UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-Q QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY Investment Company Act file number: 811-00248 --------------------------------------------- THE ADAMS EXPRESS COMPANY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) 7 Saint Paul Street, Suite 1140, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr. The Adams Express Company 7 Saint Paul Street Suite 1140 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 410-752-5900 Date of fiscal year end: December 31, 2006 Date of reporting period: March 31, 2006 Item 1: SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 31, 2006 (unaudited) Shares Value (A) - --------- ------------ Stocks and Convertible Securities -- 98.1% Consumer -- 17.0% Consumer Discretionary -- 6.8% BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (B) 500,000 $ 15,755,000 Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 350,000 10,153,500 Comcast Corp. (B) 365,000 9,548,400 Gannett Co., Inc. 112,500 6,741,000 Newell Rubbermaid Inc. 515,000 12,972,850 Outback Steakhouse, Inc. 315,000 13,860,000 Target Corp. 410,000 21,324,100 ------------ 90,354,850 ------------ Consumer Staples -- 10.2% Avon Products, Inc. 420,000 13,091,400 Bunge Ltd. 235,000 13,091,850 Coca-Cola Co. 200,000 8,374,000 Dean Foods Co. (B) 450,000 17,473,500 Del Monte Foods Co. 1,115,000 13,223,900 PepsiCo, Inc. 440,000 25,427,600 Procter & Gamble Co. 340,000 19,590,800 Safeway Inc. 423,000 10,625,760 Unilever plc ADR 345,000 14,169,150 ------------ 135,067,960 ------------ Energy -- 11.5% BP plc ADR 270,000 18,613,800 ConocoPhillips 345,000 21,786,750 Exxon Mobil Corp. 130,000 7,911,800 Marathon Oil Co. 110,000 8,378,700 Murphy Oil Corp. 90,000 4,483,800 Petroleum & Resources Corporation (C) 1,985,996 65,935,067 Schlumberger Ltd. 190,000 24,048,300 ------------ 151,158,217 ------------ Financials -- 17.0% Banking -- 12.7% Bank of America Corp. 550,000 25,047,000 BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. 750,000 10,792,500 Compass Bancshares Inc. 300,000 15,183,000 Fifth Third Bancorp 280,000 11,020,800 Investors Financial Services Corp. 382,500 17,927,775 Morgan Stanley 175,000 10,993,500 North Fork Bancorp, Inc. 525,000 15,135,750 Wachovia Corp. 395,000 22,139,750 Wells Fargo & Co. 325,000 20,757,750 Wilmington Trust Corp. 420,000 18,207,000 ------------ 167,204,825 ------------ Insurance -- 4.3% AMBAC Financial Group, Inc. 295,000 23,482,000 American International Group, Inc. 500,000 33,045,000 ------------ 56,527,000 ------------ Shares Value (A) - --------- ------------ Health Care -- 13.0% Abbott Laboratories 350,000 $ 14,864,500 Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (B) 300,000 13,992,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. 345,000 8,490,450 Genentech, Inc. (B) 220,000 18,592,200 HCA Inc. 250,000 11,447,500 Johnson & Johnson 255,000 15,101,100 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (B) 225,000 13,158,000 MedImmune, Inc. (B) 225,000 8,230,500 Medtronic, Inc. 310,000 15,732,500 Pfizer Inc. 1,120,000 27,910,400 Wyeth Co. 325,000 15,769,000 Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (B) 125,000 8,450,000 ------------ 171,738,150 ------------ Industrials -- 13.1% Cintas Corp. 300,000 12,786,000 Curtiss-Wright Corp. 230,000 15,226,000 Donnelley (R.R.) & Sons Co. 260,000 8,507,200 Emerson Electric Co. 200,000 16,726,000 General Electric Co. 1,487,700 51,742,206 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (D) 125,000 12,038,750 Masco Corp. 450,000 14,620,500 3M Co. 160,000 12,110,400 United Parcel Service, Inc. 155,000 12,303,900 United Technologies Corp. 300,000 17,391,000 ------------ 173,451,956 ------------ Information Technology -- 13.3% Communication Equipment -- 2.2% Avaya Inc. (B) 600,000 6,780,000 Corning Inc. (B) 500,000 13,455,000 Lucent Technologies Inc. (B) 2,900,000 8,845,000 ------------ 29,080,000 ------------ Computer Related -- 9.2% Automatic Data Processing Inc. 300,000 13,704,000 BEA Systems, Inc. (B) 800,000 10,504,000 Cisco Systems, Inc. (B) 1,200,000 26,004,000 Dell Inc. (B) 400,000 11,904,000 Microsoft Corp. 1,180,000 32,107,800 Oracle Corp. (B) 1,356,001 18,563,654 Sapient Corp. (B) 1,150,000 8,774,500 ------------ 121,561,954 ------------ Electronics -- 1.9% Cree, Inc. (B)(D) 375,000 12,303,750 Intel Corp. 310,000 5,998,500 Solectron Corp. (B) 1,850,000 7,400,000 ------------ 25,702,250 ------------ 8 SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 31, 2006 (unaudited) Shares Value (A) - ------- -------------- Materials -- 5.9% Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. 250,000 $ 16,797,500 du Pont (E.I.) de Nemours and Co. 360,000 15,195,600 Florida Rock Industries Inc. 150,000 8,433,000 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. 83,000 8,883,490 Rohm & Haas Co. 400,000 19,548,000 Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (B) 650,000 8,820,500 -------------- 77,678,090 -------------- Telecom Services -- 2.7% Alltel Corp. 300,000 19,425,000 AT&T Corp. 595,000 16,088,800 -------------- 35,513,800 -------------- Utilities -- 4.6% Aqua America, Inc. 800,000 22,256,000 Black Hills Corp. 245,000 8,330,000 Duke Energy Corp. 611,560 17,826,974 MDU Resources Group, Inc. 375,000 12,543,750 -------------- 60,956,724 -------------- Total Stocks and Convertible Securities (Cost $922,750,861) (E) $1,295,995,776 -------------- Prin. Amt. Value (A) - ----------- -------------- Short-Term Investments -- 1.8% U.S. Government Obligations -- 1.4% U.S. Treasury Bills, 4.40%, due 5/18/06 $18,500,000 $ 18,393,613 -------------- Time Deposit -- 0.0% Citibank, N.A., 4.15%, due 4/3/06 493,011 -------------- Commercial Paper -- 0.4% AIG Funding Inc., 4.74%, due 4/6/06 1,000,000 999,342 Chevron Funding Corp., 4.71%, due 4/13/06 1,000,000 998,430 General Electric Capital Corp., 4.72%, due 4/4/06 1,600,000 1,599,371 Toyota Motor Credit Corp., 4.74%, due 4/11/06 1,000,000 998,683 -------------- 4,595,826 -------------- Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $23,482,450) 23,482,450 -------------- Securities Lending Collateral -- 1.5% Brown Brothers Investment Trust, 4.67%, due 4/3/06 19,229,896 -------------- Total Securities Lending Collateral (Cost $19,229,896) 19,229,896 -------------- Total Investments -- 101.4% (Cost $965,463,207) 1,338,708,122 Cash, receivables, prepaid expenses and other assets, less liabilities -- (1.4)% (18,197,006) -------------- Net Assets -- 100% $1,320,511,116 ============== 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: (A)See note 1 to financial statements. Securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ. (B)Presently non-dividend paying. (C)Non-controlled affiliate, a closed-end sector fund, registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. (D)Some or all of these securities are on loan. See note 8 to financial statements. (E)The aggregate market value of stocks held in escrow at March 31, 2006 covering open call option contracts written was $22,374,100. In addition, the aggregate market value of securities segregated by the Company's custodian required to collateralize open put option contracts written was $15,682,000. SCHEDULE OF OUTSTANDING OPTION CONTRACTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 31, 2006 (unaudited) Contracts Contract (100 shares Strike Expiration Appreciation/ each) Security Price Date (Depreciation) ------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- COVERED CALLS 100 Advanced Medical Optics, Inc........ $50 Jul 06 $ (1,800) 100 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc..... 70 Sep 06 (11,801) 200 AMBAC Financial Group, Inc.......... 85 Aug 06 2,398 250 Aqua America, Inc................... 30 Jun 06 8,264 100 Avon Products, Inc.................. 35 Oct 06 (1,300) 150 Bunge Ltd........................... 65 Jul 06 18,299 100 Bunge Ltd........................... 70 Jul 06 12,725 150 ConocoPhillips...................... 75 May 06 13,799 200 Corning Inc......................... 30 Aug 06 (9,600) 100 Cree, Inc........................... 35 Apr 06 1,199 100 Cree, Inc........................... 35 Jun 06 (1,300) 150 Cree, Inc........................... 40 Sep 06 (450) 100 Emerson Electric Co................. 85 Jun 06 (12,800) 100 Emerson Electric Co................. 95 Sep 06 (38,300) 100 Genentech, Inc...................... 100 Jun 06 3,699 150 HCA Inc............................. 55 Aug 06 12,299 100 Illinois Tool Works Inc............. 100 Jun 06 (8,301) 100 Illinois Tool Works Inc............. 100 Sep 06 (28,050) 100 Illinois Tool Works Inc............. 105 Sep 06 (10,800) 150 Investors Financial Services Corp... 45 Jul 06 (56,240) 100 Investors Financial Services Corp... 50 Jul 06 (1,301) 100 Investors Financial Services Corp... 55 Oct 06 (8,175) 150 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings 60 May 06 (9,125) 100 Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings 65 Aug 06 (3,300) 100 MedImmune, Inc...................... 42.50 Jun 06 5,199 100 Murphy Oil Corp..................... 50 Apr 06 2,200 100 Murphy Oil Corp..................... 55 Jul 06 (800) 150 Outback Steakhouse, Inc............. 50 Aug 06 6,299 250 Rohm & Haas Co...................... 55 Jul 06 17,024 250 Target Corp......................... 65 Apr 06 24,248 150 United Technologies Corp............ 65 Aug 06 8,399 ----- -------- 4,150 (67,392) ----- -------- COLLATERALIZED PUTS 20 Advanced Medical Optics, Inc........ 35 Apr 06 2,040 200 Advanced Medical Optics, Inc........ 40 Apr 06 30,398 170 Advanced Medical Optics, Inc........ 35 Jul 06 11,739 250 Automatic Data Processing Inc....... 42.50 Aug 06 10,499 250 Avon Products, Inc.................. 25 Jul 06 16,749 250 Bunge Ltd........................... 45 Jul 06 14,249 150 Exxon Mobil Corp.................... 52.50 Oct 06 2,549 100 Fifth Third Bancorp................. 35 May 06 8,700 100 Florida Rock Industries Inc......... 50 Jun 06 1,200 100 Florida Rock Industries Inc......... 45 Sep 06 (2,300) 100 Marathon Oil Corp................... 65 Apr 06 10,700 65 Marathon Oil Corp................... 70 May 06 (845) 100 Marathon Oil Corp................... 60 Jul 06 7,700 100 Marathon Oil Corp................... 65 Jul 06 14,199 100 Marathon Oil Corp................... 55 Oct 06 5,700 100 Morgan Stanley...................... 60 May 06 3,200 100 Morgan Stanley...................... 55 Jul 06 6,700 100 North Fork Bancorp, Inc............. 25 May 06 7,700 100 Procter & Gamble Co................. 55 Oct 06 (5,800) 100 Target Corp......................... 47.50 Apr 06 11,699 200 3M Co............................... 65 Jul 06 12,399 250 Wachovia Corp....................... 47.50 Jul 06 17,999 250 Zimmer Holdings, Inc................ 60 Jun 06 14,249 ----- -------- 3,255 201,423 ----- -------- $134,031 ======== 11 (SELECTED) NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Adams Express Company (the Company) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as a diversified investment company. The Company's investment objectives as well as the nature and risk of its investment transactions are set forth in the Company's registration statement. Security Valuation-Investments in securities traded on a national security exchange are valued at the last reported sale price on the day of valuation. Over-the-counter and listed securities for which a sale price is not available are valued at the last quoted bid price. Short-term investments (excluding purchased options) are valued at amortized cost. Purchased and written options are valued at the last quoted asked price. For federal income tax purposes, the identified cost of securities at March 31, 2006 was $964,975,956 and net unrealized appreciation aggregated $373,732,166, of which the related gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation were $455,814,243 and $82,082,077 respectively. 8. PORTFOLIO SECURITIES LOANED The Company makes loans of securities to brokers, secured by cash deposits, U.S. Government securities, or bank letters of credit. The Company accounts for securities lending transactions as secured financing and receives compensation in the form of fees or retains a portion of interest on the investment of any cash received as collateral. The Company also continues to receive interest or dividends on the securities loaned. The loans are secured at all times by collateral of at least 102% of the fair value of the securities loaned plus accrued interest. Gain or loss in the fair value of the securities loaned that may occur during the term of the loan will be for the account of the Company. At March 31, 2006, the Company had securities on loan of $18,768,540 and held collateral of $19,229,896, consisting of an investment trust fund which may invest in money market instruments, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, U.S. Treasury Bills, and U.S. agency obligations. Item 2. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES. Conclusions of principal officers concerning controls and procedures: (a) As of April 21, 2006, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of the officers of The Adams Express Company (the "Company"), including the principal executive officer ("PEO") and principal financial officer ("PFO"), of the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, the Company's officers, including the PEO and PFO, concluded that, as of April 21, 2006, the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were reasonably designed so as to ensure: (1) that information required to be disclosed by the Company on Form N-Q is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and (2) that material information relating to the Company is made known to the PEO and PFO as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. (b) There have been no significant changes in the Company's internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30 a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the Company's last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Item 3. EXHIBITS. The certifications of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 are attached hereto as Form N-Q Certifications. 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. THE ADAMS EXPRESS COMPANY BY: /s/ Douglas G. Ober ----------------------- Douglas G. Ober Chief Executive Officer Date: April 27, 2006 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: /s/ Douglas G. Ober ----------------------- Douglas G. Ober Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) Date: April 27, 2006 BY: /s/ Maureen A. Jones ----------------------- Maureen A. Jones Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer) Date: April 27, 2006