ 0.975, based on maximum sales charge of 2.50% of the offering price)	$	23.43

(a) Redemption price varies based on the length of time held.

Statement of Operations

For the Year Ended September 30, 2017

Investment Income:
Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $1,309,914)	$	38,403,154
Interest		76,359
Other income*		67,621
Total Investment Income		38,547,134
Expenses:
Investment advisory fees		16,325,845
Distribution fees - Class AAA		1,871,276
Distribution fees - Class A		342,529
Distribution fees - Class C		2,803,748
Distribution fees - Class T		1
Shareholder services fees		1,331,481
Shareholder communication expenses		241,592
Custodian fees		202,664
Interest expense		202,474
Registration expenses		92,102
Directors’ fees		60,337
Legal and audit fees		55,282
Accounting fees		45,000
Miscellaneous expenses		116,288
Total Expenses		23,690,619
Less: Expenses paid indirectly by broker (See Note 6)		(13,585	)
Net Expenses		23,677,034
Net Investment Income		14,870,100
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Securities Sold Short, and
Foreign Currency:
Net realized gain on investments		224,468,937
Net realized gain on securities sold short		9,861
Net realized loss on foreign currency transactions		(86,447	)
Net realized gain on investments, securities sold short, and foreign currency transactions		224,392,351
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation: on investments		(28,300,180	)
on foreign currency translations		24,465
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations		(28,275,715	)
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Securities Sold Short, and Foreign Currency		196,116,636
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations	$	210,986,736

* The Fund received a reimbursement of custody expenses paid in prior years.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

12

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

	Year Ended September 30, 2017				Year Ended September 30, 2016
Operations:
Net investment income		$	14,870,100			$	18,933,756
Net realized gain on investments, securities sold short, and foreign currency transactions			224,392,351				185,422,705
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations			(28,275,715	)			10,943,889
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations			210,986,736				215,300,350
Distributions to Shareholders:
Net investment income
Class AAA			(7,628,898	)			(9,078,082	)
Class A			(1,403,125	)			(1,758,236	)
Class C			(1,318,106	)			(1,304,743	)
Class I			(5,758,710	)			(7,020,663	)
Class T			(1	)			—
			(16,108,840	)			(19,161,724	)
Net realized gain
Class AAA			(100,333,046	)			(83,259,250	)
Class A			(18,436,177	)			(16,104,680	)
Class C			(43,531,683	)			(34,165,941	)
Class I			(60,818,823	)			(51,342,435	)
Class T			(131	)			—
			(223,119,860	)			(184,872,306	)
Return of capital
Class AAA			(18,409,905	)			(32,303,440	)
Class A			(2,789,080	)			(6,305,011	)
Class C			(10,392,849	)			(16,125,596	)
Class I			(13,075,661	)			(14,445,009	)
Class T			(3	)			—
			(44,667,498	)			(69,179,056	)
Total Distributions to Shareholders			(283,896,198	)			(273,213,086	)
Capital Share Transactions:
Class AAA			(141,336,801	)			(127,327,265	)
Class A			(40,539,407	)			(17,529,218	)
Class C			(38,669,080	)			(4,788,500	)
Class I			(21,947,515	)			(170,384,648	)
Class T			1,134				—
Net Decrease in Net Assets from Capital Share Transactions			(242,491,669	)			(320,029,631	)
Redemption Fees			1,038				3,762
Net Decrease in Net Assets.			(315,400,093	)			(377,938,605	)
Net Assets:
Beginning of year			1,784,401,205				2,162,339,810
End of year (including undistributed net investment income of $1,622,448 and $2,280,726, respectively)		$	1,469,001,112			$	1,784,401,205

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

13

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Financial Highlights

Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding throughout each period:

				Income from Investment Operations											Distributions																									Ratios to Average Net Assets/ Supplemental Data
Year Ended September 30	Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period			Net Investment Income (a)			Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments				Total from Investment Operations				Net Investment Income				Net Realized Gain on Investments				Return of Capital				Total Distributions				Redemption Fees (a)(b)			Net Asset Value, End of Period			Total Return †			Net Assets End of Period (in 000’s)			Net Investment Income	Operating Expenses			Portfolio Turnover Rate
Class AAA
2017		$	24.06		$	0.24		$	2.97			$	3.21			$	(0.25	)		$	(3.33	)		$	(0.85	)		$	(4.43	)		$	0.00		$	22.84		13.91	%		$	662,696	0.97%		1.39	%(c)(d)		1	%
2016			25.08			0.26			2.72				2.98				(0.26	)			(2.35	)			(1.39	)			(4.00	)			0.00			24.06		11.31				833,154	0.99		1.39	(c)		1
2015			28.55			0.25			(1.71	)			(1.46	)			(0.18	)			(1.83	)			—				(2.01	)			0.00			25.08		(5.40	)			985,647	0.88		1.37	(c)		3
2014			26.68			0.30			3.05				3.35				(0.44	)			(0.38	)			(0.66	)			(1.48	)			0.00			28.55		12.64				1,604,629	1.06		1.37			4
2013			22.54			0.29			4.49				4.78				(0.64	)			—				—				(0.64	)			0.00			26.68		21.38				1,726,724	1.15		1.39			6
Class A
2017		$	23.96		$	0.24		$	2.96			$	3.20			$	(0.25	)		$	(3.33	)		$	(0.85	)		$	(4.43	)		$	0.00		$	22.73		13.92	%		$	115,702	0.96%		1.39	%(c)(d)		1	%
2016			24.99			0.26			2.71				2.97				(0.26	)			(2.35	)			(1.39	)			(4.00	)			0.00			23.96		11.31				160,593	0.99		1.39	(c)		1
2015			28.45			0.26			(1.71	)			(1.45	)			(0.18	)			(1.83	)			—				(2.01	)			0.00			24.99		(5.38	)			183,418	0.90		1.37	(c)		3
2014			26.59			0.30			3.04				3.34				(0.44	)			(0.38	)			(0.66	)			(1.48	)			0.00			28.45		12.64				209,501	1.07		1.37			4
2013			22.47			0.28			4.48				4.76				(0.64	)			—				—				(0.64	)			0.00			26.59		21.36				215,353	1.14		1.39			6
Class C
2017		$	20.99		$	0.05		$	2.56			$	2.61			$	(0.10	)		$	(3.33	)		$	(1.00	)		$	(4.43	)		$	0.00		$	19.17		13.04	%		$	246,690	0.22%		2.14	%(c)(d)		1	%
2016			22.48			0.06			2.45				2.51				(0.09	)			(2.35	)			(1.56	)			(4.00	)			0.00			20.99		10.51				306,349	0.24		2.14	(c)		1
2015			25.99			0.04			(1.54	)			(1.50	)			(0.18	)			(1.83	)			—				(2.01	)			0.00			22.48		(6.10	)			329,846	0.15		2.12	(c)		3
2014			24.59			0.08			2.80				2.88				(0.25	)			(0.38	)			(0.85	)			(1.48	)			0.00			25.99		11.78				321,772	0.31		2.12			4
2013			20.97			0.09			4.17				4.26				(0.64	)			—				—				(0.64	)			0.00			24.59		20.50				224,804	0.38		2.14			6
Class I
2017		$	24.80		$	0.31		$	3.07			$	3.38			$	(0.31	)		$	(3.33	)		$	(0.79	)		$	(4.43	)		$	0.00		$	23.75		14.19	%		$	443,912	1.21%		1.14	%(c)(d)		1	%
2016			25.68			0.33			2.79				3.12				(0.32	)			(2.35	)			(1.33	)			(4.00	)			0.00			24.80		11.59				484,305	1.24		1.14	(c)		1
2015			29.11			0.34			(1.76	)			(1.42	)			(0.18	)			(1.83	)			—				(2.01	)			0.00			25.68		(5.15	)			663,429	1.15		1.12	(c)		3
2014			27.11			0.38			3.10				3.48				(0.51	)			(0.38	)			(0.59	)			(1.48	)			0.00			29.11		12.92				652,719	1.28		1.12			4
2013			22.84			0.35			4.56				4.91				(0.64	)			—				—				(0.64	)			0.00			27.11		21.67				382,333	1.38		1.14			6
Class T(e)
2017		$	25.48		$	0.01		$	0.64			$	0.65			$	(0.01	)		$	(3.19	)		$	(0.09	)		$	(3.29	)			—		$	22.84		2.72	%		$	1	0.20%(f)		1.39	%(c)(f)		1	%

   † Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical $1,000 investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period including reinvestment of distributions and does not reflect applicable sales charges. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

(a) Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

(b) Amount represents less than $0.005 per share.

(c) The Fund received credits from a designated broker who agreed to pay certain Fund operating expenses. For the years ended September 30, 2017, 2016, and 2015, there was no impact on the expense ratios.

(d) The Fund incurred interest expense during the year ended September 30, 2017. If interest expense had not been incurred, the ratio of operating expenses to average net assets would have been 1.38% (Class AAA, Class A, and Class T), 2.13% (Class C), and 1.13% (Class I). For the years ended September 30, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013, the effect of interest expense was minimal.

(e) Class T Shares were initially offered on July 5, 2017.

(f) Annualized.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

14

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements

1. Organization. The Gabelli Equity Income Fund is a series of the Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc. (the “Corporation”). The Corporation was incorporated on July 25, 1991 in Maryland. The Fund is a diversified open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and one of three separately managed portfolios of the Corporation. The Fund seeks to provide a high level of total return on its assets with an emphasis on income. The Fund commenced investment operations on January 2, 1992. On July 5, 2017, the Fund began to offer for sale Class T Shares.

2. Significant Accounting Policies. As an investment company, the Fund follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance, which is part of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) that may require the use of management estimates and assumptions in the preparation of its financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements.

Security Valuation. Portfolio securities listed or traded on a nationally recognized securities exchange or traded in the U.S. over-the-counter market for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last quoted sale price or a market’s official closing price as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued. If there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the average of the closing bid and asked prices or, if there were no asked prices quoted on that day, then the security is valued at the closing bid price on that day. If no bid or asked prices are quoted on such day, the security is valued at the most recently available price or, if the Board of Directors (the “Board”) so determines, by such other method as the Board shall determine in good faith to reflect its fair market value. Portfolio securities traded on more than one national securities exchange or market are valued according to the broadest and most representative market, as determined by Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”).

Portfolio securities primarily traded on a foreign market are generally valued at the preceding closing values of such securities on the relevant market, but may be fair valued pursuant to procedures established by the Board if market conditions change significantly after the close of the foreign market, but prior to the close of business on the day the securities are being valued. Debt obligations for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the average of the latest bid and asked prices. If there were no asked prices quoted on such day, the security is valued using the closing bid price, unless the Board determines such amount does not reflect the securities’ fair value, in which case these securities will be fair valued as determined by the Board. Certain securities are valued principally using dealer quotations. Futures contracts are valued at the closing settlement price of the exchange or board of trade on which the applicable contract is traded. OTC futures and options on futures for which market quotations are readily available will be valued by quotations received from a pricing service or, if no quotations are available from a pricing service, by quotations obtained from one or more dealers in the instrument in question by the Adviser.

Securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available are fair valued as determined by the Board. Fair valuation methodologies and procedures may include, but are not limited to: analysis and review of available financial and non-financial information about the company; comparisons with the valuation and changes in valuation of similar securities, including a comparison of foreign securities with the equivalent U.S. dollar value American Depositary Receipt securities at the close of the U.S. exchange; and evaluation of any other information that could be indicative of the value of the security.

15

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

The inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value of the Fund’s investments are summarized into three levels as described in the hierarchy below:

· Level 1 —	quoted prices in active markets for identical securities;
· Level 2 —	other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.); and
· Level 3 —	significant unobservable inputs (including the Board’s determinations as to the fair value of investments).

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input both individually and in the aggregate that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The summary of the Fund’s investments in securities and other financial instruments by inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2017 is as follows:

	Valuation Inputs
	Level 1 Quoted Prices		Level 2 Other Significant Observable Inputs		Level 3 Other Significant Observable Inputs	Total Market Value at 9/30/17
INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES:
ASSETS (Market Value):
Common Stocks (a)
Energy and Utilities: Electric		$      5,515,690		—	$  0		$        5,515,690
Other Industries (a)		1,512,398,172		—	—		1,512,398,172
Total Common Stocks		1,517,913,862		—	0		1,517,913,862
Closed-End Funds		8,809,920		—	—		8,809,920
Convertible Preferred Stocks (a)		1,471,388		—	—		1,471,388
Rights (a)		—		$137,509	—		137,509
Warrants (a)		227		—	—		227
TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES – ASSETS		$1,528,195,397		$137,509	$  0		$1,528,332,906
OTHER FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS:*
ASSETS (Market Value):
EQUITY CONTRACTS:
Equity Put Options Purchased		—		$254,375	—		$          254,375

(a) Please refer to the Schedule of Investments for the industry classifications of these portfolio holdings.

* Other financial instruments are derivatives reflected in the SOI, such as options, futures, forwards, and swaps, which may be valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation of the instrument.

The Fund did not have material transfers among Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017. The Fund’s policy is to recognize transfers among Levels as of the beginning of the reporting period.

Additional Information to Evaluate Qualitative Information.

    General. The Fund uses recognized industry pricing services – approved by the Board and unaffiliated with the Adviser – to value most of its securities, and uses broker quotes provided by market makers of securities not valued by these and other recognized pricing sources. Several different pricing feeds are received to value domestic equity securities, international equity securities, preferred equity securities, and fixed income securities. The data within these feeds are ultimately sourced from major stock exchanges and trading systems where these securities trade. The prices supplied by external sources are checked by obtaining quotations or actual

16

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

transaction prices from market participants. If a price obtained from the pricing source is deemed unreliable, prices will be sought from another pricing service or from a broker/dealer that trades that security or similar securities.

    Fair Valuation. Fair valued securities may be common or preferred equities, warrants, options, rights, or fixed income obligations. Where appropriate, Level 3 securities are those for which market quotations are not available, such as securities not traded for several days, or for which current bids are not available, or which are restricted as to transfer. When fair valuing a security, factors to consider include recent prices of comparable securities that are publicly traded, reliable prices of securities not publicly traded, the use of valuation models, current analyst reports, valuing the income or cash flow of the issuer, or cost if the preceding factors do not apply. A significant change in the unobservable inputs could result in a lower or higher value in Level 3 securities. The circumstances of Level 3 securities are frequently monitored to determine if fair valuation measures continue to apply.

The Adviser reports quarterly to the Board the results of the application of fair valuation policies and procedures. These may include backtesting the prices realized in subsequent trades of these fair valued securities to fair values previously recognized.

Derivative Financial Instruments. The Fund may engage in various portfolio investment strategies by investing in derivative financial instruments for the purposes of increasing the income of the Fund, hedging against changes in the value of its portfolio securities and in the value of securities it intends to purchase, or hedging against a specific transaction with respect to either the currency in which the transaction is denominated or another currency. Investing in certain derivative financial instruments, including participation in the options, futures, or swap markets, entails certain execution, liquidity, hedging, tax, and securities, interest, credit, or currency market risks. Losses may arise if the Adviser’s prediction of movements in the direction of the securities, foreign currency, and interest rate markets is inaccurate. Losses may also arise if the counterparty does not perform its duties under a contract, or in the event of default, the Fund may be delayed in or prevented from obtaining payments or other contractual remedies owed to it under derivative contracts. The creditworthiness of the counterparties is closely monitored in order to minimize these risks. Participation in derivative transactions involves investment risks, transaction costs, and potential losses to which the Fund would not be subject absent the use of these strategies. The consequences of these risks, transaction costs, and losses may have a negative impact on the Fund’s ability to pay distributions.

Collateral requirements differ by type of derivative. Collateral requirements are set by the broker or exchange clearing house for exchange traded derivatives, while collateral terms are contract specific for derivatives traded over-the-counter. Securities pledged to cover obligations of the Fund under derivative contracts are noted in the Schedule of Investments. Cash collateral, if any, pledged for the same purpose will be reported separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund’s derivative contracts held at September 30, 2017, if any, are not accounted for as hedging instruments under GAAP and are disclosed in the Schedule of Investments together with the related counterparty.

    Options. The Fund may purchase or write call or put options on securities or indices for the purpose of increasing the income of the Fund. As a writer of put options, the Fund receives a premium at the outset and then bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the financial instrument underlying the option. The

17

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

Fund would incur a loss if the price of the underlying financial instrument decreases between the date the option is written and the date on which the option is terminated. The Fund would realize a gain, to the extent of the premium, if the price of the financial instrument increases between those dates.

As a purchaser of call options, the Fund pays a premium for the right to buy the underlying security at a specified price. The seller of the call has the obligation to sell the underlying security upon exercise at the exercise price. If the price of the underlying security declines, the Fund would realize a loss upon sale or exercise. If the price of the underlying security increases or stays the same, the Fund would realize a gain upon sale or at expiration date, but only to the extent of the premium paid.

As a purchaser of put options, the Fund pays a premium for the right to sell to the seller of the put option the underlying security at a specified price. The seller of the put has the obligation to purchase the underlying security upon exercise at the exercise price. If the price of the underlying security declines, the Fund would realize a gain upon sale or exercise. If the price of the underlying security increases or stays the same, the Fund would realize a loss upon sale or at expiration date, but only to the extent of the premium paid.

If a written call option is exercised, the premium is added to the proceeds from the sale of the underlying security in determining whether there has been a realized gain or loss. If a written put option is exercised, the premium reduces the cost basis of the security. In the case of call options, the exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money,” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively. The Fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when the Adviser expects that the price of the underlying security will remain stable or decline during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when the Adviser expects that the price of the underlying security will remain stable, decline, or advance moderately during the option period, and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the Adviser expects that the premiums received from writing the call option will be greater than the appreciation in the price of the underlying security above the exercise price. By writing a call option, the Fund limits its opportunity to profit from any increase in the market value of the underlying security above the exercise price of the option. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money, and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments that such call options are used in equivalent transactions. Option positions at September 30, 2017 are reflected within the Schedule of Investments.

The Fund’s volume of activity in put options purchased while outstanding during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 had an average monthly market value of approximately $315,485.

As of September 30, 2017, the value of options purchased that were held with equity risk exposure can be found in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities under Assets, within Investments, at value. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the effect of options purchased with equity risk exposure can be found in the Statement of Operations, under Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Securities Sold Short, and Foreign Currency, within Net realized gain on investments, and Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments.

Securities Sold Short. The Fund may enter into short sale transactions. Short selling involves selling securities that may or may not be owned and, at times, borrowing the same securities for delivery to the purchaser, with an obligation to replace such borrowed securities at a later date. The proceeds received from short sales are recorded as liabilities and the Fund records an unrealized gain or loss to the extent of the difference between

18

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

the proceeds received and the value of an open short position on the day of determination. The Fund records a realized gain or loss when the short position is closed out. By entering into a short sale, the Fund bears the market risk of an unfavorable change in the price of the security sold short. Dividends on short sales are recorded as an expense by the Fund on the ex-dividend date and interest expense is recorded on the accrual basis. The broker retains collateral for the value of the open positions, which is adjusted periodically as the value of the position fluctuates. At September 30, 2017, there were no short sales outstanding.

Foreign Currency Translations. The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currencies, investments, and other assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates. Purchases and sales of investment securities, income, and expenses are translated at the exchange rate prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Unrealized gains and losses that result from changes in foreign exchange rates and/or changes in market prices of securities have been included in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations. Net realized foreign currency gains and losses resulting from changes in exchange rates include foreign currency gains and losses between trade date and settlement date on investment securities transactions, foreign currency transactions, and the difference between the amounts of interest and dividends recorded on the books of the Fund and the amounts actually received. The portion of foreign currency gains and losses related to fluctuation in exchange rates between the initial purchase trade date and subsequent sale trade date is included in realized gain/(loss) on investments.

Foreign Securities. The Fund may directly purchase securities of foreign issuers. Investing in securities of foreign issuers involves special risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. The risks include possible revaluation of currencies, the inability to repatriate funds, less complete financial information about companies, and possible future adverse political and economic developments. Moreover, securities of many foreign issuers and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers.

Foreign Taxes. The Fund may be subject to foreign taxes on income, gains on investments, or currency repatriation, a portion of which may be recoverable. The Fund will accrue such taxes and recoveries as applicable, based upon its current interpretation of tax rules and regulations that exist in the markets in which it invests.

Restricted Securities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities for which the markets are restricted. Restricted securities include securities whose disposition is subject to substantial legal or contractual restrictions. The sale of restricted securities often requires more time and results in higher brokerage charges or dealer discounts and other selling expenses than the sale of securities eligible for trading on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter markets. Restricted securities may sell at a price lower than similar securities that are not subject to restrictions on resale. Securities freely saleable among qualified institutional investors under special rules adopted by the SEC may be treated as liquid if they satisfy liquidity standards established by the Board. The continued liquidity of such securities is not as well assured as that of publicly traded securities, and accordingly the Board will monitor their liquidity. At September 30, 2017, the Fund did not hold restricted securities.

Securities Transactions and Investment Income. Securities transactions are accounted for on the trade date with realized gain/(loss) on investments determined by using the identified cost method. Interest income (including amortization of premium and accretion of discount) is recorded on the accrual basis. Premiums and discounts on debt securities are amortized using the effective yield to maturity method. Dividend income is recorded on

19

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

the ex-dividend date, except for certain dividends from foreign securities that are recorded as soon after the ex-dividend date as the Fund becomes aware of such dividends.

Determination of Net Asset Value and Calculation of Expenses. Certain administrative expenses are common to, and allocated among, various affiliated funds. Such allocations are made on the basis of each fund’s average net assets or other criteria directly affecting the expenses as determined by the Adviser pursuant to procedures established by the Board.

In calculating the NAV per share of each class, investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, redemption fees, and expenses other than class specific expenses are allocated daily to each class of shares based upon the proportion of net assets of each class at the beginning of each day. Distribution expenses are borne solely by the class incurring the expense.

Distributions to Shareholders. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions to shareholders are based on income and capital gains as determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from income and capital gains as determined under GAAP. These differences are primarily due to differing treatments of income and gains on various investment securities and foreign currency transactions held by the Fund, timing differences, and differing characterizations of distributions made by the Fund. Distributions from net investment income for federal income tax purposes include net realized gains on foreign currency transactions. These book/tax differences are either temporary or permanent in nature. To the extent these differences are permanent, adjustments are made to the appropriate capital accounts in the period when the differences arise. Permanent differences were primarily due to recharacterization of distributions. These reclassifications have no impact on the NAV of the Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2017, reclassifications were made to increase undistributed net investment income by $580,462 and increase distributions in excess of net realized gain by $465,322 with an offsetting adjustment to paid-in capital.

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:

	Year Ended September 30, 2017		Year Ended September 30, 2016
Distributions paid from:
Ordinary income		$  16,301,070		$  19,177,983
Net long term capital gains		222,927,630		184,856,047
Return of capital		44,667,498		69,179,056
Total distributions paid		$283,896,198		$273,213,086

The Fund has a fixed distribution policy. Under the policy, the Fund declares and pays monthly distributions from net investment income, capital gains, and paid-in capital. The actual source of the distribution is determined after the end of the calendar year. Pursuant to this policy, distributions during the calendar year are made in excess of required distributions. To the extent such distributions are made from current earnings and profits, they are considered ordinary income or long term capital gains. The Fund’s current distribution policy may restrict the Fund’s ability to pass through to shareholders all of its net realized long term capital gains as a Capital Gain Dividend, subject to the maximum federal income tax rate of 20%, and may cause such gains to be treated as ordinary income subject to a maximum federal income tax rate of 39.6%. In addition, certain U.S. shareholders who are individuals, estates, or trusts and whose income exceeds certain thresholds will be required to pay 3.8% Medicare tax on their “net investment income,” which includes dividends received from the Fund and capital gains from the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund. Distributions sourced from paid-in

20

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

capital should not be considered as dividend yield or the total return from an investment in the Fund. The Board continues to evaluate its distribution policy in light of ongoing economic and market conditions and may change the amount of the monthly distributions in the future.

Provision for Income Taxes. The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). It is the policy of the Fund to comply with the requirements of the Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its net investment company taxable income and net capital gains. Therefore, no provision for federal income taxes is required.

At September 30, 2017, the components of accumulated earnings/losses on a tax basis were as follows:

Net unrealized appreciation on investments $ 812,140,639

At September 30, 2017, the temporary difference between book basis and tax basis net unrealized appreciation on investments was due to deferral of losses from wash sales for tax purposes and tax basis adjustments on investments in partnerships.

The following summarizes the tax cost of investments and the related net unrealized appreciation at September 30, 2017:

	Cost			Gross Unrealized Appreciation			Gross Unrealized Depreciation				Net Unrealized Appreciation
Investments		$	716,443,973		$	833,972,967		$	(21,829,659	)		$	812,143,308

The Fund is required to evaluate tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Fund’s tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. Income tax and related interest and penalties would be recognized by the Fund as tax expense in the Statement of Operations if the tax positions were deemed not to meet the more-likely-than-not threshold. For the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund did not incur any income tax, interest, or penalties. As of September 30, 2017, the Adviser has reviewed all open tax years and concluded that there was no impact to the Fund’s net assets or results of operations. The Fund’s federal and state tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remain open, subject to examination. On an ongoing basis, the Adviser will monitor the Fund’s tax positions to determine if adjustments to this conclusion are necessary.

3. Investment Advisory Agreement and Other Transactions. The Fund has entered into an investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) with the Adviser which provides that the Fund will pay the Adviser a fee, computed daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 1.00% of the value of its average daily net assets. In accordance with the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser provides a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio, oversees the administration of all aspects of the Fund’s business and affairs, and pays the compensation of all Officers and Directors of the Fund who are affiliated persons of the Adviser.

The Corporation pays each Director who is not considered an affiliated person an annual retainer of $18,000 plus $2,000 for each Board meeting attended, and they are reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings. All Board committee members receive $1,000 per meeting attended. The Chairman of the Audit Committee receives a $3,000 annual fee, and the Lead Director receives an annual fee of $2,000. A Director may receive a single meeting fee, allocated among the participating funds, for attending certain

21

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

meetings held on behalf of multiple funds. Directors who are directors or employees of the Adviser or an affiliated company receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Corporation.

4. Distribution Plan. The Fund’s Board has adopted a distribution plan (the “Plan”) for each class of shares, except for Class I Shares, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Class AAA, Class A, Class C, and Class T Share Plans, payments are authorized to G.distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of the Adviser, at annual rates of 0.25%, 0.25%, 1.00%, and 0.25%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of those classes, the annual limitations under each Plan. Such payments are accrued daily and paid monthly.

5. Portfolio Securities. Purchases and sales of securities during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, other than short term securities and U.S. Government obligations, aggregated $10,096,212 and $511,774,469, respectively.

6. Transactions with Affiliates and Other Arrangements. During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid $245,285 in brokerage commissions on security trades to G.research, LLC, an affiliate of the Adviser. Additionally, the Distributor retained a total of $112,887 from investors representing commissions (sales charges and underwriting fees) on sales and redemptions of Fund shares.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund received credits from a designated broker who agreed to pay certain Fund operating expenses. The amount of such expenses paid through this directed brokerage arrangement during this period was $13,585.

The cost of calculating the Fund’s NAV per share is a Fund expense pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid or accrued $45,000 to the Adviser in connection with the cost of computing the Fund’s NAV.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund engaged in sale transactions with funds that have a common investment adviser. These sale transactions complied with Rule 17a-7 under the Act and amount to $158,531.

7. Line of Credit. The Fund participates in an unsecured line of credit, which expires on March 8, 2018 and may be renewed annually, of up to $75,000,000 under which it may borrow up to 10% of its net assets from the custodian for temporary borrowing purposes. Borrowings under this arrangement bear interest at a floating rate equal to the higher of the overnight Federal Funds rate plus 125 basis points or the 30 day LIBOR plus 125 basis points in effect on that day. This amount, if any, would be included in “interest expense” in the Statement of Operations. At September 30, 2017, there was $57,813,000 outstanding under the line of credit.

The average daily amount of borrowings outstanding under the line of credit during the year ended September 30, 2017 was $11,071,299 with a weighted average interest rate of 2.17%. The maximum amount borrowed at any time during the year ended September 30, 2017 was $57,813,000.

8. Capital Stock. The Fund offers five classes of shares – Class AAA Shares, Class A Shares, Class C Shares, Class I Shares, and Class T Shares. Class AAA and Class I Shares are offered without a sales charge. Class A Shares and Class T Shares are subject to a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75% and 2.50%, respectively. Class C Shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge for one year after purchase.

22

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

The Fund imposes a redemption fee of 2.00% on all classes of shares that are redeemed or exchanged on or before the seventh day after the date of a purchase. The redemption fee is deducted from the proceeds otherwise payable to the redeeming shareholders and is retained by the Fund as an increase in paid-in capital. The redemption fees retained by the Fund during the years ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, if any, can be found in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets under Redemption Fees.

Transactions in shares of capital stock were as follows:

	Year Ended September 30, 2017						Year Ended September 30, 2016
	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Class AAA
Shares sold		862,523		$	21,170,107			1,436,608		$	37,106,495
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		5,139,637			121,720,640			4,791,800			117,986,705
Shares redeemed		(11,617,845	)		(284,227,548	)		(10,900,808	)		(282,420,465	)
Net decrease		(5,615,685	)	$	(141,336,801	)		(4,672,400	)	$	(127,327,265	)
Class A
Shares sold		1,006,847		$	24,446,134			1,339,365		$	34,432,584
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		883,500			20,834,875			883,107			21,644,670
Shares redeemed		(3,502,297	)		(85,820,416	)		(2,859,662	)		(73,606,472	)
Net decrease		(1,611,950	)	$	(40,539,407	)		(637,190	)	$	(17,529,218	)
Class C
Shares sold		1,568,812		$	32,959,277			2,876,079		$	66,322,080
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		2,430,036			48,957,746			2,069,324			44,696,486
Shares redeemed		(5,728,392	)		(120,586,103	)		(5,019,513	)		(115,807,066	)
Net decrease		(1,729,544	)	$	(38,669,080	)		(74,110	)	$	(4,788,500	)
Class I
Shares sold		4,269,136		$	108,875,120			2,668,289		$	70,894,899
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		2,954,672			72,514,758			2,591,553			65,764,539
Shares redeemed		(8,063,673	)		(203,337,393	)		(11,564,857	)		(307,044,086	)
Net decrease		(839,865	)	$	(21,947,515	)		(6,305,015	)	$	(170,384,648	)
Class T (a)
Shares sold		39		$	1,000			—			—
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		6			134			—			—
Net increase		45		$	1,134			—			—

(a) Class T Shares were initially offered on July 5, 2017.

9. Indemnifications. The Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Fund has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts. Management has reviewed the Fund’s existing contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.

10. Subsequent Events. Management has evaluated the impact on the Fund of all subsequent events occurring through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.

23

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of The Gabelli Equity Income Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc., including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2017, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2017, by correspondence with the Fund’s custodian and broker, as applicable. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The Gabelli Equity Income Fund, a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc., at September 30, 2017, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

November 28, 2017

24

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Additional Fund Information (Unaudited)

The business and affairs of the Corporation are managed under the direction of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. Information pertaining to the Directors and officers of the Corporation is set forth below. The Corporation’s Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Corporation’s Directors and is available without charge, upon request, by calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554) or by writing to The Gabelli Equity Income Fund at One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422.

Name, Position(s) Address1 and Age	Term of Office and Length of Time Served2	Number of Funds in Fund Complex Overseen by Director	Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years	Other Directorships Held by Director4
INTERESTED DIRECTORS3:
Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Director and Chief Investment Officer Age: 75	Since 1991	32	Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer– Value Portfolios of GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Chief Investment Officer– Value Portfolios of Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc.; Director/Trustee or Chief Investment Officer of other registered investment companies within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex; Chief Executive Officer of GGCP, Inc.; Executive Chairman of Associated Capital Group, Inc.	Director of Morgan Group Holdings, Inc. (holding company); Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of LICT Corp. (multimedia and communication services company); Director of CIBL, Inc. (broadcasting and wireless communications); Director of ICTC Group Inc. (communications); Director of RLJ Acquisition, Inc. (blank check company) (2011-2012)
John D. Gabelli Director Age: 73	Since 1991	10	Senior Vice President of G.research, LLC	—
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS5:
Anthony J. Colavita Director Age: 81	Since 1991	28	President of the law firm of Anthony J. Colavita, P.C.	—
Vincent D. Enright Director Age: 73	Since 1991	17	Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of KeySpan Corp. (public utility) (1994-1998)	Director of Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (therapeutics and diagnostics) (2008- 2014); Director of the LGL Group, Inc. (diversified manufacturing) (2011-2014)
Robert J. Morrissey Director Age: 78	Since 1991	6	Partner in the law firm of Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch	Chairman of the Board of Directors, Belmont Savings Bank
Kuni Nakamura Director Age: 49	Since 2009	33	President of Advanced Polymer, Inc. (chemical manufacturing company); President of KEN Enterprises, Inc. (real estate)	—
Anthony R. Pustorino Director Age: 92	Since 1991	10	Certified Public Accountant; Professor Emeritus, Pace University	Director of The LGL Group, Inc. (diversified manufacturing) (2004-2011)
Anthonie C. van Ekris Director Age: 83	Since 1991	22	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BALMAC International, Inc. (global import/ export company)	—
Salvatore J. Zizza Director Age: 71	Since 2001	30	President of Zizza & Associates Corp. (private holding company); Chairman of Harbor Diversified, Inc. (pharmaceuticals); Chairman of BAM (semiconductor and aerospace manufacturing); Chairman of Bergen Cove Realty Inc.; Chairman of Metropolitan Paper Recycling Inc. (recycling) (2005-2014)	Director and Vice Chairman of Trans-Lux Corporation (business services); Director and Chairman of Harbor Diversified Inc. (pharmaceuticals); Director, Chairman, and CEO of General Employment Enterprises (staffing services) (2009-2012)

25

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Additional Fund Information (Continued) (Unaudited)

Name, Position(s) Address1 and Age	Term of Office and Length of Time Served2		Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years
OFFICERS:
Bruce N. Alpert President Age: 65		Since 1991	Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 1988; Officer of registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex; Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2008; Director of Teton Advisors, Inc., 1998-2012
Agnes Mullady Vice President Age: 59		Since 2006	Officer of all of the registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2006; President and Chief Operating Officer of the Fund Division of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2015; Chief Executive Officer of G.distributors, LLC since 2010; Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2009; Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2007; Executive Vice President of Associated Capital Group, Inc. since 2016
Andrea R. Mango Secretary Age: 45		Since 2013	Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2016; Counsel of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2013; Secretary of all registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2013; Vice President of all closed-end funds within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2014; Corporate Vice President within the Corporate Compliance Department of New York Life Insurance Company, 2011-2013; Vice President and Counsel of Deutsche Bank, 2006-2011
John C. Ball Treasurer Age: 41		Since 2017	Treasurer of funds within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex (closed-end funds since May 2017 and open-end funds since February 2017); Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of AMG Funds, 2014-2017; Vice President of State Street Corporation, 2007- 2014
Richard J. Walz Chief Compliance Officer Age: 58		Since 2013	Chief Compliance Officer of all of the registered investment companies within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2013; Chief Compliance Officer of AEGON USA Investment Management, 2011-2013; Chief Compliance Officer of Cutwater Asset Management, 2004-2011

¹  Address: One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422, unless otherwise noted.

²  Each Director will hold office for an indefinite term until the earliest of (i) the next meeting of shareholders, if any, called for the purpose of considering the election or re-election of such Director and until the election and qualification of his or her successor, if any, elected at such meeting, or (ii) the date a Director resigns or retires, or a Director is removed by the Board of Directors or shareholders, in accordance with the Fund’s By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation. Each officer will hold office for an indefinite term until the date he or she resigns or retires or until his or her successor is elected and qualified.

³  “Interested person” of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act. Messers. Gabelli are each considered an “interested person” because of their affiliation with Gabelli Funds, LLC which acts as the Fund’s investment adviser. Mario J. Gabelli and John D. Gabelli are brothers.

⁴  This column includes only directorships of companies required to report to the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, i.e., public companies, or other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act.

⁵  Directors who are not interested persons are considered “Independent” Directors.

26

The Gabelli Equity Income Fund

Additional Fund Information (Continued) (Unaudited)

2017 TAX NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS (Unaudited)

For the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid to shareholders, ordinary income distributions (inclusive of short term capital gains) totaling $0.256, $0.256, $0.104, $0.318, and $0.01 for Class AAA, Class A, Class C, Class I, and Class T, respectively, and long term capital gains totaling $222,927,630, or the maximum allowable. The distribution of long term capital gains has been designated as a capital gain dividend by the Fund’s Board of Directors. For the year ended September 30, 2017, 100% of the ordinary income distribution qualifies for the dividends received deduction available to corporations. The Fund designates 100% of the ordinary income distribution as qualified dividend income pursuant to the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The Fund designates 0.19% of the ordinary income distribution as qualified interest income pursuant to the Tax Relief, Unemployment Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. The Fund designates 100% of the ordinary income distribution as qualified short term gain pursuant to the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.

All designations are based on financial information available as of the date of this annual report and, accordingly, are subject to change. For each item, it is the intention of the Fund to designate the maximum amount permitted under the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder.

27

Gabelli/GAMCO Funds and Your Personal Privacy

Who are we?

The Gabelli/GAMCO Funds are investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940. We are managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc., which are affiliated with GAMCO Investors, Inc. that is a publicly held company with subsidiaries and affiliates that provide investment advisory services for a variety of clients.

What kind of non-public information do we collect about you if you become a fund shareholder?

If you apply to open an account directly with us, you will be giving us some non-public information about yourself. The non-public information we collect about you is:

● Information you give us on your application form. This could include your name, address, telephone number, social security number, bank account number, and other information.

● Information about your transactions with us, any transactions with our affiliates, and transactions with the entities we hire to provide services to you. This would include information about the shares that you buy or redeem. If we hire someone else to provide services — like a transfer agent — we will also have information about the transactions that you conduct through them.

What information do we disclose and to whom do we disclose it?

We do not disclose any non-public personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone other than our affiliates, our service providers who need to know such information, and as otherwise permitted by law. If you want to find out what the law permits, you can read the privacy rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are in volume 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 248. The Commission often posts information about its regulations on its website, www.sec.gov.

What do we do to protect your personal information?

We restrict access to non-public personal information about you to the people who need to know that information in order to provide services to you or the fund and to ensure that we are complying with the laws governing the securities business. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to keep your personal information confidential.

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GABELLI EQUITY INCOME FUND

One Corporate Center

Rye, NY 10580-1422

Portfolio Manager Biography

Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer - Value Portfolios of GAMCO Investors, Inc. that he founded in 1977, and Chief Investment Officer - Value Portfolios of Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc. He is also Executive Chairman of Associated Capital Group, Inc. Mr. Gabelli is a summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University and holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and Honorary Doctorates from Fordham University and Roger Williams University.

We have separated the portfolio manager’s commentary from the financial statements and investment portfolio due to corporate governance regulations stipulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have done this to ensure that the content of the portfolio manager’s commentary is unrestricted. Both the commentary and the financial statements, including the portfolio of investments, will be available on our website at www.gabelli.com.

Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc.

THE GABELLI EQUITY INCOME FUND

One Corporate Center

Rye, New York 10580-1422

t 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554)

f 914-921-5118

e info@gabelli.com

   GABELLI.COM

Net Asset Value per share available daily

by calling 800-GABELLI after 7:00 P.M.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, GAMCO Investors, Inc. Executive Chairman, Associated Capital Group, Inc.   Anthony J. Colavita President, Anthony J. Colavita, P.C.   Vincent D. Enright Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, KeySpan Corp.   John D. Gabelli Senior Vice President, G.research, LLC   Robert J. Morrissey Partner, Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch   Kuni Nakamura President, Advanced Polymer, Inc.   Anthony R. Pustorino Certified Public Accountant, Professor Emeritus, Pace University Anthonie C. van Ekris Chairman, BALMAC International, Inc.   Salvatore J. Zizza Chairman, Zizza & Associates Corp.   OFFICERS Bruce N. Alpert President   Agnes Mullady Vice President   Andrea R. Mango Secretary   John C. Ball Treasurer   Richard J. Walz Chief Compliance Officer   DISTRIBUTOR G.distributors, LLC   CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AGENT, AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT State Street Bank and Trust Company   LEGAL COUNSEL Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP  

This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of The Gabelli Equity Income Fund. It is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.

GAB444Q317AR

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund   Annual Report — September 30, 2017 Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Portfolio Manager

To Our Shareholders,

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the net asset value (“NAV”) per Class AAA Share of The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund increased 21.6% compared with an increase of 20.7% for the Russell 2000 Index. See page 3 for additional performance information.

Enclosed are the financial statements, including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2017.

Performance Discussion

The Fund invests primarily in small cap companies that, through bottom-up fundamental research, the portfolio manager believes are attractively priced relative to their earnings growth potential or private market value. The Fund characterizes small capitalization companies as those companies with a market capitalization at the time of the Fund’s initial investment of $3 billion or less.

The post election rally of 2016 continued into the first quarter of 2017, with the U.S. equity market setting all time highs. The so called “Trump Rally” was fueled by the potential for increased fiscal stimulus, lower corporate and individual taxes, and deregulation and small cap stocks rallied as a result. Robust hiring, falling unemployment, and firming wage growth opened the door for the Federal Reserve to raise short term interest rates for the third time since the financial crisis. Outside the U.S., markets continue to digest the populist upheavals that have occurred not only in America, but around the globe. Worldwide announced merger and acquisition (M&A) activity totaled $777.7 billion during the first quarter of 2017, a 12% increase year over year.

Stocks performed strongly during the first half of 2017 with the S&P rising 8.2% before dividends, and small cap stocks also rallying. The Federal Reserve continued tapping the brakes on the third round of its quantitative easing by raising the Federal Reserve Funds rate to a range of 1.0%-1.25% in June 2017. The Federal Reserve indicated it would begin shrinking its balance sheet later this year and current expectations are for three additional increases in each of 2018 and 2019 which would put the Federal Reserve Funds rate at 3.0%, still well below its prior peak. Worldwide M&A activity rose 2% to $1.6 trillion as a vibrant Europe offset a 16% decline in U.S. M&A volume.

The U.S. stock market advanced to record highs in September, with the S&P 500 in positive territory for an eighth consecutive quarter. Economic indicators continued to point upward around the world, with low inflation, falling unemployment, and rising consumer spending all contributing to the stock market’s rise, including small cap stocks. The Trump administration’s policies came back into focus during the quarter with the announcement of a deal to extend the debt ceiling and the release of a highly anticipated tax reform blueprint. Worldwide M&A activity totaled $2.4 trillion during the first nine months of 2017, a 3% increase compared with the first nine months of 2016. Overall, 35,360 worldwide deals were announced during the first nine months of 2017, flat compared with a year ago.

Among the better performing stocks for the fiscal year were Ferro Corp. (1.3% of net assets as of September

30, 2017), which has transformed itself into a specialty materials company focusing on glass technology and colors. The company’s end markets include consumer electronics, construction, automotive, and appliances. Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (1.2%), is a manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems. The company benefited from the announcement that Northrop Grumman would acquire its peer Orbital ATK as well as the awarding of Department of Defense space rocket and missile defense/strategic munitions contracts. RPC Inc. (1.4%) is an oil and gas services company engaged in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties.

Our weaker performing stocks during the year were: O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (1.0%), headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, is one of the largest specialty retailers of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the U.S. Ingles Markets Inc. (0.5%), is a supermarket chain in the southeast United States whose segments include retail grocery, fluid dairy operations, and shopping center rentals. Superior Industries International Inc. (0.2%) is engaged in the design and manufacture of aluminum wheels for sale to original equipment manufacturers.

We appreciate your confidence and trust.

Comparative Results

Average Annual Returns through September 30, 2017 (a)(b) (Unaudited)

	1 Year			5 Year			10 Year			15 Year			Since Inception (10/22/91)
Class AAA (GABSX)		21.56	%		13.78	%		8.66	%		12.30	%		12.78	%
Russell 2000 Index		20.74			13.79			7.85			11.37			9.93
Class A (GCASX)		21.55			13.78			8.66			12.30			12.78
With sales charge (c)		14.56			12.44			8.02			11.86			12.52
Class C (GCCSX)		20.65			12.93			7.86			11.54			12.34
With contingent deferred sales charge (d)		19.65			12.93			7.86			11.54			12.34
Class I (GACIX)		21.84			14.06			8.93			12.49			12.89
Class T (GATIX)		21.56			13.78			8.66			12.30			12.78
With sales charge (e)		18.52			13.20			8.39			12.11			12.02

In the current prospectuses dated January 27, 2017, as amended July 5, 2017, the expense ratios for Class AAA, A, C, I, and T Shares are 1.39%, 1.39%, 2.14%, 1.14%, and 1.39%, respectively. See page 18 for the expense ratios for the year ended September 30, 2017.Class AAA and Class I Shares have no sales charge. The maximum sales charge for Class A, C, and Class T Shares is 5.75%, 1.00%,and 2.50%, respectively.

(a) Returns represent past performance and do not guarantee future results. Total returns and average annual returns reflect changes in share price, reinvestment of distributions, and are net of expenses. Investment returns and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate. When shares are redeemed, they may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data presented. Visit www.gabelli.com for performance information as of the most recent month end. The Fund imposes a 2% redemption fee on shares sold or exchanged within seven days after the date of purchase. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fund before investing. The prospectuses contain information about these and other matters and should be read carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus please visit our website at www.gabelli.com. The Class AAA Share NAVs are used to calculate performance for the periods prior to the issuance of Class A Shares and Class C Shares on December 31, 2003, the Class I Shares on January 11, 2008, and Class T Shares on July 5, 2017. The actual performance of the Class A Shares, Class C Shares, and Class T Shares would have been lower due to the additional fees and expenses associated with these classes of shares. The actual performance of the Class I Shares would have been higher due to lower expenses associated with this class of shares. Investing in small capitalization securities involves special risks because these securities may trade less frequently and experience more abrupt price movements than large capitalization securities. The Russell 2000 Index is an unmanaged indicator which measures the performance of the small cap segment of the U.S. equity market. Dividends are considered reinvested. You cannot invest directly in an index.

(b) The Fund’s fiscal year ends September 30.

(c) Performance results include the effect of the maximum 5.75% sales charge at the beginning of the period.

(d) Assuming payment of the 1% maximum contingent deferred sales charge imposed on redemptions made within one year of purchase.

(e) Performance results include the effect of the maximum 2.50% sales charge at the beginning of the period.

2

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT IN

THE GABELLI SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND CLASS AAA AND THE RUSSELL 2000 INDEX (Unaudited)

* Past performance is not predictive of future results. The performance tables and graph do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.

3

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Disclosure of Fund Expenses (Unaudited)

For the Six Month Period from April 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017 Expense Table

We believe it is important for you to understand the impact of fees and expenses regarding your investment. All mutual funds have operating expenses. As a shareholder of a fund, you incur ongoing costs, which include costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports (like this one), among others. Operating expenses, which are deducted from a fund’s gross income, directly reduce the investment return of a fund. When a fund’s expenses are expressed as a percentage of its average net assets, this figure is known as the expense ratio. The following examples are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your Fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period shown and held for the entire period.

The Expense Table below illustrates your Fund’s costs in two ways:

Actual Fund Return: This section provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use this section to help you to estimate the actual expenses that you paid over the period after any fee waivers and expense reimbursements. The “Ending Account Value” shown is derived from the Fund’s actual return during the past six months, and the “Expenses Paid During Period” shows the dollar amount that would have been paid by an investor who started with $1,000 in the Fund. You may use this information, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period.

To do so, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number given for your Fund under the heading “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid during this period.

Hypothetical 5% Return: This section provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio. It assumes a hypothetical annualized return of 5% before expenses during the period shown. In this

case – because the hypothetical return used is not the Fund’s actual return – the results do not apply to your investment and you cannot use the hypothetical account value and expense to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. This example is useful in making comparisons of the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs such as sales charges (loads), redemption fees, or exchange fees, if any, which are described in the Prospectus. If these costs were applied to your account, your costs would be higher. Therefore, the 5% hypothetical return is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. The “Annualized Expense Ratio” represents the actual expenses for the last six months and may be different from the expense ratio in the Financial Highlights which is for the year ended September 30, 2017.

	Beginning Account Value 04/01/17		Ending Account Value 09/30/17		Annualized Expense Ratio			Expenses Paid During Period*
The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund
Actual Fund Return
Class AAA		$1,000.00		$1,090.20		1.38	%		$	7.23
Class A		$1,000.00		$1,090.20		1.38	%		$	7.23
Class C		$1,000.00		$1,086.20		2.13	%		$	11.14
Class I		$1,000.00		$1,091.50		1.13	%		$	5.92
Class T**		$1,000.00		$1,077.40		1.37	%		$	3.43
Hypothetical 5% Return
Class AAA		$1,000.00		$1,018.15		1.38	%		$	6.98
Class A		$1,000.00		$1,018.15		1.38	%		$	6.98
Class C		$1,000.00		$1,014.39		2.13	%		$	10.76
Class I		$1,000.00		$1,019.40		1.13	%		$	5.72
Class T		$1,000.00		$1,018.20		1.37	%		$	6.93

* Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for the last six months multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half year (183 days), then divided by 365.

** Class T Shares use a beginning account value date of 07/05/17, and Class T Share expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for the period since inception multiplied by the number of days since inception (88 days), then divided by 365.

4

Summary of Portfolio Holdings (Unaudited)

The following table presents portfolio holdings as a percent of net assets as of September 30, 2017:

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Food and Beverage	10.7	%
Equipment and Supplies	9.3	%
Energy and Utilities	6.6	%
Diversified Industrial	6.4	%
Business Services	5.9	%
Automotive: Parts and Accessories	5.7	%
Health Care	5.5	%
Retail	4.7	%
Financial Services	4.3	%
Specialty Chemicals	4.2	%
Aviation: Parts and Services	4.1	%
Building and Construction	3.9	%
Hotels and Gaming	3.5	%
Computer Software and Services	2.6	%
Entertainment	2.1	%
Machinery	1.8	%
Broadcasting	1.8	%
Telecommunications	1.7	%
Electronics	1.6	%
Consumer Services	1.6	%
Automotive	1.6	%
Cable	1.6	%
Consumer Products	1.6	%

Real Estate	1.3	%
Aerospace	1.2	%
Transportation	0.9	%
Publishing	0.9	%
Metals and Mining	0.8	%
Environmental Services	0.7	%
Manufactured Housing and Recreational Vehicles	0.5	%
Home Furnishings	0.4	%
Wireless Communications	0.2	%
Closed-End Funds	0.1	%
Communications Equipment	0.1	%
Educational Services	0.0	%*
Closed-End Business Development Company	0.0	%*
U.S. Government Obligations	0.0	%*
Paper and Forest Products	0.0	%*
Agriculture	0.0	%*
Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)	0.1	%
	100.0	%
*  Amount represents less than 0.05%.

The Fund files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. Shareholders may obtain this information at www.gabelli.com or by calling the Fund at 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554). The Fund’s Form N-Q is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 800-SEC-0330.

Proxy Voting

The Fund files Form N-PX with its complete proxy voting record for the twelve months ended June 30, no later than August 31 of each year. A description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies, procedures, and how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities is available without charge, upon request, by (i) calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554); (ii) writing to The Gabelli Funds at One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422; or (iii) visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

5

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS — 99.5%
		Aerospace — 1.2%
	1,240,000	Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.†	$	8,011,576	$	43,412,400
	20,000	Embraer SA, ADR		335,120		452,200
	20,000	Innovative Solutions & Support Inc.†		69,694		72,800
				8,416,390		43,937,400
		Agriculture — 0.0%
	12,000	Cadiz Inc.†		93,950		152,400
		Automotive — 1.6%
	1,350,000	Navistar International Corp.†		36,899,181		59,494,500
	15,000	PACCAR Inc.		627,598		1,085,100
				37,526,779		60,579,600
		Automotive: Parts and Accessories — 5.5%
	14,038	Adient plc		659,786		1,179,052
	236,000	BorgWarner Inc.		1,330,291		12,090,280
	1,485,000	Brembo SpA		2,885,354		25,133,199
	90,022	China Automotive Systems Inc.†		447,666		468,114
	250,000	Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.		6,236,869		9,350,000
	1,185,000	Dana Inc.		10,629,525		33,132,600
	1,128,307	Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp.†(a)		12,411,080		11,283,070
	1,000	Lear Corp.		142,314		173,080
	750,000	Modine Manufacturing Co.†		9,389,024		14,437,500
	22,000	Monro Muffler Brake Inc.		150,657		1,233,100
	170,500	O’Reilly Automotive Inc.†		4,459,284		36,720,585
	45,000	Puradyn Filter Technologies Inc.†		11,732		3,825
	185,000	SORL Auto Parts Inc.†		1,037,077		706,700
	80,375	Spartan Motors Inc.		388,580		888,144
	200,000	Standard Motor Products Inc.		1,551,316		9,650,000
	207,000	Strattec Security Corp.(b)		4,420,973		8,466,300
	385,000	Superior Industries International Inc.		6,301,729		6,410,250
	475,000	Tenneco Inc.		4,109,505		28,818,250
	25,500	Thor Industries Inc.		236,293		3,210,705
	4,000	Uni-Select Inc., New York		94,465		86,428
	36,000	Uni-Select Inc., Toronto		850,187		777,848
	14,000	Visteon Corp.†		824,588		1,732,780
				68,568,295		205,951,810
		Aviation: Parts and Services — 4.1%
	25,000	AAR Corp.		302,990		944,500
	9,500	Astronics Corp.†		15,743		282,625
	18,500	Astronics Corp., Cl. B†		29,784		550,837
	9,525,000	BBA Aviation plc		21,791,198		38,086,215
	436,000	Curtiss-Wright Corp.		12,040,537		45,579,440
	44,000	Ducommun Inc.†		868,225		1,410,200

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	875,000	Kaman Corp.	$	16,739,206	$	48,807,500
	61,000	KLX Inc.†		2,313,775		3,228,730
	85,000	Moog Inc., Cl. A†		703,065		7,091,550
	16,200	Moog Inc., Cl. B†		471,841		1,367,604
	68,000	Woodward Inc.		1,052,020		5,277,480
				56,328,384		152,626,681
		Broadcasting — 1.8%
	247,034	Beasley Broadcast Group Inc., Cl. A		1,430,627		2,890,298
	10,000	Cogeco Communications Inc.		340,851		737,487
	23,300	Cogeco Inc.		592,837		1,528,995
	25,000	Gray Television Inc.†		73,674		392,500
	71,200	Gray Television Inc., Cl. A†		373,008		925,600
	650,000	ITV plc		1,921,041		1,521,634
	20,000	Liberty Broadband Corp., Cl. A†		124,003		1,883,600
	48,000	Liberty Broadband Corp., Cl. C†		553,963		4,574,400
	116,500	Liberty Global plc LiLAC, Cl. A†		3,809,476		2,768,040
	300,000	Liberty Global plc LiLAC, Cl. C†		9,474,751		6,990,000
	20,000	Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty Formula One, Cl. A†		66,962		729,800
	40,000	Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty Formula One, Cl. C†		139,035		1,523,600
	78,000	Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty SiriusXM, Cl. A†		264,403		3,268,200
	135,000	Liberty Media Corp.-Liberty SiriusXM, Cl. C†		452,223		5,652,450
	360,000	MSG Networks Inc., Cl. A†		2,378,357		7,632,000
	150,000	Nexstar Media Group Inc., Cl. A		9,202,500		9,345,000
	150,000	Pandora Media Inc.†		2,027,795		1,155,000
	55,800	RLJ Entertainment Inc.†		225,789		197,532
	585,000	Salem Media Group Inc.		1,788,908		3,861,000
	169,000	Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., Cl. A		1,323,964		5,416,450
	450,000	Sirius XM Holdings Inc.		219,282		2,484,000
	33,000	TiVo Corp.		730,642		655,050
	33,000	Tribune Media Co., Cl. A		1,001,076		1,348,380
				38,515,167		67,481,016
		Building and Construction — 3.9%
	216,126	Armstrong Flooring Inc.†		3,874,813		3,403,985
	55,000	Beazer Homes USA Inc.†		924,311		1,030,700
	250,000	CalAtlantic Group Inc.		4,013,336		9,157,500
	295,000	D.R. Horton Inc.		3,487,620		11,779,350
	52,000	Gibraltar Industries Inc.†		1,113,797		1,619,800
	466,500	Herc Holdings Inc.†		15,756,512		22,919,145
	750,000	Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., Cl. A†		1,928,866		1,447,500

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

6

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Building and Construction (Continued)
	1,000	JELD-WEN Holding Inc.†	$	23,000	$	35,520
	140,385	Johnson Controls International plc		2,752,473		5,656,112
	200,000	KB Home		2,123,861		4,824,000
	352,000	Layne Christensen Co.†		6,406,538		4,417,600
	479,000	Lennar Corp., Cl. B		13,120,316		21,593,320
	600,000	Louisiana-Pacific Corp.†		5,071,723		16,248,000
	200	Masonite International Corp.†		14,909		13,840
	126,000	MDC Holdings Inc.		2,993,987		4,184,460
	150,000	Meritage Homes Corp.†		3,332,016		6,660,000
	2,700	NVR Inc.†		1,908,453		7,708,500
	341,000	PulteGroup Inc.		2,414,323		9,319,530
	1,000	Titan Machinery Inc.†		14,861		15,530
	375,000	Toll Brothers Inc.		7,339,496		15,551,250
				78,615,211		147,585,642
		Business Services — 5.9%
	36,000	ACCO Brands Corp.†		266,315		428,400
	86,500	Ascent Capital Group Inc., Cl. A†		1,768,459		1,127,960
	115,000	Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc.†		2,661,232		5,037,000
	525,006	Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc., Cl. A		1,694,431		2,441,278
	1,110,000	Diebold Nixdorf Inc.		35,575,644		25,363,500
	559,000	Edgewater Technology Inc.†		2,762,887		3,644,680
	222,000	Gerber Scientific Inc., Escrow†(a)		0		0
	95,000	GP Strategies Corp.†		791,180		2,930,750
	30,000	GSE Systems Inc.†		130,842		106,500
	5,524,861	Internap Corp.†(b)(c)		11,352,103		24,033,145
	700,000	Internap Corp.†(b)		1,438,311		3,045,000
	17,000	Landauer Inc.		443,034		1,144,100
	1,035,000	Live Nation Entertainment Inc.†		10,500,530		45,074,250
	192,000	Loomis AB, Cl. B		1,992,147		7,630,591
	200,000	Macquarie Infrastructure Corp.		1,006,579		14,436,000
	94,000	McGrath RentCorp.		2,555,092		4,112,500
	294,000	Scientific Games Corp., Cl. A†		3,429,739		13,479,900
	15,000	Sealed Air Corp.		362,982		640,800
	21,900	Sequential Brands Group Inc.†		211,008		65,481
	115,000	Sohgo Security Services Co. Ltd.		1,389,979		5,273,495
	19,000	Stamps.com Inc.†		165,708		3,850,350
	425,626	Team Inc.†		8,809,755		5,682,107
	41,000	The Brink’s Co.		767,191		3,454,250

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	1,985,000	The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc.	$	15,164,517	$	41,268,150
	33,050	TransAct Technologies Inc.		168,459		322,237
	400,000	Trans-Lux Corp.†(b)		3,910,507		450,000
	47,000	United Rentals Inc.†		587,456		6,520,780
	14,444	Vectrus Inc.†		306,666		445,453
				110,212,753		222,008,657
		Cable — 1.6%
	167,000	AMC Networks Inc., Cl. A†		2,124,059		9,764,490
	2,700	Cable One Inc.		744,935		1,949,724
	50,000	DISH Network Corp., Cl. A†		968,420		2,711,500
	36,000	EchoStar Corp., Cl. A†		708,109		2,060,280
	297,990	Liberty Global plc, Cl. A†		7,607,076		10,104,841
	734,391	Liberty Global plc, Cl. C†		18,704,379		24,014,586
	578,000	WideOpenWest Inc.†		9,820,487		8,716,240
				40,677,465		59,321,661
		Closed-End Business Development Company — 0.0%
	104,000	MVC Capital Inc.		1,098,161		1,041,040
		Communications Equipment — 0.1%
	351,000	Communications Systems Inc.		2,870,822		1,467,180
	52,000	Fortinet Inc.†		1,067,508		1,863,680
				3,938,330		3,330,860
		Computer Software and Services — 2.6%
	151,000	Activision Blizzard Inc.		2,310,574		9,741,010
	45,000	Avid Technology Inc.†		441,329		204,300
	12,000	CommerceHub Inc., Cl. A†		126,588		270,840
	14,000	CommerceHub Inc., Cl. C†		98,978		298,900
	255,000	comScore Inc.†		7,539,254		7,331,250
	310,000	FalconStor Software Inc.†		744,578		76,570
	42,000	InterXion Holding NV†		687,045		2,139,060
	20,000	Mercury Systems Inc.†		303,410		1,037,600
	20,187	MKS Instruments Inc.		367,981		1,906,662
	265,000	NCR Corp.†		2,498,419		9,942,800
	3,996	NetScout Systems Inc.†		14,188		129,271
	8,125	Quantum Corp.†		204,798		49,725
	12,000	Rocket Internet SE†		305,549		308,545
	100,000	Rockwell Automation Inc.		2,731,906		17,821,000
	10,000	SecureWorks Corp., Cl. A†		127,406		123,500
	145,000	Stratasys Ltd.†		3,824,366		3,352,400
	242,500	Tyler Technologies Inc.†		894,770		42,272,600
	3,000	Zedge Inc., Cl. B†		9,933		5,760
				23,231,072		97,011,793
		Consumer Products — 1.6%
	270,000	1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc., Cl. A†		1,034,248		2,659,500
	74,000	Brunswick Corp.		1,881,888		4,141,780
	33,500	Chofu Seisakusho Co. Ltd.		484,644		787,447
	98,000	Church & Dwight Co. Inc.		256,282		4,748,100

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

7

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Consumer Products (Continued)
	20,000	Energizer Holdings Inc.	$	857,799	$	921,000
	90,000	Ginko International Co. Ltd.		1,135,282		615,849
	2,000	Harley-Davidson Inc.		4,713		96,420
	145,000	Hunter Douglas NV		6,246,437		12,033,920
	2,800	Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.		115,862		158,507
	14,000	LCI Industries		237,825		1,621,900
	272,498	Marine Products Corp.		184,036		4,373,593
	10,000	National Presto Industries Inc.		300,897		1,064,500
	12,000	Newell Brands Inc.		112,731		512,040
	415,000	Sally Beauty Holdings Inc.†		2,718,474		8,125,700
	220,000	Samick Musical Instruments Co. Ltd.		299,584		333,261
	30,000	Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S		474,701		532,222
	13,000	Shimano Inc.		1,500,919		1,731,793
	9,750	Steven Madden Ltd.†		36,466		422,175
	150,000	Swedish Match AB		2,992,162		5,261,575
	25,000	The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.		771,996		2,433,500
	22,000	WD-40 Co.		606,916		2,461,800
	100,000	Wolverine World Wide Inc.		486,710		2,885,000
				22,740,572		57,921,582
		Consumer Services — 1.6%
	53,000	Bowlin Travel Centers Inc.†		53,947		109,710
	2,750	Collectors Universe Inc.		229		65,917
	18,000	IAC/InterActiveCorp.†		199,991		2,116,440
	265,017	KAR Auction Services Inc.		3,573,437		12,651,912
	20,000	Liberty Expedia Holdings Inc., Cl. A†		257,948		1,062,200
	100,000	Liberty Interactive Corp. QVC Group, Cl. A†		1,487,382		2,357,000
	37,000	Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings Inc., Cl. A†		393,577		456,950
	30,000	Liberty Ventures, Cl. A†		328,297		1,726,500
	875,000	Rollins Inc.		2,213,155		40,372,500
				8,507,963		60,919,129
		Diversified Industrial — 6.4%
	15,700	Acuity Brands Inc.		161,657		2,689,096
	30,000	Aegion Corp.†		561,304		698,400
	100,000	Albany International Corp., Cl. A		2,202,678		5,740,000
	238,000	Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp.		3,329,928		4,141,200
	6,000	Anixter International Inc.†		57,120		510,000
	60,000	Burnham Holdings Inc., Cl. A		1,123,793		900,000
	402,000	Crane Co.		9,587,092		32,155,980
	120,000	EnPro Industries Inc.		6,570,400		9,663,600
	115,000	Greif Inc., Cl. A		2,267,516		6,732,100
	117,970	Greif Inc., Cl. B		5,709,954		7,579,573

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	1,300,000	Griffon Corp.	$	14,917,063	$	28,860,000
	32,940	Handy & Harman Ltd.†		832,645		1,072,197
	35,500	Haynes International Inc.		1,660,101		1,274,805
	190,000	Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd.		3,487,637		8,208,000
	48,000	Key Technology Inc.†		678,183		906,720
	190,000	Kimball International Inc., Cl. B		1,920,398		3,756,300
	50,000	L.B. Foster Co., Cl. A		642,804		1,137,500
	80,000	Lawson Products Inc.†		1,171,587		2,016,000
	94,000	Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc.		2,524,683		8,617,920
	60,000	Lindsay Corp.		1,434,950		5,514,000
	28,500	Lydall Inc.†		306,861		1,633,050
	31,000	Matthews International Corp., Cl. A		738,675		1,929,750
	600,076	Myers Industries Inc.		6,785,391		12,571,592
	126,000	Oil-Dri Corp. of America		1,382,128		6,165,180
	120,000	Olin Corp.		2,318,113		4,110,000
	308,000	Park-Ohio Holdings Corp.		2,979,325		14,044,800
	19,000	Pentair plc		727,134		1,291,240
	98,000	Raven Industries Inc.		2,426,663		3,175,200
	32,000	Roper Technologies Inc.		620,029		7,788,800
	96,000	Sonoco Products Co.		2,940,089		4,843,200
	200	Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.		22,606		21,184
	58,000	Standex International Corp.		1,563,076		6,159,600
	270,046	Steel Partners Holdings LP		4,557,818		4,968,846
	7,000	T Hasegawa Co. Ltd.		105,119		134,121
	8,000	Terex Corp.		190,480		360,160
	390,000	Textron Inc.		2,523,213		21,013,200
	538,571	Tredegar Corp.		9,209,268		9,694,278
	260,000	Trinity Industries Inc.		4,216,388		8,294,000
				104,453,869		240,371,592
		Educational Services — 0.0%
	59,000	Career Education Corp.†		416,169		613,010
	156,000	Universal Technical Institute Inc.†		2,070,401		541,320
				2,486,570		1,154,330
		Electronics — 1.6%
	195,000	Badger Meter Inc.		2,778,082		9,555,000
	282,500	Bel Fuse Inc., Cl. A(b)		6,393,366		7,514,500
	550,000	CTS Corp.		5,306,161		13,255,000
	517,000	Cypress Semiconductor Corp.		4,076,546		7,765,340
	40,000	Daktronics Inc.		362,126		422,800
	78,000	Dolby Laboratories Inc., Cl. A		3,172,370		4,486,560
	1,167	Fortive Corp.		4,776		82,612
	245,000	Gentex Corp.		3,067,461		4,851,000
	22,000	IMAX Corp.†		201,605		498,300
	70,000	KEMET Corp.†		270,334		1,479,100
	350,000	Park Electrochemical Corp.		5,621,932		6,475,000

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

8

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Electronics (Continued)
	60,000	Renesas Electronics Corp.†	$	389,832	$	653,721
	200,000	Stoneridge Inc.†		1,868,892		3,962,000
				33,513,483		61,000,933
		Energy and Utilities — 6.6%
	12,000	Amec Foster Wheeler plc, ADR		35,093		81,120
	27,000	Andeavor		296,513		2,785,050
	60,000	Avangrid Inc.		2,355,734		2,845,200
	120,000	Avista Corp.		3,985,404		6,212,400
	270,000	Black Hills Corp.		6,753,278		18,594,900
	700,000	Black Ridge Oil and Gas Inc.†		7,560		22,470
	274,000	Callon Petroleum Co.†		2,088,023		3,079,760
	46,000	Chesapeake Utilities Corp.		838,953		3,599,500
	6,000	Clean Energy Fuels Corp.†		52,782		14,880
	38,000	CMS Energy Corp.		197,906		1,760,160
	22,000	Connecticut Water Service Inc.		443,186		1,304,600
	40,000	CONSOL Energy Inc.†		582,641		677,600
	11,000	Consolidated Water Co. Ltd.		141,093		140,800
	155,000	Covanta Holding Corp.		384,594		2,301,750
	95,000	Diamondback Energy Inc.†		4,942,774		9,306,200
	17,500	Dril-Quip Inc.†		861,226		772,625
	406,000	El Paso Electric Co.		5,906,970		22,431,500
	80,000	Energy Recovery Inc.†		352,081		632,000
	4,000	EXCO Resources Inc.†		69,000		5,360
	20,000	Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA		117,491		261,080
	115,000	Great Plains Energy Inc.		1,978,294		3,484,500
	110,000	Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.		2,784,810		3,670,700
	40,000	Middlesex Water Co.		682,891		1,570,800
	95,000	National Fuel Gas Co.		5,556,830		5,377,950
	15,000	Northwest Natural Gas Co.		715,241		966,000
	76,500	NorthWestern Corp.		2,327,018		4,355,910
	80,000	Oceaneering International Inc.		1,366,984		2,101,600
	295,000	Otter Tail Corp.		6,945,445		12,788,250
	12,000	Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.		241,902		251,280
	1,245,000	PNM Resources Inc.		14,561,503		50,173,500
	72,000	Rowan Companies plc, Cl. A†		2,499,120		925,200
	2,060,000	RPC Inc.		1,485,247		51,067,400
	101,500	SJW Group		1,925,773		5,744,900
	175,500	Southwest Gas Holdings Inc.		4,302,243		13,622,310
	15,000	Spire Inc.		594,172		1,119,750
	100,000	SunEdison Inc.†		91,317		1,950
	42,000	The York Water Co.		587,880		1,423,800
	14,000	Vestas Wind Systems A/S		132,040		1,256,303
	215,000	Westar Energy Inc.		3,905,071		10,664,000
				83,096,083		247,395,058

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		Entertainment — 2.1%
	19,000	AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., Cl. A	$	657,400	$	279,300
	50,000	Discovery Communications Inc., Cl. A†		863,334		1,064,500
	100,000	Discovery Communications Inc., Cl. C†		926,160		2,026,000
	431,384	Dover Motorsports Inc.		1,595,309		884,337
	25,000	Eros International plc†		275,489		357,500
	7,000	Global Eagle Entertainment Inc.†		71,676		23,940
	69,000	International Speedway Corp., Cl. A		2,180,287		2,484,000
	6,814	International Speedway Corp., Cl. B		167,786		246,156
	22,000	Liberty Media Corp.- Liberty Braves, Cl. A†		295,106		558,140
	255,000	Liberty Media Corp.- Liberty Braves, Cl. C†		3,948,720		6,443,850
	14,000	Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Cl. A†		286,293		468,300
	62,844	Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Cl. B†		1,549,894		1,997,811
	26,000	Manchester United plc, Cl. A		407,441		468,000
	254,000	Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.†		2,839,720		5,412,740
	146,000	Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.†		1,295,101		14,925,580
	124,000	The Madison Square Garden Co, Cl. A†		6,688,655		26,548,400
	260,000	Twenty-First Century Fox Inc., Cl. A		673,473		6,858,800
	157,000	Universal Entertainment Corp.		2,117,510		4,618,263
	150,000	World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., Cl. A		1,647,848		3,532,500
				28,487,202		79,198,117
		Environmental Services — 0.7%
	400,000	Republic Services Inc.		5,798,456		26,424,000
		Equipment and Supplies — 9.3%
	87,000	A.O. Smith Corp.		323,792		5,170,410
	522,000	AMETEK Inc.		916,006		34,472,880
	41,000	AZZ Inc.		1,307,305		1,996,700
	10,000	Belden Inc.		119,356		805,300
	60,000	Chart Industries Inc.†		2,021,823		2,353,800
	525,000	CIRCOR International Inc.		15,004,057		28,575,750
	310,900	Core Molding Technologies Inc.		559,302		6,821,146
	165,000	Crown Holdings Inc.†		666,877		9,853,800
	2,335	Danaher Corp.		15,131		200,296
	175,000	Donaldson Co. Inc.		1,507,907		8,039,500
	215,000	Entegris Inc.†		1,209,536		6,202,750

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

9

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Equipment and Supplies (Continued)
	830,063	Federal Signal Corp.	$	5,906,469	$	17,663,741
	300,000	Flowserve Corp.		2,954,946		12,777,000
	315,000	Franklin Electric Co. Inc.		1,582,139		14,127,750
	242,000	Graco Inc.		8,561,288		29,932,980
	93,000	IDEX Corp.		705,777		11,296,710
	400,000	Interpump Group SpA		2,339,443		12,442,974
	66,000	Itron Inc.†		2,691,598		5,111,700
	35,000	Littelfuse Inc.		647,768		6,855,800
	55,000	Maezawa Kyuso Industries Co. Ltd.		359,609		907,665
	80,000	Minerals Technologies Inc.		3,960,234		5,652,000
	6,000	MSA Safety Inc.		179,592		477,060
	700,000	Mueller Industries Inc.		18,816,308		24,465,000
	796,904	Mueller Water Products Inc., Cl. A		6,988,499		10,200,371
	10,000	Plantronics Inc.		262,977		442,200
	2,000	Regal Beloit Corp.		59,351		158,000
	4,000	Teleflex Inc.		60,933		967,880
	280,000	Tennant Co.		5,791,145		18,536,000
	870,000	The Gorman-Rupp Co.		14,653,416		28,335,900
	146,000	The Greenbrier Companies Inc.		2,131,406		7,029,900
	275,000	The L.S. Starrett Co., Cl. A		3,338,284		2,447,500
	100,000	The Manitowoc Co. Inc.†		153,409		900,000
	74,000	The Middleby Corp.†		1,077,388		9,484,580
	40,000	The Timken Co.		1,374,376		1,942,000
	48,000	The Toro Co.		845,248		2,978,880
	7,500	Valmont Industries Inc.		172,236		1,185,750
	110,000	Vicor Corp.†		799,309		2,596,000
	7,875	Watsco Inc., Cl. B		23,627		1,256,063
	174,000	Watts Water Technologies Inc., Cl. A		4,593,766		12,040,800
				114,681,633		346,704,536
		Financial Services — 4.2%
	10,000	Alleghany Corp.†		1,595,952		5,540,100
	29,282	Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.		724,275		1,800,843
	10,770	BKF Capital Group Inc.†		210,018		91,545
	10,857	Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce		364,106		950,205
	12,500	Capitol Federal Financial Inc.		125,000		183,750
	22,000	Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp Inc.		343,564		368,170
	636,000	Energy Transfer Equity LP		510,890		11,053,680
	112	Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach		712,427		873,600
	80,000	FCB Financial Holdings Inc., Cl. A†		2,298,603		3,864,000
	9,967	Fidelity Southern Corp.		63,366		235,620
	500,093	Flushing Financial Corp.		8,835,466		14,862,764

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	64,800	FNB Corp.	$	648,150	$	909,144
	1,080,000	GAM Holding AG		13,656,424		16,729,488
	155,000	Hilltop Holdings Inc.		2,973,017		4,030,000
	310,000	Hope Bancorp Inc.		3,512,655		5,490,100
	455,800	Huntington Bancshares Inc.		4,363,341		6,362,968
	555,000	Janus Henderson Group plc		11,403,408		19,336,200
	110,000	KeyCorp.		1,639,178		2,070,200
	750,072	KKR & Co. LP		3,662,076		15,248,964
	180,000	Legg Mason Inc.		4,136,892		7,075,800
	15,000	M&T Bank Corp.		1,294,650		2,415,600
	20,000	Manning & Napier Inc.		143,927		79,000
	75,000	Medallion Financial Corp.		489,718		162,750
	300,000	Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, Cl. A		1,489,467		966,000
	165,000	Oritani Financial Corp.		1,685,540		2,772,000
	125,000	PJT Partners Inc., Cl. A		3,887,034		4,788,750
	56,000	Pzena Investment Management Inc., Cl. A		512,303		609,840
	843	South State Corp.		62,077		75,912
	12,000	State Auto Financial Corp.		284,397		314,760
	431,887	Sterling Bancorp		4,773,930		10,646,015
	14,000	T. Rowe Price Group Inc.		603,780		1,269,100
	14,000	TFS Financial Corp.		205,115		225,820
	150,000	The Charles Schwab Corp.		2,404,087		6,561,000
	5,000	Thomasville Bancshares Inc.		175,040		199,000
	40,782	Value Line Inc.		570,979		718,579
	27,000	Virtu Financial Inc., Cl. A		493,656		437,400
	470,000	Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., Cl. A		8,859,671		9,432,900
	10,000	Waterloo Investment Holdings Ltd.†(a)		1,373		400
	540,000	Wright Investors’ Service Holdings Inc.†		1,096,719		202,500
				90,812,271		158,954,467
		Food and Beverage — 10.7%
	575,000	Arca Continental SAB de CV		1,132,490		3,925,220
	3,000	Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc.†		55,641		85,050
	112,500	Brown-Forman Corp., Cl. A		1,083,791		6,265,125
	21,000	Bull-Dog Sauce Co. Ltd.		120,234		408,523
	5,000,000	China Tontine Wines Group Ltd.†		960,438		98,571
	222,000	Chr. Hansen Holding A/S		9,326,991		19,039,905
	620,000	Cott Corp.		4,874,545		9,306,200
	350,000	Crimson Wine Group Ltd.†		3,112,381		3,762,500
	3,800,000	Davide Campari-Milano SpA		12,727,117		27,575,937
	50,000	Dean Foods Co.		555,347		544,000
	255,000	Denny’s Corp.†		830,821		3,174,750
	302,000	Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.		6,135,751		26,717,940

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

10

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Food and Beverage (Continued)
	3,500,000	Dynasty Fine Wines Group Ltd.†(a)	$	1,246,520	$	322,597
	110,000	Farmer Brothers Co.†		1,983,969		3,613,500
	510,000	Flowers Foods Inc.		1,347,594		9,593,100
	130,000	Ingredion Inc.		2,686,674		15,683,200
	180,000	ITO EN Ltd.		3,741,497		6,070,651
	133,000	Iwatsuka Confectionery Co. Ltd.		6,540,042		6,098,911
	23,500	J & J Snack Foods Corp.		531,096		3,085,550
	146,000	Kameda Seika Co. Ltd.		5,952,869		6,448,523
	1,300,000	Kikkoman Corp.		13,674,730		39,973,339
	215,000	Lifeway Foods Inc.†		2,159,887		1,913,500
	1,210,000	Maple Leaf Foods Inc., New York		21,850,030		32,981,046
	20,000	Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Toronto		361,158		545,141
	6,000	MEIJI Holdings Co. Ltd.		117,526		475,628
	70,000	MGP Ingredients Inc.		331,262		4,244,100
	90,000	Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd.		1,808,850		3,439,236
	28,000	National Beverage Corp.		1,228,415		3,473,400
	85,000	Nissin Foods Holdings Co. Ltd.		2,907,986		5,166,852
	25,000	Nutrisystem Inc.		305,632		1,397,500
	8,548,096	Parmalat SpA		24,295,307		31,319,108
	277,000	Post Holdings Inc.†		9,829,762		24,450,790
	310,000	Rock Field Co. Ltd.		2,420,094		5,498,867
	885,000	Snyder’s-Lance Inc.		20,335,051		33,753,900
	25,000	The Boston Beer Co. Inc., Cl. A†		535,992		3,905,000
	416,000	The Hain Celestial Group Inc.†		3,634,797		17,118,400
	76,000	The J.M. Smucker Co.		2,608,859		7,974,680
	775,000	Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp.		1,738,636		1,166,726
	345,000	Tootsie Roll Industries Inc.		6,427,116		13,110,000
	93,000	United Natural Foods Inc.†		2,654,822		3,867,870
	22,000	Vina Concha Y Toro SA, ADR		820,659		728,860
	1,400,000	Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd.		1,028,189		3,118,439
	20,000	Willamette Valley Vineyards Inc.†		73,225		157,600
	150,000	Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd.		3,747,741		10,810,931
				189,841,534		402,410,666
		Health Care — 5.5%
	50,000	Achaogen Inc.†		460,664		797,500
	9,200	Align Technology Inc.†		64,176		1,713,684
	22,000	Allergan plc		6,783,480		4,508,900
	64,000	AngioDynamics Inc.†		675,495		1,093,760
	7,000	Anika Therapeutics Inc.†		63,228		406,000

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	70,000	Biolase Inc.†	$	65,843	$	42,196
	12,000	Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Cl. A†		834,524		2,666,640
	18,000	Bruker Corp.		164,974		535,500
	132,000	Cantel Medical Corp.		1,476,198		12,430,440
	34,500	Cardiovascular Systems Inc.†		1,028,512		971,175
	140,000	Cempra Inc.†		1,802,049		455,000
	172,000	Chemed Corp.		4,449,172		34,752,600
	57,000	CONMED Corp.		1,446,179		2,990,790
	365,000	Cutera Inc.†		3,704,369		15,092,750
	64,000	DexCom Inc.†		478,498		3,131,200
	210,024	Exactech Inc.†		3,283,169		6,920,291
	192,000	Globus Medical Inc., Cl. A†		4,431,625		5,706,240
	86,000	Henry Schein Inc.†		844,050		7,051,140
	4,000	Heska Corp.†		30,737		352,360
	46,500	ICU Medical Inc.†		2,163,255		8,642,025
	50,000	Integer Holdings Corp.†		1,107,809		2,557,500
	9,000	K2M Group Holdings Inc.†		160,659		190,890
	225,319	Kindred Healthcare Inc.		2,517,312		1,532,169
	17,600	Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc.†		230,556		216,304
	32,000	LivaNova plc†		1,683,284		2,241,920
	117,000	Masimo Corp.†		3,045,390		10,127,520
	204,000	Meridian Bioscience Inc.		4,152,151		2,917,200
	19,300	Neogen Corp.†		549,700		1,494,978
	144,000	NuVasive Inc.†		4,237,864		7,986,240
	25,500	Nuvectra Corp.†		174,575		338,130
	18,000	Ophthotech Corp.†		109,890		50,760
	319,500	OPKO Health Inc.†		1,967,486		2,191,770
	163,444	Orthofix International NV†		4,090,071		7,722,729
	72,000	Owens & Minor Inc.		1,532,512		2,102,400
	5,000	Pain Therapeutics Inc.†		38,381		20,350
	50,000	Patterson Cos., Inc.		1,908,401		1,932,500
	600,000	Quidel Corp.†		6,556,256		26,316,000
	200,000	RTI Surgical Inc.†		965,135		910,000
	25,000	Seikagaku Corp.		292,810		451,900
	53,500	STERIS plc		3,987,890		4,729,400
	2,300	Straumann Holding AG		206,988		1,477,358
	3,000	Stryker Corp.		142,188		426,060
	43,000	SurModics Inc.†		892,751		1,333,000
	104,000	Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc.†		649,903		711,360
	25,000	The Cooper Companies Inc.		959,692		5,927,750
	45,500	United-Guardian Inc.		411,719		855,400
	404,500	Wright Medical Group NV†		8,320,598		10,464,415
				85,142,168		207,486,194
		Home Furnishings — 0.4%
	208,000	Bassett Furniture Industries Inc.		2,261,682		7,841,600
	35,000	Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.		992,346		821,450

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

11

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Home Furnishings (Continued)
	17,000	Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.	$	401,956	$	550,800
	184,000	La-Z-Boy Inc.		3,507,127		4,949,600
				7,163,111		14,163,450
		Hotels and Gaming — 3.5%
	152,000	Belmond Ltd., Cl. A†		1,430,860		2,074,800
	495,000	Boyd Gaming Corp.		4,085,890		12,894,750
	190,000	Canterbury Park Holding Corp.		1,954,657		2,346,500
	133,000	Churchill Downs Inc.		4,839,610		27,424,600
	170,000	Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc.†		728,732		175,100
	148,000	Formosa International Hotels Corp.		1,300,083		751,616
	65,000	Full House Resorts Inc.†		163,118		181,350
	116,000	Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.		1,261,438		4,279,240
	1,000,000	Genting Singapore plc		969,758		862,546
	167,000	Golden Entertainment Inc.†		1,426,430		4,071,460
	90,000	International Game Technology plc		1,684,319		2,209,500
	168,000	Las Vegas Sands Corp.		843,397		10,778,880
	3,150,000	Mandarin Oriental International Ltd.		4,525,377		6,867,000
	30,000	Penn National Gaming Inc.†		131,625		701,700
	560,000	Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc.		16,389,148		34,994,400
	2,900,000	The Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels Ltd.		3,109,105		4,841,006
	376,000	The Marcus Corp.		4,769,848		10,415,200
	24,000	Wynn Resorts Ltd.		199,481		3,574,080
				49,812,876		129,443,728
		Machinery — 1.8%
	460,000	Astec Industries Inc.		16,709,859		25,764,600
	3,000	Capstone Turbine Corp.†		4,212		2,085
	1,700,000	CNH Industrial NV		5,782,380		20,417,000
	2,000	Disco Corp.		156,366		406,843
	260,000	Kennametal Inc.		5,198,918		10,488,400
	6,000	Nordson Corp.		107,171		711,000
	171,800	The Eastern Co.		3,356,209		4,930,660
	188,000	Twin Disc Inc.†		3,376,061		3,498,680
	100,000	Welbilt Inc.†		513,586		2,305,000
	5,000	Xylem Inc.		177,110		313,150
				35,381,872		68,837,418
		Manufactured Housing and Recreational Vehicles — 0.5%
	91,000	Cavco Industries Inc.†		2,571,702		13,427,050
	73,992	Nobility Homes Inc.		850,472		1,378,101
	84,490	Skyline Corp.†		493,561		1,021,484

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	60,000	Winnebago Industries Inc.	$	734,195	$	2,685,000
				4,649,930		18,511,635
		Metals and Mining — 0.8%
	290,000	Allegheny Technologies Inc.†		4,879,721		6,931,000
	52,003	Barrick Gold Corp.		1,522,648		836,728
	168,000	Century Aluminum Co.†		1,821,335		2,785,440
	25,500	Constellium NV, Cl. A†		165,390		261,375
	45,000	Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., Cl. A†		117,783		143,178
	135,000	Kinross Gold Corp.†		796,824		572,400
	340,000	Materion Corp.		7,605,229		14,671,000
	200,000	TimkenSteel Corp.†		2,976,863		3,300,000
	235,000	Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.†		890,621		728,500
	15,000	Yamana Gold Inc.		50,671		39,750
				20,827,085		30,269,371
		Paper and Forest Products — 0.0%
	16,000	Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc.		373,701		663,360
		Publishing — 0.9%
	80,000	Cambium Learning Group Inc.†		261,134		530,400
	3,000	Graham Holdings Co., Cl. B		1,379,851		1,755,300
	82,000	Il Sole 24 Ore SpA†		793,423		377,969
	12,000	John Wiley & Sons Inc., Cl. B		46,500		756,780
	53,000	Meredith Corp.		1,588,434		2,941,500
	65,000	News Corp., Cl. A		91,837		861,900
	1,300,000	The E.W. Scripps Co., Cl. A†		12,675,118		24,843,000
				16,836,297		32,066,849
		Real Estate — 1.3%
	70,000	Capital Properties Inc., Cl. A†		814,111		954,800
	164,000	Cohen & Steers Inc.		3,773,098		6,476,360
	268,000	Griffin Industrial Realty Inc.(b)		5,069,181		9,741,800
	6,967	Gyrodyne LLC		201,352		149,999
	19,500	Lamar Advertising Co., Cl. A		165,489		1,336,335
	103,000	Morguard Corp.		1,314,900		15,186,464
	43,747	New Senior Investment Group Inc.		453,513		400,285
	50,000	Reading International Inc., Cl. A†		791,827		786,000
	1,837	Reading International Inc., Cl. B†		34,940		35,454
	10,000	Seritage Growth Properties, Cl. A		456,930		460,700
	130,000	Tejon Ranch Co.†		3,608,091		2,743,000
	550,060	The St. Joe Co.†		9,003,271		10,368,631
				25,686,703		48,639,828
		Retail — 4.7%
	315,000	Aaron’s Inc.		2,945,199		13,743,450

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

12

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Retail (Continued)
	200,000	AutoNation Inc.†	$	3,399,442	$	9,492,000
	20,224	Barnes & Noble Education Inc.†		151,401		131,658
	32,000	Barnes & Noble Inc.		293,897		243,200
	140,000	Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.		1,537,377		1,071,000
	22,639	Biglari Holdings Inc.†		6,366,435		7,545,352
	150,000	Casey’s General Stores Inc.		5,789,298		16,417,500
	50,000	Coldwater Creek Inc.(a)		71,495		735
	164,000	Copart Inc.†		1,407,742		5,636,680
	1,000	Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.		59,645		151,620
	388,000	Dominion Diamond Corp.		5,484,167		5,501,840
	2,500	Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc.		47,500		132,700
	157,000	GNC Holdings Inc., Cl. A		2,474,453		1,387,880
	799,500	Hertz Global Holdings Inc.†		17,177,819		17,876,820
	40,000	HSN Inc.		1,117,368		1,562,000
	665,000	Ingles Markets Inc., Cl. A		11,051,587		17,090,500
	730,000	J.C. Penney Co. Inc.†		8,305,413		2,781,300
	80,000	Lands’ End Inc.†		1,510,838		1,056,000
	180,000	Macy’s Inc.		2,590,692		3,927,600
	91,000	Movado Group Inc.		1,596,188		2,548,000
	17,000	Murphy USA Inc.†		649,528		1,173,000
	157,000	Nathan’s Famous Inc.†		262,984		11,610,150
	6,000	Neff Corp., Cl. A†		55,903		150,000
	100,000	Penske Automotive Group Inc.		1,476,842		4,757,000
	225,000	Pier 1 Imports Inc.		2,309,250		942,750
	290,000	Rush Enterprises Inc., Cl. B†		3,282,048		12,649,800
	4,000	Salvatore Ferragamo SpA		78,673		112,280
	15,000	Sprouts Farmers Market Inc.†		323,168		281,550
	18,142	SUPERVALU Inc.†		973,248		394,589
	401,000	The Cheesecake Factory Inc.		11,536,250		16,890,120
	194,000	Tractor Supply Co.		1,774,881		12,278,260
	43,500	Village Super Market Inc., Cl. A		1,127,119		1,076,190
	70,760	Vitamin Shoppe, Inc.†		1,688,405		378,566
	57,600	Weis Markets Inc.		1,867,321		2,505,600
	800	Winmark Corp.		55,193		105,400
	12,000	Yoox Net-A-Porter Group SpA†		295,129		470,441
				101,133,898		174,073,531
		Specialty Chemicals — 4.2%
	70,000	A. Schulman Inc.		1,698,424		2,390,500
	94,000	Albemarle Corp.		3,127,163		12,813,140
	71,000	Ashland Global Holdings Inc.		1,073,756		4,642,690
	2,270,000	Ferro Corp.†		14,446,063		50,621,000
	55,000	GCP Applied Technologies Inc.†		1,745,024		1,688,500

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	91,200	General Chemical Group Inc.†	$	1,186	$	775
	305,000	H.B. Fuller Co.		4,074,383		17,708,300
	80,000	Hawkins Inc.		2,896,890		3,264,000
	935,000	Huntsman Corp.		6,335,573		25,637,700
	15,800	NewMarket Corp.		1,633,444		6,726,850
	300,000	OMNOVA Solutions Inc.†		574,864		3,285,000
	124,000	Platform Specialty Products Corp.†		1,236,621		1,382,600
	12,000	Quaker Chemical Corp.		196,457		1,775,400
	235,200	Sensient Technologies Corp.		4,732,732		18,091,584
	22,102	SGL Carbon SE†		203,585		373,678
	10,000	Takasago International Corp.		271,028		343,924
	300,000	Valvoline Inc.		3,472,249		7,035,000
				47,719,442		157,780,641
		Telecommunications — 1.7%
	83,000	ATN International Inc.		3,744,891		4,374,100
	560,000	Cincinnati Bell Inc.†		9,218,908		11,116,000
	61,000	Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc.		566,047		1,163,880
	930,000	Gogo Inc.†		14,782,016		10,983,300
	31,700	Harris Corp.		2,510,096		4,174,256
	250,000	HC2 Holdings Inc.†		1,000,923		1,320,000
	6,000	IDT Corp., Cl. B		38,339		84,480
	120,000	Iridium Communications Inc.†		1,180,541		1,236,000
	44,000	Loral Space & Communications Inc.†		1,720,631		2,178,000
	135,000	New ULM Telecom Inc.		1,225,514		1,856,250
	40,000	Pharol SGPS SA†		16,517		17,681
	115,000	Rogers Communications Inc., Cl. B		555,319		5,927,100
	229,000	Shenandoah Telecommunications Co.		960,113		8,518,800
	700,000	Sprint Corp.†		3,655,869		5,446,000
	6,629	Straight Path Communications Inc., Cl. B†		122,880		1,197,661
	830,000	VEON Ltd., ADR		2,424,386		3,469,400
	700,000	Windstream Holdings Inc.		4,116,233		1,239,000
				47,839,223		64,301,908
		Transportation — 0.9%
	490,000	GATX Corp.		15,218,669		30,164,400
	20,000	Irish Continental Group plc		14,688		133,790
	415,000	ModusLink Global Solutions Inc.†		1,509,095		780,200
	146,000	Navigator Holdings Ltd.†		2,038,564		1,620,600
				18,781,016		32,698,990
		Wireless Communications — 0.2%
	100,000	Millicom International Cellular SA, SDR		6,033,454		6,599,222

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

13

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS (Continued)
		Wireless Communications (Continued)
	50,000	United States Cellular Corp.†	$	1,991,054	$	1,770,000
				8,024,508		8,369,222
		TOTAL COMMON STOCKS		1,621,013,423		3,730,789,095
		CLOSED-END FUNDS — 0.1%
	83,296	The Central Europe, Russia, and Turkey Fund Inc.		2,374,116		2,057,411
	31,977	The European Equity Fund Inc.		318,173		309,537
	110,853	The New Germany Fund Inc.		1,497,423		2,058,651
		TOTAL CLOSED-END FUNDS		4,189,712		4,425,599
		PREFERRED STOCKS — 0.3%
		Automotive: Parts and Accessories — 0.2%
	137,000	Jungheinrich AG		941,806		6,302,712
		Financial Services — 0.1%
	145,000	Steel Partners Holdings LP, 6.000%, 02/07/26		4,960,238		3,190,000
		TOTAL PREFERRED STOCKS		5,902,044		9,492,712
		CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS — 0.0%
		Business Services — 0.0%
	14,747	Trans-Lux Pfd., Ser. B, 6.000%(b)		2,949,400		11,435
		RIGHTS — 0.0%
		Entertainment — 0.0%
	1,680,000	Media General Inc., CVR, expire 12/31/17†(a)		2		2
		Health Care — 0.0%
	300,000	Sanofi, CVR, expire
		12/31/20†		280,936		108,000
		TOTAL RIGHTS		280,938		108,002

Principal Amount			Cost		Market Value
		CORPORATE BONDS — 0.0%
		Automotive — 0.0%
$	300,000	Navistar International Corp., 8.250%, 11/01/21	$	218,107	$	301,687
		U.S. GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS — 0.0%
	968,000	U.S. Treasury Bills, 1.037%††, 12/28/17		965,552		965,561
		TOTAL INVESTMENTS — 99.9%	$	1,635,519,176		3,746,094,091
		Other Assets and Liabilities (Net) — 0.1%				4,436,929
		NET ASSETS — 100.0%			$	3,750,531,020

(a) Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(b) Security considered an affiliated holding because the Fund owns at least 5% of its outstanding shares.

(c) Security exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This security may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At September 30, 2017, the market value of the Rule 144A security amounted to $24,033,145 or 0.64% of net assets.

† Non-income producing security.

†† Represents annualized yield at date of purchase.

ADR American Depositary Receipt

CVR Contingent Value Right

SDR Swedish Depositary Receipt

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

14

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

September 30, 2017

Assets:
Investments, at value (cost $1,599,985,335)	$	3,692,831,911
Investments in affiliates, at value (cost $35,533,841)		53,262,180
Foreign currency, at value (cost $938,445)		983,736
Cash		90,545
Receivable for investments sold		3,920,000
Receivable for Fund shares sold		3,592,220
Dividends and interest receivable		3,440,554
Prepaid expenses		53,399
Total Assets.		3,758,174,545
Liabilities:
Payable for Fund shares redeemed		2,682,083
Payable for investments purchased		573,403
Payable for investment advisory fees		2,970,081
Payable for distribution fees		606,591
Payable for accounting fees		11,250
Payable for shareholder services fees		469,339
Other accrued expenses		330,778
Total Liabilities		7,643,525
Net Assets
(applicable to 63,981,642 shares outstanding)	$	3,750,531,020
Net Assets Consist of:
Paid-in capital	$	1,467,004,663
Accumulated net investment income		1,369,970
Accumulated net realized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions		171,523,970
Net unrealized appreciation on investments		2,110,574,915
Net unrealized appreciation on foreign currency translations		57,502
Net Assets	$	3,750,531,020
Shares of Capital Stock, each at $0.001 par value:
Class AAA:
Net Asset Value, offering, and redemption price per share ($1,882,823,007 ÷ 32,113,774 shares outstanding; 150,000,000 shares authorized)		$58.63
Class A:
Net Asset Value and redemption price per share ($229,282,478 ÷ 3,912,388 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)		$58.60
Maximum offering price per share (NAV ÷ 0.9425, based on maximum sales charge of 5.75% of the offering price)		$62.18
Class C:
Net Asset Value and offering price per share ($233,785,482 ÷ 4,491,732 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)		$52.05	(a)
Class I:
Net Asset Value, offering, and redemption price per share ($1,404,638,985 ÷ 23,463,730 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)		$59.86
Class T:
Net Asset Value and redemption price per share ($1,068.03 ÷ 18.215 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)		$58.63
Maximum offering price per share (NAV ÷ 0.975, based on maximum sales charge of 2.50% of the offering price)		$60.13

(a) Redemption price varies based on the length of time held.

Statement of Operations

For the Year Ended September 30, 2017

Investment Income:
Dividends - unaffiliated (net of foreign withholding taxes of $776,351)	$	49,668,971
Dividends - affiliated		431,334
Interest		317,882
Other income*		110,409
Total Investment Income		50,528,596
Expenses:
Investment advisory fees		35,597,638
Distribution fees - Class AAA		4,539,382
Distribution fees - Class A		614,736
Distribution fees - Class C		2,288,148
Distribution fees - Class T		1
Shareholder services fees		3,144,109
Shareholder communication expenses		547,587
Custodian fees		355,065
Directors’ fees		126,885
Registration expenses		118,879
Legal and audit fees		45,890
Accounting fees		45,000
Interest expense		9,854
Miscellaneous expenses		187,244
Total Expenses		47,620,418
Less:
Advisory fee reduction on unsupervised assets (See Note 3)		(33,130	)
Expenses paid indirectly by broker (See Note 6)		(23,971	)
Total Reductions		(57,101	)
Net Expenses		47,563,317
Net Investment Income		2,965,279
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Redemption In-Kind, and Foreign Currency:
Net realized gain on investments - unaffiliated		194,587,716
Net realized loss on investments - affiliated		(46,388	)
Net realized gain on redemption in-kind		6,360,725
Net realized loss on foreign currency transactions		(36,958	)
Net realized gain on investments, redemption in-kind, and foreign currency transactions		200,865,095
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation: on investments		494,163,207
on foreign currency translations		63,400
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations		494,226,607
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Redemption In-Kind, and Foreign Currency		695,091,702
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations	$	698,056,981

* The Fund received a reimbursement of custody expenses paid in prior years.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

15

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

	Year Ended September 30, 2017				Year Ended September 30, 2016
Operations:
Net investment income		$	2,965,279			$	2,518,463
Net realized gain on investments, redemption in-kind, and foreign currency transactions			200,865,095				135,912,785
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations			494,226,607				298,632,108
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations			698,056,981				437,063,356
Distributions to Shareholders:
Net investment income
Class I			(1,482,446	)			—
Net realized gain
Class AAA			(69,298,120	)			(66,085,582	)
Class A			(10,531,673	)			(10,407,406	)
Class C			(9,687,652	)			(9,096,124	)
Class I			(44,184,445	)			(38,921,755	)
			(133,701,890	)			(124,510,867	)
Total Distributions to Shareholders			(135,184,336	)			(124,510,867	)
Capital Share Transactions:
Class AAA			(182,899,403	)			(171,884,032	)
Class A			(79,068,410	)			(32,204,148	)
Class C			(26,766,840	)			(12,335,617	)
Class I			61,129,871				(4,204,959	)
Class T			1,000				—
Net Decrease in Net Assets from Capital Share Transactions			(227,603,782	)			(220,628,756	)
Redemption Fees			3,367				8,589
Net Increase in Net Assets			335,272,230				91,932,322
Net Assets:
Beginning of year			3,415,258,790				3,323,326,468
End of year (including undistributed net investment income of $1,369,970 and $0, respectively)		$	3,750,531,020			$	3,415,258,790

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

16

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Financial Highlights

Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding throughout each period:

				Income (Loss) from Investment Operations												Distributions																					Ratio to Average Net Assets/ Supplemental Data
Year Ended September 30	Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period			Net Investment Income (Loss) (a)(b)				Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments				Total from Investment Operations				Net Investment Income				Net Realized Gain on Investments				Total Distributions				Redemption Fees (b)(c)			Net Asset Value, End of Period			Total Return †			Net Assets End of Period (in 000’s)			Net Investment Income (Loss) (a)			Operating Expenses			Portfolio Turnover Rate
Class AAA
2017		$	50.13		$	0.02			$	10.47			$	10.49				—			$	(1.99	)		$	(1.99	)		$	0.00		$	58.63		21.56	%		$	1,882,823		0.04	%		1.38	%(d)		4	%
2016			45.47			0.02				6.36				6.38				—				(1.72	)			(1.72	)			0.00			50.13		14.26				1,779,333		0.05			1.39	(d)(e)		4
2015			46.91			(0.05	)			(0.47	)			(0.52	)			—				(0.92	)			(0.92	)			0.00			45.47		(1.25	)			1,784,050		(0.10	)		1.38	(d)		9
2014			45.82			(0.14	)			2.65				2.51				—				(1.42	)			(1.42	)			0.00			46.91		5.47				2,103,544		(0.28	)		1.38			5
2013			35.84			0.20				10.87				11.07			$	(0.25	)			(0.84	)			(1.09	)			0.00			45.82		31.82				2,171,213		0.50			1.39			5
Class A
2017		$	50.11		$	0.01			$	10.47			$	10.48				—			$	(1.99	)		$	(1.99	)		$	0.00		$	58.60		21.55	%		$	229,282		0.02	%		1.38	%(d)		4	%
2016			45.45			0.02				6.36				6.38				—				(1.72	)			(1.72	)			0.00			50.11		14.26				270,163		0.05			1.39	(d)(e)		4
2015			46.89			(0.05	)			(0.47	)			(0.52	)			—				(0.92	)			(0.92	)			0.00			45.45		(1.25	)			276,603		(0.10	)		1.38	(d)		9
2014			45.80			(0.14	)			2.65				2.51				—				(1.42	)			(1.42	)			0.00			46.89		5.47				292,796		(0.28	)		1.38			5
2013			35.84			0.17				10.89				11.06			$	(0.26	)			(0.84	)			(1.10	)			0.00			45.80		31.80				305,617		0.43			1.39			5
Class C
2017		$	45.04		$	(0.34	)		$	9.34			$	9.00				—			$	(1.99	)		$	(1.99	)		$	0.00		$	52.05		20.65	%		$	233,786		(0.71	)%		2.13	%(d)		4	%
2016			41.31			(0.30	)			5.75				5.45				—				(1.72	)			(1.72	)			0.00			45.04		13.41				227,464		(0.70	)		2.14	(d)(e)		4
2015			43.01			(0.38	)			(0.40	)			(0.78	)			—				(0.92	)			(0.92	)			0.00			41.31		(1.98	)			220,763		(0.85	)		2.13	(d)		9
2014			42.43			(0.46	)			2.46				2.00				—				(1.42	)			(1.42	)			0.00			43.01		4.68				222,684		(1.03	)		2.13			5
2013			33.27			(0.12	)			10.12				10.00				—				(0.84	)			(0.84	)			0.00			42.43		30.80				186,540		(0.32	)		2.14			5
Class I
2017		$	51.09		$	0.16			$	10.67			$	10.83			$	(0.07	)		$	(1.99	)		$	(2.06	)		$	0.00		$	59.86		21.84	%		$	1,404,639		0.30	%		1.13	%(d)		4	%
2016			46.19			0.13				6.49				6.62				—				(1.72	)			(1.72	)			0.00			51.09		14.56				1,138,299		0.29			1.14	(d)(e)		4
2015			47.52			0.08				(0.49	)			(0.41	)			—				(0.92	)			(0.92	)			0.00			46.19		(1.00	)			1,041,910		0.17			1.13	(d)		9
2014			46.29			(0.01	)			2.66				2.65				—				(1.42	)			(1.42	)			0.00			47.52		5.72				899,211		(0.03	)		1.13			5
2013			36.29			0.29				10.99				11.28				(0.44	)			(0.84	)			(1.28	)			0.00			46.29		32.14				568,573		0.71			1.14			5
Class T(f)
2017		$	54.90		$	(0.05	)		$	3.78			$	3.73				—				—				—				—		$	58.63		6.79	%		$	1		(0.37	)%(g)		1.37	%(d)(g)		4	%

† Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical $1,000 investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period including reinvestment of distributions and does not reflect applicable sales charges. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

(a) Due to capital share activity throughout the period, net investment income (loss) per share and the ratio to average net assets are not necessarily correlated among the different classes of shares.

(b) Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding method.

(c) Amount represents less than $0.005 per share.

(d) The Fund received credits from a designated broker who agreed to pay certain Fund operating expenses. For the years ended September 30, 2017, 2016, and 2015, there was no impact on the expense ratios.

(e) During the year ended September 30, 2016, the Fund received a reimbursement of custody expenses paid in prior years. Had such reimbursement (allocated by relative net asset values of the Fund’s share classes) been included in that period, the expense ratios would have been 1.38% (Class AAA and Class A), 2.13% (Class C), and 1.13% (Class I).

(f) Class T Shares were initially offered on July 5, 2017.

(g) Annualized.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

17

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements

1. Organization. The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund is a series of the Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc. (the “Corporation”). The Corporation was incorporated on July 25, 1991 in Maryland. The Fund is a diversified open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and one of three separately managed portfolios of the Corporation. The Fund seeks to provide a high level of capital appreciation. Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”) currently characterizes small capitalization companies for the Fund as those with total common stock market values of $3 billion or less at the time of investment. The Fund commenced investment operations on October 22, 1991. On July 5, 2017, the Fund began to offer for sale Class T Shares.

2. Significant Accounting Policies. As an investment company, the Fund follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance, which is part of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) that may require the use of management estimates and assumptions in the preparation of its financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements.

Security Valuation. Portfolio securities listed or traded on a nationally recognized securities exchange or traded in the U.S. over-the-counter market for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last quoted sale price or a market’s official closing price as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued. If there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the average of the closing bid and asked prices or, if there were no asked prices quoted on that day, then the security is valued at the closing bid price on that day. If no bid or asked prices are quoted on such day, the security is valued at the most recently available price or, if the Board of Directors (the “Board”) so determines, by such other method as the Board shall determine in good faith to reflect its fair market value. Portfolio securities traded on more than one national securities exchange or market are valued according to the broadest and most representative market, as determined by the Adviser.

Portfolio securities primarily traded on a foreign market are generally valued at the preceding closing values of such securities on the relevant market, but may be fair valued pursuant to procedures established by the Board if market conditions change significantly after the close of the foreign market, but prior to the close of business on the day the securities are being valued. Debt obligations for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the average of the latest bid and asked prices. If there were no asked prices quoted on such day, the security is valued using the closing bid price, unless the Board determines such amount does not reflect the securities’ fair value, in which case these securities will be fair valued as determined by the Board. Certain securities are valued principally using dealer quotations. Futures contracts are valued at the closing settlement price of the exchange or board of trade on which the applicable contract is traded. OTC futures and options on futures for which market quotations are readily available will be valued by quotations received from a pricing service or, if no quotations are available from a pricing service, by quotations obtained from one or more dealers in the instrument in question by the Adviser.

Securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available are fair valued as determined by the Board. Fair valuation methodologies and procedures may include, but are not limited to: analysis and review of available financial and non-financial information about the company; comparisons with the valuation and changes in valuation of similar securities, including a comparison of foreign securities with the equivalent U.S.

18

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

dollar value American Depositary Receipt securities at the close of the U.S. exchange; and evaluation of any other information that could be indicative of the value of the security.

The inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value of the Fund’s investments are summarized into three levels as described in the hierarchy below:

● Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical securities;

● Level 2 — other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.); and

● Level 3 — significant unobservable inputs (including the Board’s determinations as to the fair value of investments).

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input both individually and in the aggregate that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The summary of the Fund’s investments in securities by inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2017 is as follows:

	Valuation Inputs
	Level 1 Quoted Prices		Level 2 Other Significant Observable Inputs		Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs		Total Market Value at 9/30/17
INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES:
ASSETS (Market Value):
Common Stocks:
Automotive: Parts and Accessories		$194,668,740		—		$11,283,070		$205,951,810
Aviation: Parts and Services		150,708,240		$1,918,441		—		152,626,681
Business Services		221,558,657		450,000		0		222,008,657
Consumer Services		60,809,419		109,710		—		60,919,129
Entertainment		78,951,961		246,156		—		79,198,117
Equipment and Supplies		345,448,473		1,256,063		—		346,704,536
Financial Services		158,383,397		570,670		400		158,954,467
Food and Beverage		402,088,069		—		322,597		402,410,666
Manufactured Housing and Recreational Vehicles		17,133,534		1,378,101		—		18,511,635
Publishing		31,310,069		756,780		—		32,066,849
Retail		174,072,796		—		735		174,073,531
Specialty Chemicals		157,779,866		775		—		157,780,641
Other Industries (a)		1,719,582,376		—		—		1,719,582,376
Total Common Stocks		3,712,495,597		6,686,696		11,606,802		3,730,789,095
Closed-End Funds		4,425,599		—		—		4,425,599
Preferred Stocks (a)		9,492,712		—		—		9,492,712
Convertible Preferred Stocks (a)		—		11,435		—		11,435
Rights (a)		108,000		—		2		108,002
Corporate Bonds (a)		—		301,687		—		301,687
U.S. Government Obligations		—		965,561		—		965,561
TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES – ASSETS		$3,726,521,908		$7,965,379		$11,606,804		$3,746,094,091

(a) Please refer to the Schedule of Investments for the industry classifications of these portfolio holdings.

19

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

The Fund did not have material transfers among Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 during the year ended September 30, 2017. The Fund’s policy is to recognize transfers among Levels as of the beginning of the reporting period.

Additional Information to Evaluate Qualitative Information.

General. The Fund uses recognized industry pricing services – approved by the Board and unaffiliated with the Adviser – to value most of its securities, and uses broker quotes provided by market makers of securities not valued by these and other recognized pricing sources. Several different pricing feeds are received to value domestic equity securities, international equity securities, preferred equity securities, and fixed income securities. The data within these feeds are ultimately sourced from major stock exchanges and trading systems where these securities trade. The prices supplied by external sources are checked by obtaining quotations or actual transaction prices from market participants. If a price obtained from the pricing source is deemed unreliable, prices will be sought from another pricing service or from a broker/dealer that trades that security or similar securities.

Fair Valuation. Fair valued securities may be common or preferred equities, warrants, options, rights, or fixed income obligations. Where appropriate, Level 3 securities are those for which market quotations are not available, such as securities not traded for several days, or for which current bids are not available, or which are restricted as to transfer. When fair valuing a security, factors to consider include recent prices of comparable securities that are publicly traded, reliable prices of securities not publicly traded, the use of valuation models, current analyst reports, valuing the income or cash flow of the issuer, or cost if the preceding factors do not apply. A significant change in the unobservable inputs could result in a lower or higher value in Level 3 securities. The circumstances of Level 3 securities are frequently monitored to determine if fair valuation measures continue to apply.

The Adviser reports quarterly to the Board the results of the application of fair valuation policies and procedures. These may include backtesting the prices realized in subsequent trades of these fair valued securities to fair values previously recognized.

Derivative Financial Instruments. The Fund may engage in various portfolio investment strategies by investing in derivative financial instruments for the purposes of increasing the income of the Fund, hedging against changes in the value of its portfolio securities and in the value of securities it intends to purchase, or hedging against a specific transaction with respect to either the currency in which the transaction is denominated or another currency. Investing in certain derivative financial instruments, including participation in the options, futures, or swap markets, entails certain execution, liquidity, hedging, tax, and securities, interest, credit, or currency market risks. Losses may arise if the Adviser’s prediction of movements in the direction of the securities, foreign currency, and interest rate markets is inaccurate. Losses may also arise if the counterparty does not perform its duties under a contract, or in the event of default, the Fund may be delayed in or prevented from obtaining payments or other contractual remedies owed to it under derivative contracts. The creditworthiness of the counterparties is closely monitored in order to minimize these risks. Participation in derivative transactions involves investment risks, transaction costs, and potential losses to which the Fund would not be subject absent the use of these strategies. The consequences of these risks, transaction costs, and losses may have a negative impact on the Fund’s ability to pay distributions.

Collateral requirements differ by type of derivative. Collateral requirements are set by the broker or exchange

20

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

clearing house for exchange traded derivatives, while collateral terms are contract specific for derivatives traded over-the-counter. Securities pledged to cover obligations of the Fund under derivative contracts are noted in the Schedule of Investments. Cash collateral, if any, pledged for the same purpose will be reported separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund’s derivative contracts held at September 30, 2017, if any, are not accounted for as hedging instruments under GAAP and are disclosed in the Schedule of Investments together with the related counterparty.

Futures Contracts. The Fund may engage in futures contracts for the purpose of hedging against changes in the value of its portfolio securities and in the value of securities it intends to purchase. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to a certain percentage of the contract amount. This is known as the “initial margin.” Subsequent payments (“variation margin”) are made or received by the Fund each day, depending on the daily fluctuations in the value of the contract, and are included in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on futures contracts. The Fund recognizes a realized gain or loss when the contract is closed.

There are several risks in connection with the use of futures contracts as a hedging instrument. The change in value of futures contracts primarily corresponds with the value of their underlying instruments, which may not correlate with the change in value of the hedged investments. In addition, there is the risk that the Fund may not be able to enter into a closing transaction because of an illiquid secondary market. During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund held no investments in futures contracts.

Foreign Currency Translations. The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currencies, investments, and other assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates. Purchases and sales of investment securities, income, and expenses are translated at the exchange rate prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Unrealized gains and losses that result from changes in foreign exchange rates and/or changes in market prices of securities have been included in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations. Net realized foreign currency gains and losses resulting from changes in exchange rates include foreign currency gains and losses between trade date and settlement date on investment securities transactions, foreign currency transactions, and the difference between the amounts of interest and dividends recorded on the books of the Fund and the amounts actually received. The portion of foreign currency gains and losses related to fluctuation in exchange rates between the initial purchase trade date and subsequent sale trade date is included in realized gain/(loss) on investments.

Foreign Securities. The Fund may directly purchase securities of foreign issuers. Investing in securities of foreign issuers involves special risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. The risks include possible revaluation of currencies, the inability to repatriate funds, less complete financial information about companies, and possible future adverse political and economic developments. Moreover, securities of many foreign issuers and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers.

Foreign Taxes. The Fund may be subject to foreign taxes on income, gains on investments, or currency repatriation, a portion of which may be recoverable. The Fund will accrue such taxes and recoveries as applicable, based upon its current interpretation of tax rules and regulations that exist in the markets in which it invests.

21

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

Restricted Securities. The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities for which the markets are restricted. Restricted securities include securities whose disposition is subject to substantial legal or contractual restrictions. The sale of restricted securities often requires more time and results in higher brokerage charges or dealer discounts and other selling expenses than the sale of securities eligible for trading on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter markets. Restricted securities may sell at a price lower than similar securities that are not subject to restrictions on resale. Securities freely saleable among qualified institutional investors under special rules adopted by the SEC may be treated as liquid if they satisfy liquidity standards established by the Board. The continued liquidity of such securities is not as well assured as that of publicly traded securities, and accordingly the Board will monitor their liquidity. At September 30, 2017, the Fund did not hold restricted securities.

Securities Transactions and Investment Income. Securities transactions are accounted for on the trade date with realized gain/(loss) on investments determined by using the identified cost method. Interest income (including amortization of premium and accretion of discount) is recorded on the accrual basis. Premiums and discounts on debt securities are amortized using the effective yield to maturity method. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date, except for certain dividends from foreign securities that are recorded as soon after the ex-dividend date as the Fund becomes aware of such dividends.

Determination of Net Asset Value and Calculation of Expenses. Certain administrative expenses are common to, and allocated among, various affiliated funds. Such allocations are made on the basis of each fund’s average net assets or other criteria directly affecting the expenses as determined by the Adviser pursuant to procedures established by the Board.

In calculating the NAV per share of each class, investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, redemption fees, and expenses other than class specific expenses are allocated daily to each class of shares based upon the proportion of net assets of each class at the beginning of each day. Distribution expenses are borne solely by the class incurring the expense.

Distributions to Shareholders. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions to shareholders are based on income and capital gains as determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from income and capital gains as determined under GAAP. These differences are primarily due to differing treatments of income and gains on various investment securities and foreign currency transactions held by the Fund, timing differences, and differing characterizations of distributions made by the Fund. Distributions from net investment income for federal income tax purposes include net realized gains on foreign currency transactions. These book/tax differences are either temporary or permanent in nature. To the extent these differences are permanent, adjustments are made to the appropriate capital accounts in the period when the differences arise. Permanent differences were primarily due to the tax treatment of currency gains and losses, reclassification of REIT distributions, redesignation of dividends, basis adjustments on investments in partnerships and on investments no longer deemed passive foreign investment companies. These reclassifications have no impact on the NAV of the Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2017, reclassifications were made to increase accumulated net investment income by $705,114 and decrease accumulated net realized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions by $6,901,287, with an offsetting adjustment to paid-in capital.

22

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

The tax character of distributions paid during the years ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:

	Year Ended September 30, 2017			Year Ended September 30, 2016
Distributions paid from:
Ordinary income (inclusive of short term capital gains)		$	3,877,187			—
Net long term capital gains			131,307,149		$	124,510,867
Total distributions paid		$	135,184,336		$	124,510,867

Provision for Income Taxes. The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). It is the policy of the Fund to comply with the requirements of the Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its net investment company taxable income and net capital gains. Therefore, no provision for federal income taxes is required.

At September 30, 2017, the components of accumulated earnings/losses on a tax basis were as follows:

Undistributed ordinary income	$	4,520,957
Undistributed long term capital gains		192,998,334
Net unrealized appreciation on investments		2,086,007,066
Total	$	2,283,526,357

At September 30, 2017, the temporary differences between book basis and tax basis unrealized appreciation on investments were primarily due to deferral of losses from wash sales for tax purposes, mark-to-market adjustments on investments in passive foreign investment companies, and basis adjustments on investments in partnerships.

The following summarizes the tax cost of investments and the related net unrealized appreciation at September 30, 2017:

	Cost		Gross Unrealized Appreciation		Gross Unrealized Depreciation			Net Unrealized Appreciation
Investments	$	1,660,144,527	$	2,203,131,729	$	(117,182,165	)	$	2,085,949,564

The Fund is required to evaluate tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Fund’s tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. Income tax and related interest and penalties would be recognized by the Fund as tax expense in the Statement of Operations if the tax positions were deemed not to meet the more-likely-than-not threshold. For the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund did not incur any income tax, interest, or penalties. As of September 30, 2017, the Adviser has reviewed all open tax years and concluded that there was no impact to the Fund’s net assets or results of operations. The Fund’s federal and state tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remain open, subject to examination. On an ongoing basis, the Adviser will monitor the Fund’s tax positions to determine if adjustments to this conclusion are necessary.

3. Investment Advisory Agreement and Other Transactions. The Fund has entered into an investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) with the Adviser which provides that the Fund will pay the Adviser a fee, computed daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 1.00% of the value of its average daily net assets. In accordance with the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser provides a continuous investment program

23

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

for the Fund’s portfolio, oversees the administration of all aspects of the Fund’s business and affairs, and pays the compensation of all Officers and Directors of the Fund who are affiliated persons of the Adviser.

There was a reduction in the advisory fee paid to the Adviser relating to certain portfolio holdings, i.e., unsupervised assets of the Fund with respect to which the Adviser transferred dispositive and voting control to the Fund’s Proxy Voting Committee. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund’s Proxy Voting Committee exercised control and discretion over all rights to vote or consent with respect to such securities, and the Adviser reduced its fee with respect to such securities by $33,130.

The Corporation pays each Director who is not considered an affiliated person an annual retainer of $18,000 plus $2,000 for each Board meeting attended, and they are reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings. All Board committee members receive $1,000 per meeting attended. The Chairman of the Audit Committee receives a $3,000 annual fee, and the Lead Director receives an annual fee of $2,000. A Director may receive a single meeting fee, allocated among the participating funds, for attending certain meetings held on behalf of multiple funds. Directors who are directors or employees of the Adviser or an affiliated company receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Corporation.

4. Distribution Plan. The Fund’s Board has adopted a distribution plan (the “Plan”) for each class of shares, except for Class I Shares, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Class AAA, Class A, Class C, and Class T Share Plans, payments are authorized to G.distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”) an affiliate of the Adviser, at annual rates of 0.25%, 0.25%, 1.00%, and 0.25%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of those classes, the annual limitations under each Plan. Such payments are accrued daily and paid monthly.

5. Portfolio Securities. Purchases and sales of securities during the year ended September 30, 2017, other than short term securities and U.S. Government obligations, aggregated $140,494,433 and $421,636,277, respectively.

6. Transactions with Affiliates and Other Arrangements. During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid $213,283 in brokerage commissions on security trades to G.research, LLC, an affiliate of the Adviser. Additionally, the Distributor retained a total of $77,729 from investors representing commissions (sales charges and underwriting fees) on sales and redemptions of Fund shares.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund received credits from a designated broker who agreed to pay certain Fund operating expenses. The amount of such expenses paid through this directed brokerage arrangement during this period was $23,971.

The cost of calculating the Fund’s NAV per share is a Fund expense pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid or accrued $45,000 to the Adviser in connection with the cost of computing the Fund’s NAV.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund engaged in purchase and sale transactions with funds that have a common investment adviser. These purchase and sale transactions complied with Rule 17a-7 under the Act and amount to $1,186 and $240,782, respectively.

7. Line of Credit. The Fund participates in an unsecured line of credit, which expires on March 8, 2018 and may be renewed annually, of up to $75,000,000 under which it may borrow up to 10% of its net assets from the custodian for temporary borrowing purposes. Borrowings under this arrangement bear interest at a floating

24

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

rate equal to the higher of the overnight Federal Funds rate plus 125 basis points or the 30 day LIBOR plus 125 basis points in effect on that day. This amount, if any, would be included in “Interest expense” in the Statement of Operations. At September 30, 2017, there were no borrowings outstanding under the line of credit.

The average daily amount of borrowings outstanding under the line of credit during the year ended September 30, 2017 was $333,247 with a weighted average interest rate of 2.41%. The maximum amount borrowed at any time during the year ended September 30, 2017 was $10,556,000.

8. Capital Stock. The Fund offers five classes of shares – Class AAA Shares, Class A Shares, Class C Shares, Class I Shares, and Class T Shares. Class AAA and Class I Shares are offered without a sales charge. Class A Shares and Class T Shares are subject to a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75% and 2.50%, respectively, and Class C Shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge for one year after purchase.

The Fund imposes a redemption fee of 2.00% on all classes of shares that are redeemed or exchanged on or before the seventh day after the date of a purchase. The redemption fee is deducted from the proceeds otherwise payable to the redeeming shareholders and is retained by the Fund as an increase in paid-in capital. The redemption fees retained by the Fund during the years ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, if any, can be found in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets under Redemption Fees.

During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund delivered shares of various portfolio securities as a redemption in-kind in exchange for Class I shares of the Fund. Cash and portfolio securities were transferred as of the close of business on the date and at the market value listed below:

April 4, 2017	Value			Realized Gains		Type
Class I	$	22,630,343	*	$	6,360,725		Redemption in-kind

* This amount includes cash of approximately $13,762,243 associated with the redemption in-kind.

25

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

Transactions in shares of capital stock were as follows:

	Year Ended September 30, 2017						Year Ended September 30, 2016
	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Class AAA
Shares sold		1,959,810		$	103,630,122			2,409,898		$	111,806,739
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		1,339,903			67,691,926			1,366,459			64,729,142
Shares redeemed		(6,678,889	)		(354,221,451	)		(7,521,289	)		(348,419,913	)
Net decrease		(3,379,176	)	$	(182,899,403	)		(3,744,932	)	$	(171,884,032	)
Class A
Shares sold		647,614		$	34,127,575			917,514		$	42,933,050
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		191,443			9,665,977			198,812			9,413,748
Shares redeemed		(2,317,999	)		(122,861,962	)		(1,811,015	)		(84,550,946	)
Net decrease		(1,478,942	)	$	(79,068,410	)		(694,689	)	$	(32,204,148	)
Class C
Shares sold		546,622		$	25,741,713			649,485		$	27,265,851
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		199,574			9,006,763			196,038			8,396,317
Shares redeemed		(1,304,558	)		(61,515,316	)		(1,139,350	)		(47,997,785	)
Net decrease		(558,362	)	$	(26,766,840	)		(293,827	)	$	(12,335,617	)
Class I
Shares sold		7,097,333		$	383,415,800			5,922,484		$	281,871,627
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		798,770			41,112,658			720,229			34,693,416
Shares redeemed		(6,296,713	)		(340,768,244	)		(6,917,731	)		(320,770,002	)
Shares redeemed in-kind		(416,842	)		(22,630,343	)		—			—
Net increase/(decrease)		1,182,548		$	61,129,871			(275,018	)	$	(4,204,959	)
Class T (a)
Shares sold		18		$	1,000			—			—
Net increase		18		$	1,000			—			—

(a) Class T Shares were initially offered on July 5, 2017.

26

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

9. Transactions in Securities of Affiliated Issuers. The 1940 Act defines affiliated issuers as those in which a Fund’s holdings of an issuer represent 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer. A summary of the Fund’s transactions in the securities of these issuers during the year ended September 30, 2017 is set forth below:

	Beginning Shares		Shares Purchased		Shares Sold			Ending Shares		Affiliated Investments Dividends		Affiliated Investments Realized Loss			Affiliated Investments Value at September 30, 2017		Affiliated Investments Change in Unrealized Appreciation/ (Depreciation)			Percent Owned of Shares Outstanding
Bel Fuse Inc., Cl. A		284,000		—		(1,500	)		282,500	$	67,950	$	(20,736	)	$	7,514,500	$	1,846,975			12.99	%
Griffin Industrial Realty Inc.*		235,000		33,000		—			268,000		70,500		—			9,741,800		1,310,431			5.36	%
Internap Corp.*		375,000		325,000		—			700,000		—		—			3,045,000		3,422,642			0.84	%
Internap Corp., 144A*		—		5,524,861		—			5,524,861		—		—			24,033,145		12,681,042			6.63	%
Katy Industries Inc.**		491,000		—		(491,000	)		—		—		—			—		—			—
Sevcon Inc.**		313,000		140,000		(453,000	)		—		—		—			—		—			—
Sevcon Inc., 144A**		140,000		—		(140,000	)		—		—		—			—		—			—
Sevcon Inc., 4.000%, Ser. A**		60,098		—		(60,098	)		—		—		—			—		—			—
Sevcon Inc., expire 07/11/21**		70,000		—		(70,000	)		—		—		—			—		—			—
Strattec Security Corp.		207,000		—		—			207,000		115,920		—			8,466,300		1,159,200			5.60	%
Trans-Lux Corp.		403,000		—		(3,000	)		400,000		—		(25,652	)		450,000		(618,560	)		23.38	%
Trans-Lux Cv. Pfd., Ser. B		14,747		—		—			14,747		176,964		—			11,435		(859,057	)		—
Total										$	431,334	$	(46,388	)	$	53,262,180	$	18,942,673

* Security was not affiliated at September 30, 2016.

** Security is no longer held at September 30, 2017.

27

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

10. Indemnifications. The Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Fund has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts. Management has reviewed the Fund’s existing contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.

11. Subsequent Events. Management has evaluated the impact on the Fund of all subsequent events occurring through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.

28

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc., including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2017, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2017, by correspondence with the Fund’s custodian. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund, a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc., at September 30, 2017, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

November 28, 2017

29

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Additional Fund Information (Unaudited)

The business and affairs of the Corporation are managed under the direction of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. Information pertaining to the Directors and officers of the Corporation is set forth below. The Corporation’s Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Corporation’s Directors and is available without charge, upon request, by calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554) or by writing to The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund at One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422.

Name, Position(s) Address1 and Age	Term of Office and Length of Time Served2	Number of Funds in Fund Complex Overseen by Director	Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years	Other Directorships Held by Director4
INTERESTED DIRECTORS3:
Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Director and Chief Investment Officer Age: 75	Since 1991	32	Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer– Value Portfolios of GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Chief Investment Officer– Value Portfolios of Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc.; Director/Trustee or Chief Investment Officer of other registered investment companies within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex; Chief Executive Officer of GGCP, Inc.; Executive Chairman of Associated Capital Group, Inc.	Director of Morgan Group Holdings, Inc. (holding company); Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of LICT Corp. (multimedia and communication services company); Director of CIBL, Inc. (broadcasting and wireless communications); Director of ICTC Group Inc. (communications); Director of RLJ Acquisition, Inc. (blank check company) (2011-2012)
John D. Gabelli Director Age: 73	Since 1991	10	Senior Vice President of G.research, LLC	—
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS5:
Anthony J. Colavita Director Age: 81	Since 1991	28	President of the law firm of Anthony J. Colavita, P.C.	—
Vincent D. Enright Director Age: 73	Since 1991	17	Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of KeySpan Corp. (public utility) (1994-1998)	Director of Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (therapeutics and diagnostics) (2008- 2014); Director of the LGL Group, Inc. (diversified manufacturing) (2011-2014)
Robert J. Morrissey Director Age: 78	Since 1991	6	Partner in the law firm of Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch	Chairman of the Board of Directors, Belmont Savings Bank
Kuni Nakamura Director Age: 49	Since 2009	33	President of Advanced Polymer, Inc. (chemical manufacturing company); President of KEN Enterprises, Inc. (real estate)	—
Anthony R. Pustorino Director Age: 92	Since 1991	10	Certified Public Accountant; Professor Emeritus, Pace University	Director of The LGL Group, Inc. (diversified manufacturing) (2004-2011)
Anthonie C. van Ekris Director Age: 83	Since 1991	22	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BALMAC International, Inc. (global import/ export company)	—
Salvatore J. Zizza Director Age: 71	Since 2001	30	President of Zizza & Associates Corp. (private holding company); Chairman of Harbor Diversified, Inc. (pharmaceuticals); Chairman of BAM (semiconductor and aerospace manufacturing); Chairman of Bergen Cove Realty Inc.; Chairman of Metropolitan Paper Recycling Inc. (recycling) (2005-2014)	Director and Vice Chairman of Trans-Lux Corporation (business services); Director and Chairman of Harbor Diversified Inc. (pharmaceuticals); Director, Chairman, and CEO of General Employment Enterprises (staffing services) (2009-2012)

30

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Additional Fund Information (Continued) (Unaudited)

Name, Position(s) Address1 and Age	Term of Office and Length of Time Served2	Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years
OFFICERS:
Bruce N. Alpert	Since 1991	Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 1988; Officer of registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex; Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2008; Director of Teton Advisors, Inc., 1998-2012
President
Age: 65
Agnes Mullady	Since 2006	Officer of all of the registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2006; President and Chief Operating Officer of the Fund Division of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2015; Chief Executive Officer of G.distributors, LLC since 2010; Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2009; Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2007; Executive Vice President of Associated Capital Group, Inc. since 2016
Treasurer
Age: 59
Andrea R. Mango	Since 2013	Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2016; Counsel of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2013; Secretary of all registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2013; Vice President of all closed-end funds within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2014; Corporate Vice President within the Corporate Compliance Department of New York Life Insurance Company, 2011-2013; Vice President and Counsel of Deutsche Bank, 2006-2011
Secretary
Age: 45
John C. Ball	Since 2017	Treasurer of funds within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex (closed-end funds since May 2017 and open-end funds since February 2017); Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of AMG Funds, 2014-2017; Vice President of State Street Corporation, 2007- 2014
Treasurer
Age: 41
Richard J. Walz	Since 2013	Chief Compliance Officer of all of the registered investment companies within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2013; Chief Compliance Officer of AEGON USA Investment Management, 2011-2013; Chief Compliance Officer of Cutwater Asset Management, 2004-2011
Chief Compliance Officer
Age: 58

¹  Address: One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422, unless otherwise noted.

²  Each Director will hold office for an indefinite term until the earliest of (i) the next meeting of shareholders, if any, called for the purpose of considering the election or re-election of such Director and until the election and qualification of his or her successor, if any, elected at such meeting, or (ii) the date a Director resigns or retires, or a Director is removed by the Board of Directors or shareholders, in accordance with the Fund’s By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation. Each officer will hold office for an indefinite term until the date he or she resigns or retires or until his or her successor is elected and qualified.

³  “Interested person” of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act. Messrs. Gabelli are each considered an “interested person” because of their affiliation with Gabelli Funds, LLC which acts as the Fund’s investment adviser. Mario J. Gabelli and John D. Gabelli are brothers.

⁴  This column includes only directorships of companies required to report to the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, i.e., public companies, or other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act.

⁵  Directors who are not interested persons are considered “Independent” Directors.

31

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

Additional Fund Information (Continued) (Unaudited)

2017 TAX NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS (Unaudited)

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid to shareholders ordinary income distributions (inclusive of short term capital gains) totaling $0.0369, $0.0369, $0.0369, and $0.1036 per share for Class AAA, Class A, Class C, and Class I, respectively, and long term capital gains totaling $131,307,149 or the maximum allowable. The distribution of long term capital gains has been designated as a capital gain dividend by the Fund’s Board of Directors. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, 100% of the ordinary income distribution qualifies for the dividends received deduction available to corporations. The Fund designates 100% of the ordinary income distribution as qualified dividend income pursuant to the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The Fund designates 0.71% of the ordinary income distribution as qualified interest income pursuant to the Tax Relief, Unemployment Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.

U.S. Government Income:

The percentage of the ordinary income distribution paid by the Fund during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 which was derived from U.S. Treasury securities was 0.41%. Such income is exempt from state and local tax in all states. However, many states, including New York and California, allow a tax exemption for a portion of the income earned only if a mutual fund has invested at least 50% of its assets at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s fiscal year in U.S. Government securities. The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund did not meet this strict requirement in 2017. The percentage of U.S. Government securities held as of September 30, 2017 was 0.03%. Due to the diversity in state and local tax law, it is recommended that you consult your personal tax adviser as to the applicability of the information provided to your specific situation.

All designations are based on financial information available as of the date of this annual report and, accordingly, are subject to change. For each item, it is the intention of the Fund to designate the maximum amount permitted under the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder.

32

Gabelli/GAMCO Funds and Your Personal Privacy

Who are we?

The Gabelli/GAMCO Funds are investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940. We are managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc., which are affiliated with GAMCO Investors, Inc. that is a publicly held company with subsidiaries and affiliates that provide investment advisory services for a variety of clients.

What kind of non-public information do we collect about you if you become a fund shareholder?

If you apply to open an account directly with us, you will be giving us some non-public information about yourself. The non-public information we collect about you is:

• Information you give us on your application form. This could include your name, address, telephone number, social security number, bank account number, and other information.

• Information about your transactions with us, any transactions with our affiliates, and transactions with the entities we hire to provide services to you. This would include information about the shares that you buy or redeem. If we hire someone else to provide services — like a transfer agent — we will also have information about the transactions that you conduct through them.

What information do we disclose and to whom do we disclose it?

We do not disclose any non-public personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone other than our affiliates, our service providers who need to know such information, and as otherwise permitted by law. If you want to find out what the law permits, you can read the privacy rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are in volume 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 248. The Commission often posts information about its regulations on its website, www.sec.gov.

What do we do to protect your personal information?

We restrict access to non-public personal information about you to the people who need to know that information in order to provide services to you or the fund and to ensure that we are complying with the laws governing the securities business. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to keep your personal information confidential.

This page was intentionally left blank.

THE GABELLI SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

One Corporate Center

Rye, NY 10580-1422

Portfolio Manager Biography

Mario J. Gabelli, CFA, is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer - Value Portfolios of GAMCO Investors, Inc. that he founded in 1977, and Chief Investment Officer - Value Portfolios of Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc. He is also Executive Chairman of Associated Capital Group, Inc. Mr. Gabelli is a summa cum laude graduate of Fordham University and holds an MBA degree from Columbia Business School and Honorary Doctorates from Fordham University and Roger Williams University.

We have separated the portfolio manager’s commentary from the financial statements and investment portfolio due to corporate governance regulations stipulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have done this to ensure that the content of the portfolio manager’s commentary is unrestricted. Both the commentary and the financial statements, including the portfolio of investments, will be available on our website at www.gabelli.com.

Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc.

THE GABELLI SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

One Corporate Center

Rye, New York 10580-1422

t 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554)

f 914-921-5118

e info@gabelli.com

GABELLI.COM

Net Asset Value per share available daily

by calling 800-GABELLI after 7:00 P.M.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, GAMCO Investors, Inc. Executive Chairman, Associated Capital Group, Inc.   Anthony J. Colavita President, Anthony J. Colavita, P.C.   Vincent D. Enright Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, KeySpan Corp.   John D. Gabelli Senior Vice President, G.research, LLC   Robert J. Morrissey Partner, Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch   Kuni Nakamura President, Advanced Polymer, Inc.   Anthony R. Pustorino Certified Public Accountant, Professor Emeritus, Pace University Anthonie C. van Ekris Chairman, BALMAC International, Inc.   Salvatore J. Zizza Chairman, Zizza & Associates Corp.   OFFICERS Bruce N. Alpert President   Agnes Mullady Vice President   Andrea R. Mango Secretary   John C. Ball Treasurer   Richard J. Walz Chief Compliance Officer   DISTRIBUTOR G.distributors, LLC   CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AGENT, AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT   State Street Bank and Trust Company   LEGAL COUNSEL   Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund. It is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.

GAB443Q317AR

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Annual Report — September 30, 2017

To Our Shareholders,

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the net asset value (“NAV”) per Class I Share of The Gabelli Focus Five Fund increased 8.1% compared with the Fund’s benchmark, the Blended Index, which increased 18.6%. The Blended Index consists of 50% of the Russell 2500 Index, 25% of the Russell 1000 Index, and 25% of the MSCI AC World Ex-U.S. Index. See page 3 for additional performance information.

Enclosed are the financial statements, including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2017.

Performance Discussion (Unaudited)

The Focus Five Fund seeks to provide a high level of capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest in a concentrated portfolio of twenty-five to thirty-five equity securities. The Fund could potentially invest up to 50% of its net assets in five securities that represent the largest, and thus the highest conviction, positions.

As a Fund with a concentrated portfolio of holdings, stock selection is an important element of performance as the Fund is driven more by the results of the companies selected rather than the movement of the overall market.

The post election rally of 2016 continued into the first quarter of 2017, with the U.S. equity market setting all-time highs. The so called “Trump Rally” was fueled by the potential for increased fiscal stimulus, lower corporate and individual taxes, and deregulation. Robust hiring, falling unemployment, and firming wage growth opened the door for the Federal Reserve to raise short term interest rates for the third time since the financial crisis. Outside the U.S., markets continue to digest the populist upheavals that have occurred not only in America, but around the globe.

Stocks performed strongly during the first half of 2017 with the Russell 2500 Index and Russell 1000 Index rising 5.97% and 9.27%, respectively, and the MSCI AC World Ex-U.S. Index increasing by 14.45%. The Federal Reserve continued tapping the brakes on the third round of its quantitative easing by raising the Federal Reserve Funds rate to a range of 1.0%-1.25% in June 2017. The Federal Reserve indicated it would begin shrinking its balance sheet later this year and current expectations are for three additional increases in each of 2018 and 2019 which would put the Federal Reserve Funds rate at 3.0%, still well below its prior peak.

The U.S. stock market advanced to record highs in September, with the Russell 2500 Index and Russell 1000 Index both in positive territory for the eighth consecutive quarter. Economic indicators continued to point upward around the world, with low inflation, falling unemployment, and rising consumer spending all contributing to the stock market’s rise. The Trump administration’s policies came back into focus during the quarter with the announcement of a deal to extend the debt ceiling and the release of a highly anticipated tax reform blueprint.

Some of the better performing investments during the fiscal year were MGM Resorts International (7.0% of net assets as of September 30, 2017), Delphi Automotive plc (2.2%) and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (1.3%). These positions contributed approximately 5.0% to the year’s return. Delphi Automotive’s strength largely came after announcing the tax-free spin-off of its Powertrain segment. Take-Two Interactive has been successful in increasing recurrent in-game spending by consumers, which allows the company to generate

EBITDA after the initial sale of a new title. Investor confidence remains intact after a very successful NBA 2K launch, anticipation of the new Red Dead release in the first half of next year, and continued success with GTA V and GTA online.

Investments that detracted from performance during the fiscal year were Inventure Foods Inc. (1.6%), and Advance Auto Parts Inc. (no longer held at September 30, 2017). These two positions offset the performance by approximately (2.9%) to the year’s return. Inventure Foods commenced a strategic and financial review in July 2016, whereby the company subsequently sold off its Frozen Foods business, and ultimately the remainder of the company albeit at below market valuation. Advance Auto Parts underperformed due to headwinds facing the automotive aftermarket industry, characterized by margin pressure and heightened inventory levels.

We appreciate your confidence and trust.

2

Comparative Results

Average Annual Returns through September 30, 2017 (a)(b) (Unaudited)

										Since January 1, 2012(c)				Since Inception (12/31/02)
	1 Year(c)			3 Year(c)			5 Year(c)						10 Year
Class I (GWSIX)		8.11	%		2.15	%		8.92	%		10.67	%	5.69%		8.29	%
Class AAA (GWSVX)		7.88			1.89			8.67			10.39		5.43		8.11
Russell 2500 Index		17.79			10.60			13.86			14.59	(d)	8.19		11.58
Russell 1000 Index		18.54			10.63			14.27			15.28		7.55		9.89
MSCI AC World Ex-U.S. Index		20.15			5.19			7.45			8.38		1.74		9.03
Blended Index		18.61			9.23			12.31			13.15		6.39		10.51
Class A (GWSAX)		7.87			1.90			8.67			10.40		5.44		8.13
With sales charge (e)		1.67			(0.09	)		7.39			9.27		4.80		7.69
Class C (GWSCX)		7.04			1.13			7.85			9.57		4.65		7.34
With contingent deferred sales charge (f)		6.04			1.13			7.85			9.57		4.65		7.34
Class T (GWSTX)		7.88			1.89			8.67			10.39		5.43		8.11
With sales charge (g)		5.18			1.04			8.12			9.90		5.16		7.92

In the current prospectuses dated January 27, 2017, as amended July 5, 2017, the expense ratios for Class AAA, A, C, I, and T Shares are 1.42%, 1.42%, 2.17%, 1.17%, and 1.42%, respectively. See page 11 for the expense ratios for the year ended September 30, 2017. Class AAA and Class I Shares have no sales charge. The maximum sales charge for Class A, Class C, and Class T Shares is 5.75%, 1.00%, and 2.50%, respectively.

  (a) Returns represent past performance and do not guarantee future results. Total returns and average annual returns reflect changes in share price, reinvestment of distributions, and are net of expenses. Investment returns and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate. When shares are redeemed, they may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data presented. Visit www.gabelli.com for performance information as of the most recent month end. Returns would have been lower had the Adviser not reimbursed certain expenses of the Fund. The Fund imposes a 2% redemption fee on shares sold or exchanged within seven days of purchase. Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fund before investing. The prospectuses contain information about these and other matters and should be read carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus please visit our website at www.gabelli.com. The Class AAA Share NAVs are used to calculate performance for the periods prior to the issuance of Class I Shares on January 11, 2008 and Class T Shares on July 5, 2017. The actual performance of Class I Shares would have been higher due to lower expenses associated with this class of shares. The actual performance of the Class T Shares would have been lower due to the additional fees and expenses associated with this class of shares. The Russell 2500 Index is a market capitalization weighted index of 2,500 U.S. traded stocks of small and mid capitalization stocks. The Russell 1000 Index is a market capitalization weighted index of 1,000 U.S. traded large capitalization stocks. The Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index excluding the U.S. (MSCI ACWI Ex-U.S.) is a market capitalization weighted index of small, mid, and large capitalization stocks across developed and emerging markets, excluding U.S. stocks. The Blended Index consists of 50% Russell 2500 Index, 25% Russell 1000 Index, and 25% MSCI ACWI Ex-U.S. Index. Dividends are considered reinvested. You cannot invest directly in an index.

  (b) The Fund’s fiscal year ends September 30.

  (c) On January 1, 2012, the Fund began operating under its current name.

  (d) Russell 2500 Index performance is as of December 31, 2011.

  (e) Performance results include the effect of the maximum 5.75% sales charge at the beginning of the period.

  (f) Assuming payment of the 1% maximum contingent deferred sales charge imposed on redemptions made within one year of purchase.

  (g) Performance results include the effect of the maximum 2.50% sales charge at the beginning of the period.

3

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT IN

THE GABELLI FOCUS FIVE FUND CLASS AAA, THE BLENDED INDEX, AND THE RUSSELL 2500 INDEX (Unaudited)

* Past performance is not predictive of future results. The performance tables and graph do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares.

4

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Disclosure of Fund Expenses (Unaudited)

For the Six Month Period from April 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017 Expense Table

We believe it is important for you to understand the impact of fees and expenses regarding your investment. All mutual funds have operating expenses. As a shareholder of a fund, you incur ongoing costs, which include costs for portfolio management, administrative services, and shareholder reports (like this one), among others. Operating expenses, which are deducted from a fund’s gross income, directly reduce the investment return of a fund. When a fund’s expenses are expressed as a percentage of its average net assets, this figure is known as the expense ratio. The following examples are intended to help you understand the ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in your Fund and to compare these costs with those of other mutual funds. The examples are based on an investment of $1,000 made at the beginning of the period shown and held for the entire period.

The Expense Table below illustrates your Fund’s costs in two ways:

Actual Fund Return: This section provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use this section to help you to estimate the actual expenses that you paid over the period after any fee waivers and expense reimbursements. The “Ending Account Value” shown is derived from the Fund’s actual return during the past six months, and the “Expenses Paid During Period” shows the dollar amount that would have been paid by an investor who started with $1,000 in the Fund. You may use this information, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period.

To do so, simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number given for your Fund under the heading “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid during this period.

Hypothetical 5% Return: This section provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio. It assumes a hypothetical annualized return of 5% before expenses during the period shown. In this

case – because the hypothetical return used is not the Fund’s actual return – the results do not apply to your investment and you cannot use the hypothetical account value and expense to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. This example is useful in making comparisons of the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs such as sales charges (loads), redemption fees, or exchange fees, if any, which are described in the Prospectus. If these costs were applied to your account, your costs would be higher. Therefore, the 5% hypothetical return is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. The “Annualized Expense Ratio” represents the actual expenses for the last six months and may be different from the expense ratio in the Financial Highlights which is for the year ended September 30, 2017.

	Beginning	Ending		Annualized		Expenses
	Account Value	Account Value		Expense		Paid During
	04/01/17	09/30/17		Ratio		Period*
The Gabelli Focus Five Fund
Actual Fund Return
Class AAA	$1,000.00		$1,085.40		1.39%		$  7.27
Class A	$1,000.00		$1,085.30		1.39%		$  7.27
Class C	$1,000.00		$1,080.60		2.14%		$11.16
Class I	$1,000.00		$1,086.00		1.14%		$  5.96
Class T**	$1,000.00		$1,067.50		1.43%		$  3.56
Hypothetical 5% Return
Class AAA	$1,000.00		$1,018.10		1.39%		$  7.03
Class A	$1,000.00		$1,018.10		1.39%		$  7.03
Class C	$1,000.00		$1,014.34		2.14%		$10.81
Class I	$1,000.00		$1,019.35		1.14%		$  5.77
Class T	$1,000.00		$1,017.90		1.43%		$  7.23

* Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for the last six months multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half year (183 days), then divided by 365.

** Class T Shares use a beginning account value date of 07/05/17, and Class T Share expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio for the period since inception multiplied by the number of days since inception (88 days), then divided by 365.

5

Summary of Portfolio Holdings (Unaudited)

The following table presents portfolio holdings as a percent of net assets as of September 30, 2017:

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Cable and Satellite	13.6	%
Food and Beverage	10.3	%
Consumer Products	10.0	%
Health Care Equipment and Services	8.9	%
U.S. Government Obligations	7.7	%
Hotels and Gaming	7.0	%
Financial Services	6.6	%
Computer Software and Services	6.4	%
Health Care Equipment and Supplies	5.9	%
Energy and Utilities	5.4	%
Automotive: Parts and Accessories	4.1	%

Building and Construction	3.8	%
Equipment and Supplies	3.3	%
Telecommunications	3.2	%
Entertainment	1.3	%
Semiconductors	1.0	%
Retail	0.9	%
Business Services	0.0	%*
Other Assets and Liabilities (Net)	0.6	%
	100.0	%

* Amount represents less than 0.05%.

The Fund files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. Shareholders may obtain this information at www.gabelli.com or by calling the Fund at 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554). The Fund’s Form N-Q is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 800-SEC-0330.

Proxy Voting

The Fund files Form N-PX with its complete proxy voting record for the twelve months ended June 30, no later than August 31 of each year. A description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies, procedures, and how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities is available without charge, upon request, by (i) calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554); (ii) writing to The Gabelli Funds at One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422; or (iii) visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Manager Biography

Daniel M. Miller has been the portfolio manager of The Gabelli Focus Five Fund since inception of the investment strategy on January 1, 2012. He is also a Managing Director of GAMCO Investors, Inc. Mr. Miller joined the Firm in 2002 and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in finance from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

We have separated the portfolio manager’s commentary from the financial statements and investment portfolio due to corporate governance regulations stipulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have done this to ensure that the content of the portfolio manager’s commentary is unrestricted. The financial statements and investment portfolio are mailed separately from the commentary. Both the commentary and the financial statements, including the portfolio of investments, will be available on our website at www.gabelli.com.

6

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Schedule of Investments — September 30, 2017

Shares			Cost		Market Value
		COMMON STOCKS — 91.7%
		Automotive: Parts and Accessories — 4.1%
	35,000	Delphi Automotive plc	$	2,277,650	$	3,444,000
	15,000	O’Reilly Automotive Inc.†		2,675,910		3,230,550
				4,953,560		6,674,550
		Building and Construction — 3.8%
	167,673	Armstrong Flooring Inc.†		2,936,197		2,640,850
	70,000	Herc Holdings Inc.†		2,552,037		3,439,100
				5,488,234		6,079,950
		Business Services — 0.0%
	3,200	Gerber Scientific Inc., Escrow†(a)		0		0
		Cable and Satellite — 13.6%
	80,000	DISH Network Corp., Cl. A†		4,397,512		4,338,400
	59,001	EchoStar Corp., Cl. A†		2,267,246		3,376,627
	330,000	Liberty Global plc, Cl. C†		9,269,761		10,791,000
	93,001	Liberty Media Corp.- Liberty Formula One, Cl. A†		3,033,270		3,393,606
				18,967,789		21,899,633
		Computer Software and Services — 6.4%
	6,500	Alphabet Inc., Cl. C†		3,864,903		6,234,215
	60,000	Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.		814,014		882,600
	740,000	Internap Corp.†		1,788,872		3,219,000
				6,467,789		10,335,815
		Consumer Products — 10.0%
	115,000	Edgewell Personal Care Co.†		8,512,493		8,368,550
	180,000	Newell Brands Inc.		8,258,339		7,680,600
				16,770,832		16,049,150
		Energy and Utilities — 5.4%
	200,000	Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.		3,966,493		4,188,000
	975,000	Weatherford International plc†		4,317,086		4,465,500
				8,283,579		8,653,500
		Entertainment — 1.3%
	20,000	Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.†		322,239		2,044,600
		Equipment and Supplies — 3.3%
	85,000	HD Supply Holdings Inc.†		2,640,260		3,065,950
	175,000	Mueller Water Products Inc., Cl. A		2,001,413		2,240,000
				4,641,673		5,305,950
		Financial Services — 6.6%
	130,200	Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc.†		4,077,093		5,702,760
	582,067	Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, Cl. A		1,894,224		1,874,256

Shares			Cost		Market Value
	95,000	Synchrony Financial	$	2,726,551	$	2,949,750
				8,697,868		10,526,766
		Food and Beverage — 10.3%
	557,274	Inventure Foods Inc.†		3,027,505		2,613,615
	241,500	Maple Leaf Foods Inc.		3,977,406		6,582,580
	70,000	Mondelēz International Inc., Cl. A .		2,968,493		2,846,200
	50,000	Post Holdings Inc.†		1,664,675		4,413,500
				11,638,079		16,455,895
		Health Care Equipment and Services — 8.9%
	5,180,977	BioScrip Inc.†		11,193,423		14,247,687
		Health Care Equipment and Supplies — 5.9%
	170,000	NuVasive Inc.†		10,621,388		9,428,200
		Hotels and Gaming — 7.0%
	343,086	MGM Resorts International		6,489,634		11,181,173
		Retail — 0.9%
	65,000	Macy’s Inc.		1,422,100		1,418,300
		Semiconductors — 1.0%
	58,710	Integrated Device Technology Inc.†		1,040,045		1,560,512
		Telecommunications — 3.2%
	430,000	Gogo Inc.†		4,091,093		5,078,300
		TOTAL COMMON STOCKS		121,089,325		146,939,981
Principal Amount
		U.S. GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS — 7.7%
	$12,328,000	U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.992% to 1.147%††, 10/26/17 to 02/08/18(b)		12,300,137		12,302,070
		TOTAL INVESTMENTS BEFORE OPTIONS WRITTEN — 99.4%	$	133,389,462		159,242,051
		OPTIONS WRITTEN — (0.0)% (Premiums received $59,037)				(40,000	)
		Other Assets and Liabilities (Net) — 0.6%				1,016,618
		NET ASSETS — 100.0%			$	160,218,669

(a) Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(b) At September 30, 2017, $1,200,000 of the principal amount was pledged as collateral for options written.

† Non-income producing security.

†† Represents annualized yield at date of purchase.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

7

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Schedule of Investments (Continued) — September 30, 2017

As of September 30, 2017, exchange traded options written outstanding were as follows:

Description	Number of Contracts		Notional Amount	Exercise Price	Expiration Date		Market Value
EXCHANGE TRADED CALL OPTIONS WRITTEN — (0.0)%
Internap Corp.		1,000	$435,000	$4.00		10/20/17	$40,000
TOTAL EXCHANGE TRADED CALL OPTIONS WRITTEN							$40,000

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

8

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

September 30, 2017

Assets:
Investments, at value (cost $133,389,462)	$159,242,051
Deposit at brokers	96,135
Receivable for investments sold	2,417,493
Receivable for Fund shares sold	326,713
Dividends receivable	39,938
Prepaid expenses	25,516
Total Assets	162,147,846
Liabilities:
Call options written (premiums received $59,037)	40,000
Payable to custodian	2,424
Payable for investments purchased	1,071,945
Payable for Fund shares redeemed	569,302
Payable for investment advisory fees	131,766
Payable for distribution fees	41,606
Payable for accounting fees	11,250
Other accrued expenses	60,884
Total Liabilities.	1,929,177
Net Assets (applicable to 11,185,459 shares outstanding)	$160,218,669
Net Assets Consist of:
Paid-in capital	$137,937,328
Accumulated net investment loss	(1,300,974)
Accumulated net realized loss on investments, written options, and foreign currency transactions .	(2,289,311)
Net unrealized appreciation on investments	25,852,589
Net unrealized appreciation on written options	19,037
Net Assets.	$160,218,669
Shares of Capital Stock, each at $0.001 par value:
Class AAA:
Net Asset Value, offering, and redemption price per share ($22,542,175 ÷ 1,543,033 shares outstanding; 100,000,000 shares authorized)	$14.61
Class A:
Net Asset Value and redemption price per share ($29,391,131 ÷ 1,991,452 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$14.76
Maximum offering price per share (NAV ÷ 0.9425, based on maximum sales charge of 5.75% of the offering price)	$15.66
Class C:
Net Asset Value and offering price per share ($37,146,787 ÷ 2,914,926 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$12.74(a)
Class I:
Net Asset Value, offering, and redemption price per share ($71,137,546 ÷ 4,735,977 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$15.02
Class T:
Net Asset Value, offering and redemption price per share ($1,030.11 ÷ 70.52 shares outstanding; 50,000,000 shares authorized)	$14.61
Maximum offering price per share (NAV ÷ 0.975, based on maximum sales charge of 2.50% of the offering price)	$14.98

(a) Redemption price varies based on the length of time held.

Statement of Operations

For the Year Ended September 30, 2017

Investment Income:
Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $20,110)	$	528,432
Interest		95,309
Other income*		2,036
Total Investment Income		625,777
Expenses:
Investment advisory fees		1,807,163
Distribution fees - Class AAA		63,519
Distribution fees - Class A		84,662
Distribution fees - Class C		433,893
Distribution fees - Class T		1
Shareholder services fees		111,580
Registration expenses		68,614
Accounting fees		45,000
Shareholder communications expenses		31,073
Custodian fees		19,794
Legal and audit fees		19,392
Directors’ fees		6,777
Interest expense		533
Miscellaneous expenses		19,973
Total Expenses		2,711,974
Less: Expenses paid indirectly by broker (See Note 6)		(2,749	)
Net Expenses		2,709,225
Net Investment Loss		(2,083,448	)
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Written Options, and Foreign Currency:
Net realized gain on investments		3,184,056
Net realized gain on written options		376,962
Net realized gain on foreign currency transactions		262
Net realized gain on investments, written options, and foreign currency transactions		3,561,280
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation:
on investments		7,392,955
on written options		12,828
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and written options		7,405,783
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain on Investments, Written Options, and Foreign Currency		10,967,063
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations	$	8,883,615

* The Fund received a reimbursement of custody expenses paid in prior years.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

9

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

	Year Ended September 30, 2017			Year Ended September 30, 2016
Operations:
Net investment loss		$  (2,083,448	)		$  (3,085,327	)
Net realized gain/(loss) on investments, written options, and foreign currency transactions		3,561,280			(571,284	)
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and written options		7,405,783			37,905,931
Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations		8,883,615			34,249,320
Distributions to Shareholders:
Net realized gain
Class AAA		(353,970	)		—
Class A		(461,898	)		—
Class C		(646,935	)		—
Class I		(968,550	)		—
Total Distributions to Shareholders		(2,431,353	)		—
Capital Share Transactions:
Class AAA		(11,975,448	)		(9,685,248	)
Class A		(15,635,332	)		(20,369,724	)
Class C		(21,925,719	)		(19,956,810	)
Class I		(35,455,294	)		(87,459,731	)
Class T		1,000			—
Net Decrease in Net Assets from Capital Share Transactions		(84,990,793	)		(137,471,513	)
Redemption Fees		1,604			2,568
Net Decrease in Net Assets		(78,536,927	)		(103,219,625	)
Net Assets:
Beginning of year		238,755,596			341,975,221
End of year (including undistributed net investment income of $0 and $0, respectively)		$160,218,669			$238,755,596

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

10

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Financial Highlights

Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year:

				Income (Loss)																										Ratios to Average Net Assets/
				from Investment Operations											Distributions															Supplemental Data
Year Ended  September        30	Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period			Net Investment Loss (a)(b)			Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments				Total from Investment Operations				Net Realized Gain on Investments			Total Distributions			Redemption Fees (b)(c)			Net Asset Value, End of Period			Total Return †			Net Assets End of Period (in 000’s)			Net Investment Loss (a)			Expenses Net of Waivers/ Reimburse- ments			Expenses Before Waivers/ Reimburse- ments			Portfolio Turnover Rate
Class AAA
2017		$	13.70		$(0.15	)		$	1.21			$	1.06			$(0.15	)		$(0.15	)		$	0.00		$	14.61		7.88	%		$	22,542		(1.08	)%		1.43	%		1.43	%(d)		77	%
2016			12.00		(0.14	)			1.84				1.70			—			—				0.00			13.70		14.17				33,695		(1.11	)		1.42			1.42	(d)		60
2015			15.22		(0.12	)			(1.81	)			(1.93	)		(1.29	)		(1.29	)			0.00			12.00		(14.11	)			38,960		(0.83	)		1.37			1.37	(d)		73
2014			13.72		(0.09	)			1.75				1.66			(0.16	)		(0.16	)			0.00			15.22		12.15				57,565		(0.58	)		1.38			1.38			94
2013			11.11		(0.14	)			3.13				2.99			(0.38	)		(0.38	)			0.00			13.72		27.74				50,275		(1.05	)		1.54	(e)		1.54	(e)		69
Class A
2017		$	13.84		$(0.15	)		$	1.22			$	1.07			$(0.15	)		$(0.15	)		$	0.00		$	14.76		7.87	%		$	29,391		(1.08	)%		1.43	%		1.43	%(d)		77	%
2016			12.12		(0.14	)			1.86				1.72			—			—				0.00			13.84		14.19				43,775		(1.10	)		1.42			1.42	(d)		60
2015			15.36		(0.12	)			(1.83	)			(1.95	)		(1.29	)		(1.29	)			0.00			12.12		(14.11	)			57,987		(0.83	)		1.37			1.37	(d)		73
2014			13.85		(0.09	)			1.76				1.67			(0.16	)		(0.16	)			0.00			15.36		12.11				105,369		(0.59	)		1.38			1.38			94
2013			11.21		(0.14	)			3.16				3.02			(0.38	)		(0.38	)			0.00			13.85		27.76				192,157		(1.05	)		1.54	(e)		1.54	(e)		69
Class C
2017		$	12.06		$(0.22	)		$	1.05			$	0.83			$(0.15	)		$(0.15	)		$	0.00		$	12.74		7.04	%		$	37,147		(1.83	)%		2.18	%		2.18	%(d)		77	%
2016			10.64		(0.21	)			1.63				1.42			—			—				0.00			12.06		13.35				57,796		(1.85	)		2.17			2.17	(d)		60
2015			13.73		(0.20	)			(1.60	)			(1.80	)		(1.29	)		(1.29	)			0.00			10.64		(14.74	)			70,274		(1.58	)		2.12			2.12	(d)		73
2014			12.49		(0.18	)			1.58				1.40			(0.16	)		(0.16	)			0.00			13.73		11.25				87,443		(1.31	)		2.13			2.13			94
2013			10.22		(0.22	)			2.87				2.65			(0.38	)		(0.38	)			0.00			12.49		26.80				55,865		(1.79	)		2.29	(e)		2.29	(e)		69
Class I
2017		$	14.05		$(0.11	)		$	1.23			$	1.12			$(0.15	)		$(0.15	)		$	0.00		$	15.02		8.11	%		$	71,138		(0.83	)%		1.18	%		1.18	%(d)		77	%
2016			12.27		(0.11	)			1.89				1.78			—			—				0.00			14.05		14.51				103,490		(0.85	)		1.17			1.17	(d)		60
2015			15.50		(0.09	)			(1.85	)			(1.94	)		(1.29	)		(1.29	)			0.00			12.27		(13.90	)			174,754		(0.58	)		1.12			1.12	(d)		73
2014			13.94		(0.05	)			1.77				1.72			(0.16	)		(0.16	)			0.00			15.50		12.39				318,785		(0.30	)		1.13			1.13			94
2013			11.26		(0.11	)			3.17				3.06			(0.38	)		(0.38	)			0.00			13.94		28.00				110,170		(0.79	)		1.29	(e)		1.29	(e)		69
Class T(f)
2017		$	14.18		$(0.03	)		$	0.46			$	0.43			—			—				—		$	14.61		3.03	%		$	1		(0.96	)%(g)		1.43	%(g)		1.43	%(d)(g)		77	%

†	Total return represents aggregate total return of a hypothetical $1,000 investment at the beginning of the period and sold at the end of the period including reinvestment of distributions and does not reflect applicable sales charges. Total return for a period of less than one year is not annualized.
(a)	Due to capital share activity, net investment loss per share and the ratio to average net assets are not necessarily correlated among the different classes of shares.
(b)	Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares outstanding method.
(c)	Amount represents less than $0.005 per share.
(d)	The Fund received credits from a designated broker who agreed to pay certain Fund operating expenses. For the years ended September 30, 2017, 2016, and 2015, there was no impact to the expense ratios.
(e)	Under an expense deferral agreement with the Adviser, the Adviser recovered from the Fund $140,973 for the year ended September 30, 2013, representing previously reimbursed expenses from the Adviser. Had such payment not been made, the expense ratio would have been 1.48% (Class AAA and Class A), 2.23% (Class C), and 1.23% (Class I).
(f)	Class T Shares were initially offered on July 5, 2017.
(g)	Annualized.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

11

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements

1. Organization. The Gabelli Focus Five Fund is a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc. (the “Corporation”). The Corporation was incorporated on July 25, 1991 in Maryland. The Fund is a non-diversified open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and one of three separately managed portfolios of the Corporation. The Fund seeks to provide a high level of capital appreciation. The Fund commenced investment operations on December 31, 2002. On July 5, 2017, the Fund began to offer for sale Class T Shares.

2. Significant Accounting Policies. As an investment company, the Fund follows the investment company accounting and reporting guidance, which is part of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) that may require the use of management estimates and assumptions in the preparation of its financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements.

Security Valuation. Portfolio securities listed or traded on a nationally recognized securities exchange or traded in the U.S. over-the-counter market for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last quoted sale price or a market’s official closing price as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued. If there were no sales that day, the security is valued at the average of the closing bid and asked prices or, if there were no asked prices quoted on that day, then the security is valued at the closing bid price on that day. If no bid or asked prices are quoted on such day, the security is valued at the most recently available price or, if the Board of Directors (the “Board”) so determines, by such other method as the Board shall determine in good faith to reflect its fair market value. Portfolio securities traded on more than one national securities exchange or market are valued according to the broadest and most representative market, as determined by Gabelli Funds, LLC (the “Adviser”).

Portfolio securities primarily traded on a foreign market are generally valued at the preceding closing values of such securities on the relevant market, but may be fair valued pursuant to procedures established by the Board if market conditions change significantly after the close of the foreign market, but prior to the close of business on the day the securities are being valued. Debt obligations for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the average of the latest bid and asked prices. If there were no asked prices quoted on such day, the security is valued using the closing bid price, unless the Board determines such amount does not reflect the securities’ fair value, in which case these securities will be fair valued as determined by the Board. Certain securities are valued principally using dealer quotations. Futures contracts are valued at the closing settlement price of the exchange or board of trade on which the applicable contract is traded. OTC futures and options on futures for which market quotations are readily available will be valued by quotations received from a pricing service or, if no quotations are available from a pricing service, by quotations obtained from one or more dealers in the instrument in question by the Adviser.

Securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available are fair valued as determined by the Board. Fair valuation methodologies and procedures may include, but are not limited to: analysis and review of available financial and non-financial information about the company; comparisons with the valuation and changes in valuation of similar securities, including a comparison of foreign securities with the equivalent U.S. dollar value American Depositary Receipt securities at the close of the U.S. exchange; and evaluation of any other information that could be indicative of the value of the security.

12

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

The inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value of the Fund’s investments are summarized into three levels as described in the hierarchy below:

· Level 1  —  quoted prices in active markets for identical securities;

· Level 2  —  other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.); and

· Level 3  —  significant unobservable inputs (including the Board’s determinations as to the fair value of investments).

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input both individually and in the aggregate that is significant to the fair value measurement. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The summary of the Fund’s investments in securities and other financial instruments by inputs used to value the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2017 is as follows:

	Valuation Inputs
	Level 1 Quoted Prices	Level 2 Other Significant Observable Inputs	Level 3 Significant Unobservable Inputs	Total Market Value at 9/30/17
INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES:
ASSETS (Market Value):
Common Stocks
Business Services	—	—	$  0	$                  0
Other Industries (a)	$146,939,981	—	—	146,939,981
Total Common Stocks	146,939,981	—	0	146,939,981
U.S. Government Obligations	—	$12,302,070	—	12,302,070
TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES – ASSETS	$146,939,981	$12,302,070	$  0	$159,242,051
INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES:
LIABILITIES (Market Value):
EQUITY CONTRACTS:
Call Options Written	$       (40,000)	—	—	$       (40,000)
TOTAL INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES - LIABILITIES	$       (40,000)	—	—	$       (40,000)

(a) Please refer to the Schedule of Investments for the industry classifications of these portfolio holdings.

The Fund did not have transfers among Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 during the year ended September 30, 2017. The Fund’s policy is to recognize transfers among Levels as of the beginning of the reporting period.

There were no Level 3 investments held at September 30, 2016.

Additional Information to Evaluate Qualitative Information.

General. The Fund uses recognized industry pricing services – approved by the Board and unaffiliated with the Adviser – to value most of its securities, and uses broker quotes provided by market makers of securities not valued by these and other recognized pricing sources. Several different pricing feeds are received to value domestic equity securities, international equity securities, preferred equity securities, and fixed income securities. The data within these feeds are ultimately sourced from major stock exchanges and trading systems where these securities trade. The prices supplied by external sources are checked by obtaining quotations or actual

13

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

transaction prices from market participants. If a price obtained from the pricing source is deemed unreliable, prices will be sought from another pricing service or from a broker/dealer that trades that security or similar securities.

Fair Valuation. Fair valued securities may be common or preferred equities, warrants, options, rights, or fixed income obligations. Where appropriate, Level 3 securities are those for which market quotations are not available, such as securities not traded for several days, or for which current bids are not available, or which are restricted as to transfer. When fair valuing a security, factors to consider are recent prices of comparable securities that are publicly traded, reliable prices of securities not publicly traded, the use of valuation models, current analyst reports, valuing the income or cash flow of the issuer, or cost if the preceding factors do not apply. A significant change in the unobservable inputs could result in a lower or higher value in Level 3 securities. The circumstances of Level 3 securities are frequently monitored to determine if fair valuation measures continue to apply.

The Adviser reports quarterly to the Board the results of the application of fair valuation policies and procedures. These may include backtesting the prices realized in subsequent trades of these fair valued securities to fair values previously recognized.

Derivative Financial Instruments. The Fund may engage in various portfolio investment strategies by investing in derivative financial instruments for the purposes of increasing the income of the Fund, hedging against changes in the value of its portfolio securities and in the value of securities it intends to purchase, or hedging against a specific transaction with respect to either the currency in which the transaction is denominated or another currency. Investing in certain derivative financial instruments, including participation in the options, futures, or swap markets, entails certain execution, liquidity, hedging, tax, and securities, interest, credit, or currency market risks. Losses may arise if the Adviser’s prediction of movements in the direction of the securities, foreign currency, and interest rate markets is inaccurate. Losses may also arise if the counterparty does not perform its duties under a contract, or, in the event of default, the Fund may be delayed in or prevented from obtaining payments or other contractual remedies owed to it under derivative contracts. The creditworthiness of the counterparties is closely monitored in order to minimize these risks. Participation in derivative transactions involves investment risks, transaction costs, and potential losses to which the Fund would not be subject absent the use of these strategies. The consequences of these risks, transaction costs, and losses may have a negative impact on the Fund’s ability to pay distributions.

Collateral requirements differ by type of derivative. Collateral requirements are set by the broker or exchange clearing house for exchange traded derivatives, while collateral terms are contract specific for derivatives traded over-the-counter. Securities pledged to cover obligations of the Fund under derivative contracts are noted in the Schedule of Investments. Cash collateral, if any, pledged for the same purpose will be reported, separately as Deposit at brokers, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund’s derivative contracts held at September 30, 2017, if any, are not accounted for as hedging instruments under GAAP and are disclosed in the Schedule of Investments together with the related counterparty.

Options. The Fund may purchase or write call or put options on securities or indices for the purpose of increasing the income of the Fund. As a writer of put options, the Fund receives a premium at the outset and then bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the financial instrument underlying the option. The

14

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

Fund would incur a loss if the price of the underlying financial instrument decreases between the date the option is written and the date on which the option is terminated. The Fund would realize a gain, to the extent of the premium, if the price of the financial instrument increases between those dates.

As a purchaser of put options, the Fund pays a premium for the right to sell to the seller of the put option the underlying security at a specified price. The seller of the put has the obligation to purchase the underlying security upon exercise at the exercise price. If the price of the underlying security declines, the Fund would realize a gain upon sale or exercise. If the price of the underlying security increases or stays the same, the Fund would realize a loss upon sale or at expiration date, but only to the extent of the premium paid.

If a written call option is exercised, the premium is added to the proceeds from the sale of the underlying security in determining whether there has been a realized gain or loss. If a written put option is exercised, the premium reduces the cost basis of the security. In the case of call options, the exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money,” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively. The Fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when the Adviser expects that the price of the underlying security will remain stable or decline during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when the Adviser expects that the price of the underlying security will remain stable, decline, or advance moderately during the option period, and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the Adviser expects that the premiums received from writing the call option will be greater than the appreciation in the price of the underlying security above the exercise price. By writing a call option, the Fund limits its opportunity to profit from any increase in the market value of the underlying security above the exercise price of the option. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money, and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments that such call options are used in equivalent transactions. Option positions at September 30, 2017, are reflected within the Schedule of Investments.

The Fund’s volume of activity in equity options contracts while outstanding during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 had an average monthly market value of approximately $86,572.

At September 30, 2017, the Fund’s derivative liabilities (by type) are as follows:

	Gross Amounts of Recognized Liabilities Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities	Gross Amounts Available for Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities	Net Amounts of Liabilities Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Liabilities
Equity Written Call Options	$40,000	—	$40,000

The following table presents the Fund’s derivative liabilities by counterparty net of the related collateral segregated by the Fund as of Date:

		Gross Amounts Not Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
	Net Amounts of Liabilities Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities	Financial Instruments	Cash Collateral Pledged	Net Amount
Counterparty
Pershing LLC	$40,000	$40,000	—	—

15

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

As of September 30, 2017, the value of equity option positions can be found in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities under Liabilities, Call options written. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the effect of equity option positions if any, can be found in the Statement of Operations under Net Realized and Unrealized Gain/(Loss) on Investments, Written Options, and Foreign Currency, within Net realized gain on written options and Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on written options.

Foreign Currency Translations. The books and records of the Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars. Foreign currencies, investments, and other assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates. Purchases and sales of investment securities, income, and expenses are translated at the exchange rate prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Unrealized gains and losses that result from changes in foreign exchange rates and/or changes in market prices of securities have been included in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and foreign currency translations. Net realized foreign currency gains and losses resulting from changes in exchange rates include foreign currency gains and losses between trade date and settlement date on investment securities transactions, foreign currency transactions, and the difference between the amounts of interest and dividends recorded on the books of the Fund and the amounts actually received. The portion of foreign currency gains and losses related to fluctuation in exchange rates between the initial purchase trade date and subsequent sale trade date is included in realized gain/(loss) on investments.

Foreign Securities. The Fund may directly purchase securities of foreign issuers. Investing in securities of foreign issuers involves special risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. issuers. The risks include possible revaluation of currencies, the inability to repatriate funds, less complete financial information about companies, and possible future adverse political and economic developments. Moreover, securities of many foreign issuers and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers.

Foreign Taxes. The Fund may be subject to foreign taxes on income, gains on investments, or currency repatriation, a portion of which may be recoverable. The Fund will accrue such taxes and recoveries as applicable, based upon its current interpretation of tax rules and regulations that exist in the markets in which it invests.

Securities Transactions and Investment Income. Securities transactions are accounted for on the trade date with realized gain/(loss) on investments determined by using the identified cost method. Interest income (including amortization of premium and accretion of discount) is recorded on the accrual basis. Premiums and discounts on debt securities are amortized using the effective yield to maturity method. Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date, except for certain dividends from foreign securities that are recorded as soon after the ex-dividend date as the Fund becomes aware of such dividends.

Determination of Net Asset Value and Calculation of Expenses. Certain administrative expenses are common to, and allocated among, various affiliated funds. Such allocations are made on the basis of each fund’s average net assets or other criteria directly affecting the expenses as determined by the Adviser pursuant to procedures established by the Board.

In calculating the NAV per share of each class, investment income, realized and unrealized gains and losses, redemption fees, and expenses other than class specific expenses are allocated daily to each class of shares

16

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

based upon the proportion of net assets of each class at the beginning of each day. Distribution expenses are borne solely by the class incurring the expense.

Distributions to Shareholders. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Distributions to shareholders are based on income and capital gains as determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from income and capital gains as determined under GAAP. These differences are primarily due to differing treatments of income and gains on various investment securities and foreign currency transactions held by the Fund, timing differences, and differing characterizations of distributions made by the Fund. These book/tax differences are either temporary or permanent in nature. To the extent these differences are permanent, adjustments are made to the appropriate capital accounts in the period when the differences arise. Permanent differences were primarily due to current year write-off of net operating loss. These reclassifications have no impact on the NAV of the Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2017, reclassifications were made to decrease accumulated net investment loss by $2,940,286 and decrease accumulated net realized loss on investments, written options, and foreign transactions by $97,085, with an offsetting adjustment to paid-in capital.

The tax character of distributions paid during the year ended September 30, 2017 was as follows:

Distributions paid from:
Net long term capital gains.	$	2,431,353
Total distributions paid	$	2,431,353

No distributions were paid during the year ended September 30, 2016.

Provision for Income Taxes. The Fund intends to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). It is the policy of the Fund to comply with the requirements of the Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all of its net investment company taxable income and net capital gains. Therefore, no provision for federal income taxes is required,

At September 30, 2017, the components of accumulated earnings/losses on a tax basis were as follows:

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and written options	$	24,633,082
Qualified late year loss deferral*		(2,351,741	)
Total	$	22,281,341

* Under the current law, qualified late year ordinary losses realized after December 31 or post October capital losses realized after October 31 and prior to the Fund’s year end may be elected as occurring on the first day of the following year. For the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund elected to defer $1,300,977 of late year ordinary losses and $1,050,764 of post October capital losses.

The Fund is permitted to carry capital losses forward for an unlimited period. Capital losses that are carried forward will retain their character as either short term or long term capital losses.

During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund utilized carry capital loss forwards of $1,624,137.

At September 30, 2017, the temporary differences between book basis and tax basis unrealized appreciation on investments were primarily due to deferral of losses from wash sales for tax purposes.

17

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

The following summarizes the tax cost of investments and the related net unrealized depreciation at September 30, 2017:

	Cost/ Premiums			Gross Unrealized Appreciation		Gross Unrealized Depreciation			Net Unrealized Appreciation
Investments	$	134,628,006		$	29,041,035	$	(4,426,990	)	$	24,614,045
Written options		(59,037	)		19,037		—			19,037
				$	29,060,072	$	(4,426,990	)	$	24,633,082

The Fund is required to evaluate tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Fund’s tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. Income tax and related interest and penalties would be recognized by the Fund as tax expense in the Statement of Operations if the tax positions were deemed not to meet the more-likely-than-not threshold. For the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund did not incur any income tax, interest, or penalties. As of September 30, 2017, the Adviser has reviewed all open tax years and concluded that there was no impact to the Fund’s net assets or results of operations. The Fund’s federal and state tax returns for the prior three fiscal years remain open, subject to examination. On an ongoing basis, the Adviser will monitor the Fund’s tax positions to determine if adjustments to this conclusion are necessary.

3. Investment Advisory Agreement and Other Transactions. The Fund has entered into an investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) with the Adviser which provides that the Fund will pay the Adviser a fee, computed daily and paid monthly, at the annual rate of 1.00% of the value of its average daily net assets. In accordance with the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser provides a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio, oversees the administration of all aspects of the Fund’s business and affairs, and pays the compensation of all Officers and Directors of the Fund who are affiliated persons of the Adviser.

The Corporation pays each Director who is not considered an affiliated person an annual retainer of $18,000 plus $2,000 for each Board meeting attended, and they are reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings. All Board committee members receive $1,000 per meeting attended. The Chairman of the Audit Committee receives a $3,000 annual fee, and the Lead Director receives an annual fee of $2,000. A Director may receive a single meeting fee, allocated among the participating funds, for attending certain meetings held on behalf of multiple funds. Directors who are directors or employees of the Adviser or an affiliated company receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Corporation.

4. Distribution Plan. The Fund’s Board has adopted a distribution plan (the “Plan”) for each class of shares, except for Class I Shares, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Class AAA, Class A, Class C, and Class T Share Plans, payments are authorized to G.distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of the Adviser, at annual rates of 0.25%, 0.25%, 1.00%, and 0.25%, respectively, of the average daily net assets of those classes, the annual limitations under each Plan. Such payments are accrued daily and paid monthly.

5. Portfolio Securities. Purchases and sales of securities during the year ended September 30, 2017, other than short term securities and U.S. Government obligations, aggregated $129,956,140 and $222,129,144, respectively.

6. Transactions with Affiliates and Other Arrangements. During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Distributor retained a total of $17,116 from investors representing commissions (sales charges and underwriting fees) on sales and redemptions of Fund shares.

18

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

During the year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund received credits from a designated broker who agreed to pay certain Fund operating expenses. The amount of such expenses paid through this directed brokerage arrangement during this period was $2,749.

The cost of calculating the Fund’s NAV per share is a Fund expense pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid or accrued $45,000 to the Adviser in connection with the cost of computing the Fund’s NAV.

7. Line of Credit. The Fund participates in an unsecured line of credit, which expires on March 8, 2018 and may be renewed annually, of up to $75,000,000 under which it may borrow up to 10% of its net assets from the custodian for temporary borrowing purposes. Borrowings under this arrangement bear interest at a floating rate equal to the higher of the overnight Federal Funds rate plus 125 basis points or the 30 day LIBOR plus 125 basis points in effect on that day. This amount, if any, would be included in “Interest expense” in the Statement of Operations. At September 30, 2017, there were no borrowings outstanding under the line of credit.

The average daily amount of borrowings outstanding under the line of credit during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 was $9,082 with a weighted average interest rate of 2.04%. The maximum amount borrowed at any time during the year ended September 30, 2017 was $2,270,000.

8. Capital Stock. The Fund offers five classes of shares–Class AAA Shares, Class A Shares, Class C Shares, Class I Shares, and Class T Shares. Class AAA and Class I Shares are offered without a sales charge. Class A Shares and Class T Shares are subject to a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75%, and 2.50%, respectively, and Class C Shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge for one year after purchase.

The Fund imposes a redemption fee of 2.00% on all classes of shares that are redeemed or exchanged on or before the seventh day after the date of a purchase. The redemption fee is deducted from the proceeds otherwise payable to the redeeming shareholders and is retained by the Fund as an increase in paid-in capital. The redemption fees retained by the Fund during the years ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 , if any, can be found in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets under Redemption Fees.

19

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

Transactions in shares of capital stock were as follows:

	Year Ended September 30, 2017						Year Ended September 30, 2016
	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Class AAA
Shares sold		121,107		$	1,624,522			325,047		$	3,981,673
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		26,864			339,563			—			—
Shares redeemed		(1,064,012	)		(13,939,533	)		(1,113,757	)		(13,666,921	)
Net decrease		(916,041	)	$	(11,975,448	)		(788,710	)	$	(9,685,248	)
Class A
Shares sold		269,609		$	3,696,015			545,886		$	6,946,569
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		32,313			412,635			—			—
Shares redeemed		(1,473,249	)		(19,743,982	)		(2,168,667	)		(27,316,293	)
Net decrease		(1,171,327	)	$	(15,635,332	)		(1,622,781	)	$	(20,369,724	)
Class C
Shares sold		238,378		$	2,779,240			745,654		$	8,293,234
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		47,717			529,186			—			—
Shares redeemed		(2,162,814	)		(25,234,145	)		(2,559,094	)		(28,250,044	)
Net decrease		(1,876,719	)	$	(21,925,719	)		(1,813,440	)	$	(19,956,810	)
Class I
Shares sold		1,370,129		$	18,687,678			1,608,302		$	20,528,256
Shares issued upon reinvestment of distributions		70,411			913,230			—			—
Shares redeemed		(4,070,826	)		(55,056,202	)		(8,485,808	)		(107,987,987	)
Net decrease		(2,630,286	)	$	(35,455,294	)		(6,877,506	)	$	(87,459,731	)
Class T (a)
Shares sold		71		$	1,000			—			—
Net decrease		71		$	1,000			—			—

(a) Class T Shares were initially offered on July 5, 2017.

9. Transactions in Securities of Affiliated Issuers. The 1940 Act defines affiliated issuers as those in which the Fund’s holdings of an issuer represent 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer. A summary of the Fund’s transactions in the securities of these issuers during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 is set forth below:

	Beginning Shares	Shares Purchased	Shares Sold	Ending Shares	Affiliated Investments Dividend Income	Affiliated Investments Realized Loss	Affiliated Investments Value at September 30, 2017	Affiliated Investments Change in Unrealized Appreciation/ Depreciation	Percent Owned of Shares Outstanding
Bioscrip Inc.*.	8,956,023	1,194,744	(4,969,790)	5,180,977	—	—	—	—	4.06%

* Security is no longer considered affiliated at September 30, 2017.

20

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Notes to Financial Statements (Continued)

10. Indemnifications. The Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Fund has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts. Management has reviewed the Fund’s existing contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.

11. Subsequent Events. Management has evaluated the impact on the Fund of all subsequent events occurring through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.

21

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of The Gabelli Focus Five Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc., including the schedule of investments, as of September 30, 2017, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of September 30, 2017, by correspondence with the Fund’s custodian and brokers. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The Gabelli Focus Five Fund, a series of Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc., at September 30, 2017, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

November 28, 2017

22

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Additional Fund Information (Unaudited)

The business and affairs of the Corporation are managed under the direction of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. Information pertaining to the Directors and officers of the Corporation is set forth below. The Corporation’s Statement of Additional Information includes additional information about the Corporation’s Directors and is available without charge, upon request, by calling 800-GABELLI (800-422-3554) or by writing to The Gabelli Focus Five Fund at One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422.

Name, Position(s) Address1 and Age	Term of Office and Length of Time Served2	Number of Funds in Fund Complex Overseen by Director	Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years	Other Directorships Held by Director4
INTERESTED DIRECTORS3 :
Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Director and Chief Investment Officer Age: 75	Since 1991	32	Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer– Value Portfolios of GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Chief Investment Officer– Value Portfolios of Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc.; Director/Trustee or Chief Investment Officer of other registered investment companies within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex; Chief Executive Officer of GGCP, Inc.; Executive Chairman of Associated Capital Group, Inc.	Director of Morgan Group Holdings, Inc. (holding company); Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of LICT Corp. (multimedia and communication services company); Director of CIBL, Inc. (broadcasting and wireless communications); Director of ICTC Group Inc. (communications); Director of RLJ Acquisition, Inc. (blank check company) (2011-2012)
John Gabelli Director Age: 73	Since 1991	10	Senior Vice President of G.research, LLC	—
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS5 :
Anthony J. Colavita Director Age: 81	Since 1991	28	President of the law firm of Anthony J. Colavita, P.C.	—
Vincent D. Enright Director Age: 73	Since 1991	17	Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of KeySpan Corp. (public utility) (1994-1998)	Director of Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (therapeutics and diagnostics) (2008- 2014); Director of LGL Group, Inc. (diversified manufacturing) (2011-2014)
Robert J. Morrissey Director Age: 78	Since 1991	6	Partner in the law firm of Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch	Chairman of the Board of Directors, Belmont Savings Bank
Kuni Nakamura Director Age: 49	Since 2009	33	President of Advanced Polymer, Inc. (chemical manufacturing company); President of KEN Enterprises, Inc. (real estate)	—
Anthony R. Pustorino Director Age: 92	Since 1991	10	Certified Public Accountant; Professor Emeritus, Pace University	Director of The LGL Group, Inc. (diversified manufacturing) (2004-2011)
Anthonie C. van Ekris Director Age: 83	Since 1991	22	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BALMAC International, Inc. (global import/ export company)	—
Salvatore J. Zizza Director Age: 71	Since 2001	30	President of Zizza & Associates Corp. (private holding company); Chairman of Harbor Diversified, Inc. (pharmaceuticals); Chairman of BAM (semiconductor and aerospace manufacturing); Chairman of Bergen Cove Realty Inc.; Chairman of Metropolitan Paper Recycling Inc. (recycling) (2005-2014)	Director and Vice Chairman of Trans-Lux Corporation (business services); Director and Chairman of Harbor Diversified Inc. (pharmaceuticals); Director, Chairman, and CEO of General Employment Enterprises (staffing services) (2009-2012)

23

The Gabelli Focus Five Fund

Additional Fund Information (Unaudited) (Continued)

Name, Position(s) Address1 and Age	Term of Office and Length of Time Served2	Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years
OFFICERS:
Bruce N. Alpert President Age: 65	Since 1991	Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 1988; Officer of registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex; Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2008; Director of Teton Advisors, Inc., 1998-2012
Agnes Mullady Vice President Age: 59	Since 2006	Officer of all of the registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2006; President and Chief Operating Officer of the Fund Division of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2015; Chief Executive Officer of G.distributors, LLC since 2010; Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2009; Vice President of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2007; Executive Vice President of Associated Capital Group, Inc. since 2016
Andrea R. Mango Secretary Age: 45	Since 2013	Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc. since 2016; Counsel of Gabelli Funds, LLC since 2013; Secretary of all registered investment companies within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2013; Vice President of all closed-end funds within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2014; Corporate Vice President within the Corporate Compliance Department of New York Life Insurance Company, 2011-2013; Vice President and Counsel of Deutsche Bank, 2006-2011
John C. Ball Treasurer Age: 41	Since 2017	Treasurer of funds within the Gabelli/GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex (closed-end funds since May 2017 and open-end funds since February 2017); Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of AMG Funds, 2014-2017; Vice President of State Street Corporation, 2007- 2014
Richard J. Walz Chief Compliance Officer Age: 58	Since 2013	Chief Compliance Officer of all of the registered investment companies within the Gabelli/ GAMCO/Teton Fund Complex since 2013; Chief Compliance Officer of AEGON USA Investment Management, 2011-2013; Chief Compliance Officer of Cutwater Asset Management, 2004-2011

¹  Address: One Corporate Center, Rye, NY 10580-1422, unless otherwise noted.

²  Each Director will hold office for an indefinite term until the earliest of (i) the next meeting of shareholders, if any, called for the purpose of considering the election or re-election of such Director and until the election and qualification of his or her successor, if any, elected at such meeting, or (ii) the date a Director resigns or retires, or a Director is removed by the Board of Directors or shareholders, in accordance with the Fund’s By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation. Each officer will hold office for an indefinite term until the date he or she resigns or retires or until his or her successor is elected and qualified.

³  “Interested person” of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act. Messrs. Gabelli are each considered an “interested person” because of their affiliation with Gabelli Funds, LLC which acts as the Fund’s investment adviser. Mario J. Gabelli and John D. Gabelli are brothers.

⁴  This column includes only directorships of companies required to report to the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, i.e., public companies, or other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act.

⁵  Directors who are not interested persons are considered “Independent” Directors.

2017 TAX NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS (Unaudited)

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2017, the Fund paid to shareholders long term capital gains totaling $2,431,353, or the maximum allowable. The distribution of long term capital gains has been designated as a capital gain dividend by the Fund’s Board of Directors.

All designations are based on financial information available as of the date of this annual report and, accordingly, are subject to change. For each item, it is the intention of the Fund to designate the maximum amount permitted under the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder.

24

Gabelli/GAMCO Funds and Your Personal Privacy

Who are we?

The Gabelli/GAMCO Funds are investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940. We are managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC and GAMCO Asset Management Inc., which are affiliated with GAMCO Investors, Inc. that is a publicly held company with subsidiaries and affiliates that provide investment advisory services for a variety of clients.

What kind of non-public information do we collect about you if you become a fund shareholder?

If you apply to open an account directly with us, you will be giving us some non-public information about yourself. The non-public information we collect about you is:

• Information you give us on your application form. This could include your name, address, telephone number, social security number, bank account number, and other information.

• Information about your transactions with us, any transactions with our affiliates, and transactions with the entities we hire to provide services to you. This would include information about the shares that you buy or redeem. If we hire someone else to provide services — like a transfer agent — we will also have information about the transactions that you conduct through them.

What information do we disclose and to whom do we disclose it?

We do not disclose any non-public personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone other than our affiliates, our service providers who need to know such information, and as otherwise permitted by law. If you want to find out what the law permits, you can read the privacy rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They are in volume 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 248. The Commission often posts information about its regulations on its website, www.sec.gov.

What do we do to protect your personal information?

We restrict access to non-public personal information about you to the people who need to know that information in order to provide services to you or the fund and to ensure that we are complying with the laws governing the securities business. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to keep your personal information confidential.

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Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc.

THE GABELLI FOCUS FIVE FUND

One Corporate Center

Rye, New York 10580-1422

t  800-GABELLI (800-422-3554)

f  914-921-5118

e info@gabelli.com

   GABELLI.COM

Net Asset Value per share available daily

by calling 800-GABELLI after 7:00 P.M.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS   Mario J. Gabelli, CFA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, GAMCO Investors, Inc., Executive Chairman, Associated Capital Group, Inc.   Anthony J. Colavita President, Anthony J. Colavita, P.C.   Vincent D. Enright Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, KeySpan Corp.   John D. Gabelli Senior Vice President, G.research, LLC   Robert J. Morrissey Partner, Morrissey, Hawkins & Lynch   Kuni Nakamura President, Advanced Polymer, Inc.   Anthony R. Pustorino Certified Public Accountant, Professor Emeritus, Pace University   Anthonie C. van Ekris Chairman, BALMAC International, Inc.   Salvatore J. Zizza Chairman, Zizza & Associates Corp.   OFFICERS Bruce N. Alpert President   Agnes Mullady Vice President   Andrea R. Mango Secretary   John C. Ball Treasurer Richard J. Walz Chief Compliance Officer   DISTRIBUTOR G.distributors, LLC   CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AGENT, AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT State Street Bank and Trust Company   LEGAL COUNSEL Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

This report is submitted for the general information of the shareholders of The Gabelli Focus Five Fund. It is not authorized for distribution to prospective investors unless preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.

GAB840Q317AR

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

(a) The registrant, as of the end of the period covered by this report, has adopted a code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party.

(c) There have been no amendments, during the period covered by this report, to a provision of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party, and that relates to any element of the code of ethics description.

(d) The registrant has not granted any waivers, including an implicit waiver, from a provision of the code of ethics that applies to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, regardless of whether these individuals are employed by the registrant or a third party, that relates to one or more of the items set forth in paragraph (b) of this item’s instructions.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

As of the end of the period covered by the report, the registrant’s board of directors has determined that Anthony R. Pustorino is qualified to serve as an audit committee financial expert serving on its audit committee and that he is “independent.”

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Audit Fees

(a) The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years are $90,800 in 2016 and $90,800 in 2017.

Audit-Related Fees

(b) The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for assurance and related services by the principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant’s financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of this Item are $0 in 2016 and $0 in 2017.

Tax Fees

(c) The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning are $11,100 in 2016 and $11,100 in 2017. Tax fees represent tax compliance services provided in connection with the review of the Registrant’s tax returns.

All Other Fees

(d) The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this Item are $31,621 in 2016 and $1,639 in 2017. The fees relate to Passive Foreign Investment Company identification database subscription fees billed on an annual basis.

(e)(1) Disclose the audit committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures described in paragraph (c)(7) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures. The Audit Committee (“Committee”) of the registrant is responsible for pre-approving (i) all audit and permissible non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm to the registrant and (ii) all permissible non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm to the Adviser, Gabelli Funds, LLC, and any affiliate of Gabelli Funds, LLC (“Gabelli”) that provides services to the registrant (a “Covered Services Provider”) if the independent registered public accounting firm’s engagement related directly to the operations and financial reporting of the registrant. The Committee may delegate its responsibility to pre-approve any such audit and permissible non-audit services to the Chairperson of the Committee, and the Chairperson must report to the Committee, at its next regularly scheduled meeting after the Chairperson’s pre-approval of such services, his or her decision(s). The Committee may also establish detailed pre-approval policies and procedures for pre-approval of such services in accordance with applicable laws, including the delegation of some or all of the Committee’s pre-approval responsibilities to the other persons (other than Gabelli or the registrant’s officers). Pre-approval by the Committee of any permissible non-audit services is not required so long as: (i) the permissible non-audit services were not recognized by the registrant at the time of the engagement to be non-audit services; and (ii) such services are promptly brought to the attention of the Committee and approved by the Committee or Chairperson prior to the completion of the audit.

(e)(2) The percentage of services described in each of paragraphs (b) through (d) of this Item that were approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X are as follows:

(b) N/A

(c) 100%

(d) 100%

(f) The percentage of hours expended on the principal accountant’s engagement to audit the registrant’s financial statements for the most recent fiscal year that were attributed to work

performed by persons other than the principal accountant’s full-time, permanent employees was 0%.

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrant’s accountant for services rendered to the registrant, and rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant for each of the last two fiscal years of the registrant was $42,721 in 2016 and $12,739 in 2017.

(h) The registrant’s audit committee of the board of directors has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Investments.

(a) Schedule of Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers as of the close of the reporting period is included as part of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this form.

(b) Not applicable.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which the shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s board of directors, where those changes were implemented after the registrant last provided disclosure in response to the requirements of Item 407(c)(2)(iv) of Regulation S-K (17 CFR 229.407) (as required by Item 22(b)(15) of Schedule 14A (17 CFR 240.14a-101)), or this Item.

Item 11. 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 has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 13. Exhibits.

(a)(1) Code of ethics, or any amendment thereto, that is the subject of disclosure required by Item 2 is attached hereto.

(a)(2) Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are attached hereto.

(a)(3) Not applicable.

(a)(4) Not applicable.

(b) Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(b) under the 1940 Act and Section 906 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)                             Gabelli Equity Series Funds, Inc.                                                

By (Signature and Title)*       /s/ Bruce N. Alpert                                                                           

Bruce N. Alpert, Principal Executive Officer    

Date        12/05/2017                                                                                                                        

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    

Date        12/05/2017                                                                                                                       

By (Signature and Title)*       /s/ John C. Ball                                                                               

John C. Ball, Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer   

Date         12/05/2017                                                                                                                       

* Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.