Facebook's net income triples in first quarter of 2016

Stocks soar in after-hours trading on news that net income was $1.51bn for the first three months of the year, up from $512m in first quarter of 2015

Facebook took the occasion of positive first quarter results to announce a plan to consolidate power within the company with CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook's net income nearly tripled year-over-year, according to first-quarter results filed on Wednesday, sending the company's stock soaring more than 8% in after-hours trading, and bucking the trend of disappointing results in the tech sector.